Medical tourism promotion not at the cost of Filipinos in need of medical attention

Efforts by the country to outdo other Asian countries in the field of medical tourism should not be endeavoured by the government at the expense of ordinary Filipinos needing medical attention, a senior lawmaker said.

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. during a gathering of health professionals in Manila, said doctors should not to leave out the millions of Filipinos in their efforts to outdo their competitors in Asia in the fast evolving and growing arena of medical tourism.

"Growth and development of medical tourism should never leave out the millions of Filipinos who, despite and perhaps because of their economic status, are the ones most in need of medical attention and care," Belmonte stressed.

The growth of medical tourism had been encouraged by the past administration in an effort to bring in more visitors to the country who are ready to spend for treatments. But several years after the programme was adopted, the country is left wondering whether it had been proper for the government to promote the country as a destination where foreign patients can get modern medical treatment and procedures performed, at less cost.

Source - gulfnews