December 5, 2019 - An exceptional medical conference in Berlin culminates with the Malaysia healthcare marvel winning big at IMTJ 2019.  

Life as a TCN journalist takes me to the most unlikely of places, something I was reflecting on as I found myself sitting on a round table dentistry panel with eminent dentists from the likes of Turkey, Hungary and Romania in Berlin this week. Fun fact from that round table - there is an unpronounceable Hungarian town close to the airports of Vienna and Bratislava which has a population of 32,000 and an astonishing 450 dentists, one for every 85 inhabitants. A powerhouse of European dental tourism.  

Having followed the Croatian medial tourism industry closely for the last two years, I was curious to see how the stars of Croatia would perform on the international stage. It is one thing hearing about how good a clinic is from within Croatia, but pitching them against the world heavyweights could be an entirely different story. I didn't have long to find out, as Bagatin Clinic from Zagreb and Split was crowned International Cosmetic Surgery Clinic of the Year. Congratulations! Having travelled up from Croatia with Ognjen and Andrea and following their journey closely for over two years, it was a moment of immense pride, and they rightly revelled in their considerable achievement. 

But when it came to naming the stars of the conference - on so many levels - there was only one winner. Malaysia.

Quite apart from the fact that the Malaysians are by far the most exotic participants to such conferences due to their delightful and varied traditional attire, who else would think of bringing a walking mascot to an event like this. 

We will come to the awards presented in a moment, but two unacknowledged awards should also be mentioned here. The presentation which won the most applause, and the most inspiring presentation of the conference came from one of the most popular ladies on the medical tourism circuit, the energetic CEO of Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council, Sherene Azli. This was the second time I had heard Sherene present, and the effect was much the same as the first, a year ago in Crikvenica.  

So what is the key to Malaysia's success? That is a topic for another article, but I liked one of the questions posed from the audience in the Q & A session after Sherene's presentation -  Is discipline and lack of ego the ultimate secret to Malaysia's success?

To be discussed. 

One thing I like very much about Malaysia's approach to the industry is their willingness to share best practices and information to help others grow. There is a really fascinating story in how Malaysia is developing its medical tourism niche in China, focused specifically on fertility treatment following China's ending of its one child policy.  There was time in between the presentations to catch up with their experts on the finer details. A big feature on this on TCN soon.  

And so to the awards... Just how well did Malaysia do? I hand you over to the photos and commentary of the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council Facebook page:

Put your hands together for Thomson Hospital Kota Damansara on winning the Best Quality Initiative award at the IMTJ Awards 2019! Over the past decade, Malaysia Healthcare has committed to providing a seamless end-to-end healthcare journey for all patients who seek medical treatments in Malaysia. Malaysia Healthcare is proud to have Thomson Hospital Kota Damansara as one of the many private Malaysian healthcare providers dedicated to providing Quality Care for Your Peace of Mind.

 Congratulations to TMC Fertility on receiving the award for International Fertility Clinic of the Year at the IMTJ Awards 2019! Malaysia Healthcare’s healthcare providers have been providing world-class quality healthcare treatments, earning the trust of many healthcare travellers over the years. Gunning towards better services, Malaysia Healthcare’s member hospitals have so much more in store come 2020 for the Malaysia Year of Healthcare Travel 2020 campaign. Malaysia Healthcare is proud to have TMC Fertility as part of the many private Malaysian healthcare providers dedicated to providing Quality Care for Your Peace of Mind.

Malaysia received a Highly Commended acknowledgement as the Destination of the Year for healthcare travel at the International Medical Travel Journal Awards 2019! Malaysia Healthcare’s unwavering dedication towards providing a seamless healthcare journey for all who seek medical treatment from us has earned the trust of many and keeps them returning to our shores. A big CONGRATULATIONS goes out to all players along the healthcare travel value chain: private Malaysian healthcare providers, ministries and government agencies, as well as private players. Malaysia Healthcare is complete with your support and tenacity for better healthcare travel service. Truly, Malaysia is the World’s Healthcare Marvel.

With private-public partnerships as the wind in our sails, MHTC has once again claimed the title of Cluster of the Year for healthcare travel at the International Medical Travel Journal Awards 2019! Committed to streamlining public and private players along the healthcare value chain towards a concerted effort in building the industry, MHTC celebrates this victory with all players who have collaborated and supported Malaysia Healthcare’s growth. We only move forward in 2020 to make Malaysia known as the World’s Healthcare Marvel.

All in all, it was a good night for Malaysia Healthcare at the International Medical Travel Journal - IMTJ Awards 2019. Nothing but smiles for us! Leading up to 2020, Malaysia Healthcare is gearing up to host the Malaysia Year of Healthcare Travel 2020 campaign, where we will showcase Malaysia as the World's Healthcare Marvel!

Not surprisingly, the smashing success was big news back in Kuala Lumpur and made the national news.  

A superb event overall, and an eye-opener for this Croatia-centric journalist. You can get a better feel of IMTJ 2019 in the official video of the event, just released, above. 

And to learn more about the Croatian healthcare marvel and International Cosmetic Surgery Clinic of the Year, here is TCN's report on Bagatin Clinic's success in Berlin.