In this issue we are featuring our discussion with Mdm Tan Suet Guan, CEO, Pantai Hospital - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Pantai group of hospitals has a network of 9 hospitals across 6 states in Malaysia with a range of healthcare support services. Today, the group has assumed a leadership role in defining Malaysia as a regional medical hub by delivering unparalleled quality, service and value. She talks about Pantai Hospital, quality of care and support of Malaysia government. We asked Mdm Tan about essentials to attract international patients.
Mdm Tan Suet Guan, CEO of Pantai Hospital, Kuala Lumpur
Dedicated, hard working, commited and one of the longest serving professional at Pantai hospital, Mdm Tan has been a CEO at hospital in Cheras, Ampang and since 2007 she is CEO of Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur, groups flagship hospital. Mdm Tan paraticipated the team responsible for setting up Pantai Hospital Ampang in 2002.
Q. Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur is world leader in international medical travel field. What is the secret behind it?
A. Our secret is the quality of the services that we provide, which is a combination of the skills of our consultants, who have vast experience, our allied healthcare professionals and the level of services provided both medical and otherwise in addition to our ability to maintain competitive pricing, despite employing and using advanced and appropriate technology.
Q. What is the major area of treatment used by international traveler at Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur? Tell us some of the unique features of Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur.
A. The major specialties are oncology, including radiotherapy and onco surgery, general surgery, orthopedics and also cardiology. Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur is an established private healthcare provider which has been around for nearly 4 decades, and it has been serving a large number of expatriates ever since, so its hardly a surprise to see patients of various nationality using the services of the hospital. This has made the transition to being a healthcare provider to international patients both natural and something that did not require extensive training or changes to service levels or how staff communicate with patients. This prompted PHKL to be among the first hospitals in Malaysia to setup an international ward and lounge, which further enhanced the service levels for patients who decide to use this facility.
Q. What are the common fears of international patients? How do you address them?
A. International patients biggest anxiety is the quality of the healthcare provided and this is the reason we have pursued JCI, which is perhaps the most globally recognized healthcare accreditations. Patients also are uncertain about the doctors or consultants who will be treating them, and we try and assist by facilitating their engagement with the consultants prior to them making a decision to come to PHKL. If an enquiry is received from a international patients, the inquiry will be shared with an appropriate specialist, who will assist in responding to the inquiry, including any further questions that the patient may have.
Q. How do you improve your hospital's patient satisfaction rating? Do you use any review mechanism or patient surveys?
A. PHKL has a formal mechanism that tracks the satisfaction ratings of our patients through a patient survey that is conducted by an external party on a monthly basis, looking at satisfaction, loyalty and recommendation of the facility, among other indices while sampling patients from the various touch points within the hospital, both in and out patient.
The results of these surveys are shared with each individual ward and department, and any treads that maybe of concern are addressed to ensure that we continue to maintain the satisfaction levels that we have committed to.
Q. What is the ratio of international patients and local Malaysian patients at your hospital? Do you face any problems in treating both category of patients at the same time
A. While foreign nationals make-up up to 20% of our total patients, international patients, which we define as patients who intentionally seek us out from across borders, make up less than 5%. With our long history of treating and being the healthcare provider of choice for expatriates in Malaysia, we have not faced any major issues in treating international patients. At the same time our Malaysian patients are accustomed to having non Malaysian patients around, and understand that this is further testimony to the level of services provided.
Q. How supportive is Malaysian Government to Medical Travel industry? Can you discuss any initiatives by Malaysian Government to promote Medical Travel industry in Malaysia?
A. The Malaysian government is very supportive of medical travel and it has even setup the Malaysian Healthcare Travel Council, which is represented by multiple agencies to ensure that the various facets of a healthcare travelers journey to seek healthcare in Malaysia are well managed and as seamless as possible. For the hospitals itself, the government has outlined a range of incentives specifically for the hospitals that are approved to provide services to healthcare travelers.
Q. Subsidizing the healthcare cost in public hospital enables private hospitals to cater more international patients with greater pace ! Do you suggest this as a key to promote medical tourism in any economy or what other factors can promote medical tourism?
A. Medical tourism in Malaysian is almost exclusively a domain for private healthcare providers, and this is done without any compromise to the provision of healthcare to Malaysians. This is partly made possible by the excellent public healthcare system in Malaysia, which allows private healthcare providers to co-exist in a complimentary manner to further enhance healthcare in Malaysia, which it is now prepared to share with the rest of the world
Q. What is most important to attract international patients: Accreditation, Cost, In Network for Insurance companies, online marketing?
A. It's a combination of all these factors, but perhaps cost and quality are the most important factors. At the same time, we have always believed that the ability to be part of significant insurance and TPA networks further facilitates the service of healthcare to patients, both local and foreign.
Q. Do you think opening field offices in other countries can bring more international patients? Is Pantai group planning to open field offices or help centers in other countries.
A. Field offices will certainly help, but it may not be feasible in every single market. This is why we prefer to collaborate with partners who are keen to work with us.
Q. Would you like to announce any new initiative or ventures of Pantai group or Pantai Hospital KL? (For example, During my conversation with Bumrangrand Hospital CEO, He mentioned about their initiative of implementing Microsoft Vault to better help patients.)
A. Pantai Hospitals as a group is investing a significant amount in a proven and complete HIS system that will be implemented in all 10 hospitals under the group, which will further enhance our capabilities, and allow medical records to be portable across the group. At the same time, PHKL will also undertake a massive redevelopment that will see its outpatient services transformed within the next few years.
