The Times Of India
10 Mar 2008
SINGAPORE: The city famous for film locales and tourism seems to have carved a niche for itself in the world of medicine too. The island nation is all set to beat the West in healthcare, for a smile designed in US for $8,000 could be managed at half the cost in Singapore while a dialysis in the US will be available for $300 as against $50 in Singapore.
Bone marrow transplant, surgical oncology, cord blood transplants, transplants of the heart, lung, liver are all possible at lower costs in Singapore than anywhere else in the West where the cost of keeping healthy continues to shoot up in a heavily taxed public health-care system.
No wonder medical tourism is the new buzz word in the country. As Singapore’s minister mentor Lee Kuan Yew candidly puts it, “Our economy is dependent on other nations for trade since we have no industry per se, I think medical treatment is our only chance to serve them and make them dependent on us.” It is for this reason that the government has been taking various initiatives to provide hospitals with advanced technology and safety standards along with personalised after care.
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