THE NEW Asian Cancer Institute (ACI) in Manila is keen to tap more medical tourists by going into partnership with the country’s Department of Tourism, said Andres Licaros Jr, president and CEO of ACI.
“We’re looking to design a medical tourism programme as we see the need for it,” said Licaros, noting that ACI, which is part of the Asian Hospital and Medical Centre (AHMC) group, is the first fully integrated cancer facility in the Philippines and has the most advanced radiotherapy equipment.
AHMC already receives lots of medical tourists from Saipan and Guam and is accredited by foreign medical insurance companies, said Licaros.
The group was also part of the original group in the early 2000s that was tapped by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), in tandem with the DoT and Department of Health, to develop and operate medical tourism centres.
Joven Jeremius Tanchuco, chief medical officer at ACI, said that they also get medical tourists through working with the Japanese government via third-party employers in the Philippines, such as Toyota.
Tanchuco added that a medical tourism programme is definitely in the cards, and hopefully they can collaborate with the DoT.
The DoT however, has not responded to questions on the state of medical tourism, which is a growing but niche market in the country.
