By IRMA ISIP

AS Americans and Europeans reel from the credit crisis, the Philippines would seize this opportunity to market itself as a health and wellness destination where the cost of treatment is just a third from their countries of origin, according to tourism undersecretary Cynthia L. Carrion.

"The US and Europe are not only in a crisis on finances, they are also in crisis on health," said Carrion, who handles sports tourism and wellness at the Department of Tourism.

Carrion said based on estimates, there are about 50 million who are not insured in the US, due to steep cost of private insurance cover.

Carrion said quite a number of Americans, despite the presence of a strong state medical insurance, are still underinsured.

"With the financial crisis, Americans will now have to find other areas where they could still get quality medical care using their available insurance coverage and yet keep extra money," Carrion said.

In the Philippines, she said, the cost of one surgery in a reputable hospital is just $7,000 compared to $25,000 in the US.

Millet P. Escasinas, manager of the relationship management and business development department of The Medical City, said medical tourists (or tourists getting treatment) in the Philippines now account for 10 percent of the total number of accommodated patients by hospitals, double from 5 percent two years ago.

Escasinas also estimates that revenues from medical tourists are on a low side of P1 billion annually.

Carrion said in two to four years, revenues from healthcare tourism could reach $2 billion.

But Carrion said there is a need for industry players to invest in upgrading and improving medical facilities in the country to keep an edge over competitors. India has a strong hospital and ambulatory care, Thailand is known for its cosmetic and sex-change surgeries and Singapore for tertiary health care.

The Philippines has all, including a strong "wellness" component and its authentic "hilot" or massage therapy.

The medical and health services sub-sector increased sharply from 2.4 percent in 2006 to 8 percent in 2007 due to the rising cost of healthcare in developed countries, coupled with improving medical technology and human resources in the Philippines.

From October 22 to 25, the DOT hosts "Embracing Health and Wellness in the Heart of Asia", the region’s biggest medical tourism and wellness summit at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila.

Carrion said the first and greatest misconception that the summit will address is that the Philippines has "third world" health care, a notion that conjures up images of decrepit medical facilities, insufficiently trained doctors, nurses and medical professionals, and an overall backward state of affairs. Such a picture is false when applied to the Philippines.

Carrion said we have the best doctors, the best medical training centers and the so-called Centers for Excellence in medical care providing the latest and high-tech aesthetic treatments for anti-aging and rejuvenation to serious weight-loss procedures like bariatric surgery.

The DOT also promotes traditional of wellness and holistic healing like "hilot" or touch therapy and even alternative medicine practitioners, including herbalists, homeopaths, acupuncturists, Pranic healers, Reiki practitioners and yogic healers.