Such huge hospitals, world-class medical facilities and high-end medical equipment, I wonder at times how challenging would it is for Thailand to keep up with the international standard. Little did I know that behind the scene a company named Asset Management Systems (AMS) has been giving supporting services to the hospitals to ensure that the medical equipment is functioning well.
AMS has been in operation for a decade now, offering clinical engineering services from preventive maintenance, calibration, repairs to consulting for medical equipment purchase, to the country’s leading private and public hospitals, which includes Bumrungrad International, the Samitivej Hospitals, the Phyathai Hospital Group and Mission Hospital.
The AMS is also responsible to hire skilled technicians or experts (even if that mean bringing in foreign workers to Thailand) to service its hospital clients and to share their international experience about maintenance of the high-tech medical equipment.
Thailand has always kept their healthcare industry in the top. And that is quite evident in the government’s expenditure. The Thai government spends 14% of its entire budget on the healthcare industry, accounting for 4.6% of Thailand’s GDP, which is considered as the highest among the ASEAN countries.
In order to strengthen the country’s position as the medical hub of Asia, the Thai government’s increased demand in the healthcare sector have brought good opportunities for continuous success in the areas related to the medical services, medical devices and pharmaceutical sectors.
Now, what is this Medical Hub Policy?
This policy aims at using the present human and natural resources to the highest potential in order to enhance the income of different parties. Also, the goal is to improve the quality of life of the Thai citizens. And to put this vision into effect, the government has divided the Medical Hub Policy into four segments;
- Wellness Hub
- Medical Service Hub
- Academic Medical Center
- Health Centre
In support of this great initiative, not only Board of Investment, Thailand, but also several other types of support are offered by different government agencies and organizations such as, National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Thailand Science Park (TSP), National Innovation Agency (NIA), and Thailand Center of Excellence for Life Sciences (TCELS).
What kind of medical treatments are offered in Thailand?
Thailand has 1000 public and 300 private hospitals with over 50,573 physicians offering a wide range of treatments, including;
- Cancer Treatments,
- Laser eye surgeries,
- Balloon dilatation,
- Heart surgeries,
- Dentistry,
- Cosmetic surgeries,
- Hip replacements,
- Weight loss surgeries,
- Cardiology testing, and much more
These are the reasons why over a million international patients travel to Thailand every year. In fact, the number of foreign patients accounted for 2.35 million people in the year 2014 and the numbers are just increasing annually.
