Beauty for Sale
By Mikee dela Cruz

NOTES TO REMEMBER WHEN CHOOSING A SURGEON Qualifications.  In the Philippines, any licensed medical doctor can perform cosmetic surgery.  “There are so many factors to consider when choosing the doctor – the most important is the training.  To avoid unsatisfactory results, it is best to choose a surgeon who has completed an accredited residency training program in plastic and reconstructive surgery,” Dr. Carlos I. Lasa of cosmeticsurgeryphil.com says.  “He should have extensive experience in the procedure you will undergo.” Budget.  “Oftentimes, patients choose their surgeon on the basis of price.  However, since the success of your surgery is largely dependent on your choice of surgeon, cost should not be your main consideration for your decision to undergo cosmetic surgery,” Dr. Lasa says.  “Your surgeon’s skill can make all the difference between a good result, and one that will require correction and additional expense.” Forget the hype.  “You have to be cautious about all the media hype because not everything you read in the papers are good – some offer it though you don’t need it, and some are not even approved by the FDA,” Dr. Lasa says.

Another problem the industry is facing is the lack of “related infrastructure,” Lasa says.  In Thailand, for example, Bumrungrad Hospital has its own hotel facility, connected by a walkway to the hospital, so families can be close to a family member undergoing treatment.  “If local hospitals can afford such facilities, it will definitely help promote our medical tourism,” he says.

The urgency to address this situation varies, nonetheless, says Castro.  “Makati City, for example, has hotels not far from hospitals.  It is in other places like Quezon City that problems arise, since they are far from each other,” he says.  Already, however, efforts are already done to establish a hospital cum accommodation facility in Subic Bay Metropolitan Area, among others.

The lack of solidity in the industry also poses a problem when it comes to regulating practitioners.  “The Philippine law allows all licensed doctors to do any kind of surgery – mainly, this is to allow doctors in provinces to be able to give emergency treatments without worrying about legal consequences,” Lasa says.  “This is good for the provinces, but (in cosmopolitan areas) this is problematic.”

While the PMA and other professional associations can regulate medical practitioners, their grasps are limited only to members.  “(Medical tourism) is a very good concept,” Castro says.  “But it could be subject to abuse with the sprouting of fly-by-night cosmetic centers that we need to control.  The government should issue a listing on the qualified and accredited (practitioners).  There should be some kind of a regulation to tell the customer that they are also protected.”

At the end of the day, Castro believes it all boils down to marketing.  “When you say tourism, marketing is very important,” he says.  “And when you say medical tourism, you’re not only marketing the medical services, but the Philippines itself – places to go to, accommodations and services, everything.  We should realize that marketing is an indispensable arm of medical tourism.”

GROWING DEMAND

“I think there is a future (for medical tourism in the Philippines),” Lasa says.  “Definitely, as long as there is an economic need for people abroad, as long as there is a perceived benefit of coming (here) to have treatments given by competent – let me emphasize competent – practitioners, there will always be people coming here for such reasons, so medical tourism will continue to prosper.”

Uy says that people live longer, “and you need to provide people to look after them (as they age).”  “Coupled that with the escalating cost of health care – instead of chasing the expenses, they might as well outsource it,” he says.  “With the advent of technology, information has become fluid, so it helps our cause (to promote the Philippine medical tourism).  Who knows, this may just avert the brain drain of our medical professionals.”

While arguing that a concerted effort needs to be done in order for the local industry to realize its full potential, “I do not conduct my practice with grandiose visions – I conduct my practice with a simple philosophy: providing excellent patient care on a one-to-one basis.  I don’t regard this as a business.  I went into this field because I like treating patients on a one-to-one basis.  If dadami ang patients ko (the number of my patients grow) because (they were referred to me by satisfied patients) then well and good,” Lasa says.  “In the end, it is because of how good we are at our profession that is the driving force of people coming to avail of our services.”