Malaysia wins “International Medical Travel Journal (IMTJ), Medical Travel Destination of the Year Award 2015"

Malaysia has been proclaimed “Medical Travel Destination of the Year” at the International Medical Travel Journal (IMTJ) Medical Travel Awards 2015, further cementing the country’s reputation for providing top notch and innovative healthcare as well as its premier position as a world-class healthcare tourism destination.

The event, which was held on the evening of 15 April 2015 at the Royal Garden Hotel in London, saw 13 awards, which were segmented into four broad categories, namely Healthcare Provider and Agency, Marketing, Quality and Service, and Overall Achievement, being handed out. The awards included International Hospital of the Year, Specialist International Patient Centre, International Dental Clinic of the Year, Medical Spa of the Year, Best Marketing Initiative and Excellence in Customer Service.

For the Medical Travel Destination of the Year, the judges looked for all-round excellence in promoting inbound medical tourism, verified statistics of yearly growth in medical tourists served, evidence of high levels of patient satisfaction and co-ordinated activities that delivered an increase in medical tourism.

Malaysia’s private hospitals also grabbed several awards during the event.

These are:

• Excellence in Customer Service – Gleneagles Hospital, Kuala Lumpur
• Best Quality Initiative of the Year – Imperial Dental Specialist Centre
• Best Travel Website of the Year – Ramsay Sime Darby Healthcare
• International Cosmetic Surgery Clinic of the Year
  • Beverly Wilshire Medical Centre
• International Dental Clinic of the Year - Imperial Dental Specialist Centre

Additionally, two hospitals came in as the most Highly Commended hospitals. They are Imperial Dental Specialist Centre for their travel website and Prince Court Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur for their customer service.

This is not the first time that Malaysia has proven its mettle in the healthcare tourism industry. During the inaugural IMTJ Medical Travel Awards last year, the country’s private hospitals swept three out of nine awards, i.e. International Hospital of the Year (Gleneagles, Kuala Lumpur), International Dental Clinic of the Year (Imperial Dental Specialist Clinic, Kuala Lumpur) and International Infertility Clinic of the Year (Prince Court Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur).

Sherene Azli, the Chief Executive Officer of Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC), a body set up in 2009 under the Ministry of Health to develop and promote Malaysia’s healthcare travel industry, says that “Malaysia has the necessary ecosystem and infrastructure for end-to-end healthcare services in place.” Being proclaimed “Destination of the Year” not only accentuates the country’s strengths but is also set to take Malaysia’s name a notch higher in the industry internationally.

Organised by the IMTJ which was established in 2007, the annual IMTJ Medical Travel Awards is a prestigious award that recognises innovation, excellence and best practices in the medical travel and medical tourism sector, and is judged by an independent panel of medical travel experts.

This year, the awards ceremony was held in conjunction with the IMTJ Medical Summit which went on from 15-16 April 2015 at the same venue.

Source: Malaysia Healthcare