Why not medical spas?

Posted November 13, 2009 23:50:00

Rizalino Navarro

Philippine Daily Inquirer

IN PROMOTING the Philippine health and wellness sector, both the spa and medical tourism clusters are important in terms of employment, investment and foreign exchange receipts. The foreign market is growing as a result of international accreditation, awards and marketing. Both clusters take pride in our pool of medical professionals and therapists known for tender loving care. Both are entitled to incentives under the Board of Investments, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, and the newly created Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority. However, both suffer from image problems due to isolated security issues and the mushrooming of facilities with poor standards except for a few exceptions. But there is no denying the huge opportunities to enlarge their markets, either on their own or through greater integration of their services (e.g., medical spas).

The International Medical Spa Association defines a medical spa as a facility whose medical program is run under the strict supervision of licensed health care professionals and/or integrative practitioners who may combine both traditional and nontraditional medicine and spa treatments for clients to maintain good health or to deal with serious medical issues. There are different types of medical spas: beauty, therapeutic, medical/hospital-based, and wellness center-based.

There are significant differences between spas and medical facilities that influence their marketing, resources, standards and strategies. First, spas are easier to market because they have become a lifestyle. Foreign visitors can easily bundle their trips with an hour of scrub or massage. Second, the foreign client base of hospitals is smaller, about 5 percent, compared to the 30-40 percent of spas. Unlike spas, the bulk of hospital clients originate from countries like the United States and the Micronesian states, Japan, South Korea and the Middle East due to strong cultural affinities or proximity. Third, the mobility barriers—insurance portability, accreditation—currently experienced by medical providers are not yet major issues among spas. Fourth, spas draw their strength from the “healing touch” of massage therapists, mostly high school graduates, especially in the case of destination spas in the provinces. Medical facilities depend on highly skilled graduates of higher educational institutions. Fifth, spas tend to capitalize on our climate and natural endowments. They can be found in the “sand, sea and sun” destinations like Boracay and Cebu, in the hot springs of Los Baños and Pansol, and in the calming scenery sites of Tagaytay and Silang. Medical facilities are in urban areas with modern equipment and highly trained staff.

The goal of stakeholders, including government, should be to maximize the opportunities and equity impact from the initial albeit separate strategic development of medical tourism and spa clusters and their ultimate development directed at the greater integration of their services (called medical spas).

As regards spas, there are enabling initiatives that can be extended to the private sector. The country thrives in wellness resources—seaweeds, plants, flowers—that can be commercially developed into new products if supported by extensive research and development, good packaging and promotions. Another initiative is the amendment of the Sanitation Code of 1976 that regulates spa facilities. This code was originally designed to regulate massage parlors and sauna baths and not really wellness centers. As a result, spa facility owners have to send all their massage therapists to the regional centers of the Department of Health for their monthly venereal disease check-up. The code creates a poor image for legitimate spas and their therapists and raises the costs of doing business. Other initiatives include defining accreditation standards that focus on quality of services and promote consumer safety, implementing these standards with good local governance and, most importantly, the alignment of vision and policies by national and local government units.

As regards medical tourism facilities, there are already existing models of development, like Medical City, St. Luke’s Hospital, Asian Hospital, and Makati Medical Center. There are barriers and limitations that hospitals still face in strengthening their overseas marketing. Of critical importance is the issue of public insurance portability that requires government negotiations.

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