Big world market for diagnostic services - Liow

SHAH ALAM, Monday 28 February 2011 (Bernama) -- The Health Ministry will encourage the development of diagnostic services in the country as there is a huge market potential for the field, says its minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

He said Malaysia should tap potentials in diagnostic services in view of the huge market potential with earnings of more than US$1 billion a year.

"Developed countries, namely the United States and United Kingdom, are depending on India for specialised diagnostic services such as laboratory services (for determining the cause of an illness). They are looking for better alternatives besides India, and Malaysia can be a good choice.

"For instance, patients from overseas can send in their X-ray samples to Malaysia through websites to get consultations for diagnoses. This gives Malaysia the opportunity to capture the world market," Liow said after opening the BP Diagnostic Centre in Glenmarie, near here, today.

Diagnostic services is one of the six entry-point projects (EPP) under the National Key Economic Areas (NKEA) for healthcare services.

Liow said the government had outsourced some of the pathology laboratory services to the private sector to reduce waiting time for test results.

"Some of the laboratory tests in government hospitals take almost a month and by outsourcing the service, we believe that we can reduce waiting time to at least a week. The move is also seen as cost-effective," he said, adding that there were about 200 private diagnostic centre operators in the country.

Liow said the government was constantly monitoring the consultation rates for diagnostic services in the country through the Pathology Laboratory Act 2007 to make sure they were affordable.

The ministry, he added, was also embarking on a roadshow to explain all aspects of the implementation and enforcement of the Act to the industry players.

He also said that the Associaton of Private Hospitals of Malaysia in a meeting with the ministry had agreed to publicise their members' treatment fees on websites for public knowledge.

"The move is good for medical tourism as it allows overseas tourists to compare treatment fees provided by Malaysia and other countries," he said, adding that the treatment fees in Malaysian hospitals were still affordable.