Today Medical
tourism is the newest trend in health care. Some countries like Thailand, for
instance, has made strides in improving its medical tourism scene hence positioning
herself among the top world medical tourism destinations.
Very often, the
Health Ministry says some rural health centers fail to attract health workers
because they are considered “far to reach” and those areas lack social
amenities to entertain the workers.
As a result,
patients travel long distances to seek for healthcare leading to congestion in
some health facilities.
According to the vice chair of Thailand’s International Health Policy Program Foundation, the government, in 1975 launched a medical welfare scheme for the poor and vulnerable with a welfare medical scheme which was based on putting public interest in healthcare first.
According to the vice chair of Thailand’s International Health Policy Program Foundation, the government, in 1975 launched a medical welfare scheme for the poor and vulnerable with a welfare medical scheme which was based on putting public interest in healthcare first.
The government
also trained health workers specifically for rural areas because the government
health workers shunned working there because of this success, the Thai government launched
the civil servant medical benefit scheme in 1980 followed by voluntary health
insurance for the private sector.
These health
workers formed a Rural Doctors Society after working in a rural district
hospital for eight years which discovered a persistent pattern of malnutrition,
which had not been taught at school. So they created a non-government organization
to fight malnutrition while pushing for more rural doctors. Hence government created
a policy which required all doctors to be trained and start their careers by
working in rural hospitals before moving to advanced hospitals in the cities.
Thailand today produces
3,000 doctors per annum and boasts of 40 medical education centers and these workers
work with provincial hospitals on joint programs. As a result, 80 percent of
the doctors now work in rural areas until retirement.
How this can be introduced in Uganda’s plan
Uganda plans to replicate this medical tourism model by starting a system where students who want to study to become nurses and doctors, were recruited as civil servants.
Uganda plans to replicate this medical tourism model by starting a system where students who want to study to become nurses and doctors, were recruited as civil servants.
These students
were trained as civil servants and government posted them to work in areas
where they were needed. The training was conducted in training schools attached
to hospitals like Mulago medical school for senior doctors while the nurse’s were
trained in schools also attached to hospitals training the lower level workers.
Uganda also on
the other hand would be ready for medical tourism with the completion of the refurbished
Mulago hospital of which construction work is on going for the installation of
the specialized equipment and the laws for organ transplant are will also have
to be put in place.
According to the chairman Health Service Commission, training of all health workers is currently being done by the Ministry of Education. As the commission which recruits government health workers and then they make recommendations to the Ministry of Public Service which supervises the government workers
According to the chairman Health Service Commission, training of all health workers is currently being done by the Ministry of Education. As the commission which recruits government health workers and then they make recommendations to the Ministry of Public Service which supervises the government workers
A large pool of
skilled health workers of both high and low end plus complementary medicine
facilities such as health spa have eventually birthed the concept of medical
hubs.
The chief of the Thai Medical Hub Policy says that the explosion of private and public health facilities dealing both in mainstream human medicine and supportive treatment such as the Spa and Massage business, forced the Thai government in 2013, to create the Medical Hubs strategy which identifies the booming healthcare business and wellness as a potential economic growth engine.
The chief of the Thai Medical Hub Policy says that the explosion of private and public health facilities dealing both in mainstream human medicine and supportive treatment such as the Spa and Massage business, forced the Thai government in 2013, to create the Medical Hubs strategy which identifies the booming healthcare business and wellness as a potential economic growth engine.
The Spa
Enterprise Act to promote health tourism was created four hubs namely the
Medical Service Hub, Wellness Hub, Product Hub and the Academic hub.
A medical hub
is a specialized advanced facility for medication and treatment of complex
ailments. In Thailand’s case, these are multi-storey single buildings which
accommodate the general hospital facilities but in addition, they have private
hotel facilities where discharged patients under doctor review, can check-in.
The Medical hubs
According to history the medical hubs concept was first adopted from the United States of America and later spread to Asia and with 64 accredited hospitals, Thailand is currently among the top 10 medical tourism destinations in the world because they can treat complex ailments at a cheaper cost.
According to history the medical hubs concept was first adopted from the United States of America and later spread to Asia and with 64 accredited hospitals, Thailand is currently among the top 10 medical tourism destinations in the world because they can treat complex ailments at a cheaper cost.
The Patient on tour
A tour patient can
be accompanied by caretakers and while the hospital attends to the patients,
the caretakers are booked into a hotel that also offers sightseeing services for
them among others which can also be extended to the patients
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