GLOBAL: New portal claims to be first for medical evidence for spa and wellness therapies

The new SpaEvidence.com claims to be the world's first portal for medical evidence for spa and wellness therapies. It is an online resource dedicated to the medical evidence that exists for spa and wellness therapies. With thousands of clinical studies evaluating the effectiveness of approaches like hydrotherapy, massage or meditation, SpaEvidence makes it easy and free for people and medical, wellness and spa professionals to research what has been proven to work, what is not and for what conditions.

Professor Kenneth R. Pelletier of the University of Arizona says, “People assume that the clinical evidence always sides with conventional Western medicine, but the gold standard for medical research, the Cochrane Reviews, indicates that only 30%-35% of conventional medicine is adequately evidence-based. Increasingly more doctors agree that one of the largest bodies of medical evidence is the one demonstrating that lifestyle changes, mind-body approaches and stress-reduction have the largest impact, on the largest number of health conditions, for the largest number of people. This site is a breakthrough because the evidence already exists, but until now it has not been easily accessible.”

Dr. Daniel Friedland of SuperSmart Health adds, “The crippling costs of many traditional healthcare systems, which narrowly focus on sickness, pills and procedures - rather than prevention and lifestyle changes have become unsustainable for many people, governments and corporations. Hundreds of millions of people are now embracing smarter, prevention-focused, more integrative and personalized health approaches. But they demand the facts.”

SpaEvidence's key features:
??? ?Research: Users can search four of the most authoritative evidence-based medicine databases for studies on 21 spa and wellness approaches: Natural Standard, The Cochrane Library, PubMed and TRIP.
??? ?Spotlight: Highlights select medical studies for each therapy as a springboard to further research.
??? ?Studies-in-Progress: Visitors can investigate the clinical trials underway globally.
??? ?Conversations and contributions: Users can contribute studies and their own experiences/outcomes with spa/wellness approaches.

The portal's functionality will continue to expand, and additional spa and wellness approaches will be added regularly.

Susie Ellis of The Global Spa Summit says, “Our industries have long been accused of soft, anecdotal claims, when what was really missing was a resource to access the clinical research that supports so much of what we do. Some of the medical evidence for spa and wellness approaches is powerful, some is inconclusive, some is negative and far more studies need to be undertaken. But embracing transparency is the path to true legitimacy and industry growth, and I hope every spa and wellness center worldwide will use this portal, link to it and spread the word.”

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MALAYSIA: Online portal helps increase foreign patients

Despite the global economic downturn, Malaysia expects to see a 28 percent rise in foreign patients seeking medical treatment in the country.

Among the reasons cited is the establishment of a one-stop medical and tourism online portal that facilitate all needs of overseas-based patients be it consultation, treatment, accommodation or tours.

MalaysiaHealthCare.com (MHC) chief executive officer Suresh Ponnudurai said the country would continue to attract health tourists from countries such as Indonesia, Singapore, Bangladesh and Japan and those from the Middle East and Europe.

“Malaysia is one of the region’s centres of medical excellence owing to its quality and affordable facilities and services. About 360,000 health tourists visited Malaysia in 2007, a 20 percent increase from 2006. The use of technology and the internet has positioned the healthcare industry as one of the best in the region.”

Malacca received more than 64,000 medical tourists last year, mostly Indonesians, and was ahead of Penang, Federal Territory, Johor and Selangor. The numbers are expected to increase after the upgraded Batu Berendam Airport opens to bring in tourists from neighbouring countries. Also, a 300-bed private hospital Straits of Melaka Specialist Centre will be developed in Klebang within the next two years.

MHC acts as a channel to network, integrate, facilitate and manage all aspects of health and medical tourism for health tourists and service providers such as hospitals, travel and insurance agents, airlines and hotels. Medical tourists can schedule their treatment and holidays by making online bookings for services.

The country’s Health Ministry will be launching a special website on health tourism next month to disseminate information worldwide on the Malaysia’s medical tourism industry.

Health minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said the website will include information on the medical facilities and specialist services available, as well as the payment rates, to make it easy for those interested to seek treatment in Malaysia.

He added the ministry will indirectly help private hospitals in the country attract tourists who wanted quality medical treatment and healthcare.

In line with the government's aim of developing the medical and health-based tourism sector, the ministry held a promotion drive and briefing in Indonesia and Vietnam last year. These promotional efforts will be extended in 2009 to several other countries including Australia.

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INDIA: Treatment Abroad launched local portal

Treatment Abroad, the leading medical tourism portal in the UK, has launched a new website solely dedicated to medical tourism to India.

Called “Treatment in India”, the portal will promote India’s growing reputation as a world-class provider of medical treatment. People mulling over a medical travel to the country will be able to research online the treatment and facility options in India. They can make informed decisions about the credentials of its medical facilities and doctors based on up-to-date information about surgeons, hospitals and medical tourism specialists in the country.

With India’s high profile in medical tourism, there is too much scattered information on the web.? A simple Google search about medical travel in India produced 490,000 results from reputable agencies and hospitals to less reputable agencies promoting only one clinic with dubious qualifications.

Treatment In India aims to cut through this confusion with a trusted existing brand.

Philip Archbold of Treatment Abroad said: “We know from the success of our other websites that country-focused sites are effective ways for medical providers to market themselves to medical tourists.? Additionally, medical tourists value the information provided on the sites as they know and trust that the Treatment Abroad brand will give them relevant and reliable information to help them make informed decisions when choosing to travel abroad for medical treatment.”

Intuition Communication, which publishes the main Treatment Abroad website, already runs a number of country-focused websites such as Treatment in Spain, Treatment in Cyprus and Treatment in Hungary.

Treatment In India will constantly update information about local facilities, costs, medical information and health news, giving visitors answers to the questions that need to be taken into consideration when planning medical treatment abroad.

The portal already links to the websites of medical travel agencies from the UK, the US and India. It also links to leading hospital group Fortis Healthcare among others.

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