Health tourism in Malaysia : prospects and challenges

It is estimated that the health tourism industry in Asia will be worth US$4bil (RM14.2 bil) by 2012, and Malaysia is positioning itself as one of the major players in this region, expecting to earn up to US$590 mil (RM2.1 bil) within five years (The Star, Nov 8, 2008). In 2007 alone, Malaysia received 341,288 medical tourists with revenue of RM253.84 million (www.tourism.gov.my). Thus, the potential of the industry is enormous, and the Malaysian government is making the right strategic move in this direction. Health tourism as is practised and promoted today is a relatively new concept, although patients travelling far and wide in search for medical treatment is not anything new. The paper explores the development and growth of medical tourism in the global context, as well as among the Asian key players in the industry, before moving into the Malaysian experience. The role of key players in advancing the agenda of the industry, namely the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of International Trade and Industry, the Association of Private Hospitals etc, will also be discussed. Finally, challenges faced by an industry still in its infancy will also be discussed

Quality management in Malaysian public health care

Purpose – The main aim of the study is to provide an empirical analysis of quality management practice among Malaysian Ministry of Health hospital employees, ranging from medical specialists to health attendants. Design/methodology/approach – Self-administered questionnaires collected data and cluster sampling used to select hospitals, while stratified random sampling selected employee respondents. The research was limited to peninsular Malaysian public health care. Findings – A total of 23 public hospitals participated in the survey, including the National Referral Centre, which is based in Hospital Kuala Lumpur. Eight quality management practices were identified in Malaysian public hospitals: continuous improvement, strategic planning, quality assurance, teamwork, leadership and management commitment, employee involvement and training, management by fact, and supplier partnership. Support for quality management was found to be lowest among the physicians. Originality/value – The article fills a lacuna in the health care quality management empirical research literature. The main recommendation is for the Malaysian Ministry of Health to garner physicians’ support in its quality endeavours

Inpatient satisfaction: an analysis of Malaysian public hospitals

Purpose - The objective of this study is to provide an empirical analysis on inpatient satisfaction in Malaysian public hospitals. Design/methodology/approach - Self-administered questionnaire was the main data collection method. Altogether 23 hospitals throughout Peninsular Malaysia participated in the survey. Cluster sampling was used in the selection of the respondent hospitals, while convenience sampling was used in administering the survey. Findings - Three factors of inpatient satisfaction were extracted, which were clinical and physical dimensions of service, and additional facilities for patients and family members. Inpatient satisfaction was found to be higher for clinical dimension than physical dimension. Overall, inpatient satisfaction was high as reflected by the high mean score of the variables, although caution was expressed in interpreting the finding, particularly low expectation of patients to begin with. Research limitations/implications - The research was limited to inpatient of Malaysian public hospitals. A thorough evaluation of the nation’s public healthcare delivery system would need to include outpatient service as well. Originality/value - The research provides an empirical analysis on inpatient satisfaction in Malaysian public hospitals. This allows policy-makers to evaluate the level of public healthcare delivery service in the country and therefore assist in policy decision-making and implementation

Healthcare Malaysia at a crossroads

Healthcare Malaysia at a Crossroads discusses aspects of the country’s healthcare delivery system that are impacted by changes that have altered our healthcare landscape, from medical education to medical tourism. Globalisation, changing demography, privatisation, and liberalisation of medical education are just some of the change variables affecting our healthcare system today. The book begins with an exploration of medical education and housemanship training; and dimensions of preparedness for hospital practise among the junior doctors during the housemanship period. This was followed through by an assessment of the evolutionary path towards medical specialisation, and consequently issues concerning medical specialty training in the country. A significant development which has taken the healthcare industry by surprise, in the form of medical tourism, is given further treatment in subsequent chapters. The background to medical tourism in Malaysia, an interdisciplinary perspective of the industry, as well as evaluation of service quality and future intention of medical tourists to seek treatment in the country is also examined. A report card on our performance vis-a-vis our neighbouring countries provides a critical analysis. The main aim of the book is to explore issues in Malaysian healthcare system that requires our attention. Medical education and training; and opening our hospital doors to foreign patients do impact the services that we receive from our healthcare system. We have developed a healthcare system that is both equitable and accessible; and the purpose of the book is to contribute to the discourse on how to make it better

Measuring the service quality of airline services in Malaysia

The perception of Malaysian consumers of the quality of airline services was examined in this study using the SERVQUAL measurement. The results of the study indicate that the most significant factors in Malaysian customers’ perception of service quality are Empathy, Tangibles and Assurance. In addition, the respondents indicated that the airlines surveyed performed better than expected on the Responsiveness dimension of service quality. There is also a strong indication that satisfaction with service quality results in future use and the likelihood of recommending the airline to others

Patient Satisfaction as an Indicator of Service Quality in Malaysian Public Hospitals

The main aim of the paper is to provide an empirical analysis on patient satisfaction as n indicator of service quality in Malaysian public hospitals. Self‐administered questionnaires ere administered to patients by convenience sampling. Two sets of questionnaires were ed, one for inpatient and another one set for outpatient. Selection of hospitals was made cording to states in Peninsular Malaysia. 23 hospitals covering all state level hospitals, the ational Referral Centre and selected district hospitals were chosen as respondent hospitals. wo dimensions of service quality emerged, namely clinical and physical dimension of rvice. Both outpatient and inpatient were found to be more satisfied with clinical di- ension of service than physical dimension. For outpatient satisfaction, there was positive orrelation between waiting time and patient satisfaction. Patient satisfaction was also found be higher in the smaller district hospitals than in the larger state hospitals. For clinical mension of service, patients were satisfied with the services of doctors and nurses, while r physical dimension of service, patients were satisfied with the cleanliness of the cilities. The ability of the research to be conducted by random sampling was inhibited by e reluctance of patients to cooperate, which led to the use of convenience sampling. udies have also shown that patients are reluctant to express their feelings on services pro- ded by their caregivers. The study provides primary data for a nationwide study on patient tisfaction in Malaysian public hospitals, for both inpatient and outpatient. (Authors' abstract

Effects of six sigma initiatives in Malaysian private hospitals

Purpose – This study aims to investigate applications of Six Sigma methodology in Malaysian private hospitals. It measures Six Sigma initiatives of the private hospitals based on demographics such as gender, position and working experience. Design/methodology/approach – The present study measures Six Sigma initiatives of private hospitals and used stratified random sampling to collect data from eight selected hospitals in Peninsular Malaysia. The respondents of the study include doctors, nurses, pharmacists and medical laboratory technologists. In this study, 520 questionnaires were distributed to respondents who are working in Malaysian private hospitals. In total, 251 responses were received (48.27 per cent response rate). The descriptive analysis, independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA were undertaken using SPSS version 23. Findings – The findings of this study indicate that male respondents have better perception on four aspects of Six Sigma applications such as process improvement tools, process improvement methods, manage quality improvement activities and formal planning process compared to female respondents. The research findings also indicate that doctors have better perception regarding process improvement tools to measure quality improvement process, leadership to continuous improvement processes, training in process improvement tools for employees’ skill improvement compared to nurses, pharmacists, medical laboratory technologists. Research limitations/implications – The present research focussed solely on the Malaysian private hospitals, and thus the results might not be applicable to other countries. This study focussed on Six Sigma initiatives of private hospitals in Malaysia, while the future research may consider investigating the difference or conformance between private and public hospitals on Six Sigma initiatives and its relationship with quality performance. In addition, present study findings are expected to provide guidelines to enhance the applications of Six Sigma methodology in private hospitals in Malaysia as well as other countries. Originality/value – This research provides theoretical and practical contributions for the Six Sigma initiatives in private hospitals. Most of the past studies of Six Sigma initiatives are centred on manufacturing sector, but few empirical studies have been conducted on the health-care organisation. Thus, findings of the present study on the health-care sector contribute to the on-going pursuit of knowledge in the area of Six Sigma by using the strength of related theories and parent disciplines

Assessing top management commitment, workforce management, and quality performance of Malaysian hospitals

The present study investigates top management commitment, workforce management and quality performance in Malaysian hospitals based on demographical information of the respondents. Aim of this study is to identify the difference or conformance on top management commitment, workforce management and quality performance of Malaysian hospitals with demographics such as gender, marital status, types of hospital and position. This study distributed 1007 self-administered survey questionnaires to hospital staff resulting in 438 useful responses with a 43.5% response rate. Research data were analysed based on reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), independent samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA and discriminant analysis using SPSS version 23. Findings of this study indicate that there is a significant difference between single and married hospital staff on workforce management of the Malaysian hospitals. Married respondent perceives workforce management more favourably compared to single. The findings also indicate that hospital nurses perceive workforce management and quality performance more favourably compared to other hospital staff (i.e. doctors, pharmacists, medical laboratory technologists). Moreover, this study conducted comparison analysis between public and private hospitals on top management commitment, workforce management, and quality performance. The research findings indicate that private hospitals have better top management commitment and workforce management compared to public hospitals in Malaysia

Measuring quality performance between public and private hospitals in Malaysia

Abstract Purpose – This study aims to measure quality performance of the Malaysian hospitals based on eight items, namely, progress of quality management, medical service cost, reduce errors in medical services, patient waiting time, reduce waste in processes, patient complaint, employee job satisfaction and patient satisfaction. Mainly, it identifies difference or conformance between public and private hospitals on quality performance. Design/methodology/approach – This study distributed 1,007 self-administered survey questionnaires to the hospital staff (i.e. doctors, nurses, pharmacists and medical laboratory technologists), resulting in 438 useful responses (43.5 per cent response rate). Research data were analysed based on descriptive analysis and independent samples’ t-tests using SPSS version 23. Findings – The findings of this study indicate that there are significant differences between public and private hospital staff on progress of quality improvement process, patient satisfaction and cost of the medical services. Private hospital staff believed that their hospital’s quality management process and patient satisfaction has been improved over the past years compared to public hospital. However, private hospital staff does not perceive their medical service cost has been reduced over the past years compared to public hospital. Research limitations/implications – This research focused solely on quality performance of the Malaysian health sector and, thus, the results might not be applicable to other countries. Originality/value – Present research findings provide guidelines for enhancing quality performance in Malaysian public and private healthcare sectors and other countries. Keywords Malaysia, Quality performance, Private hospital, Public hospital Paper type Research pape