Management 942 | Singapore's Medical And Tourism Sector

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Management 942
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Singapore was ranked as the first country in the Southeast Asian region to attract medical
tourists and also promoted the export of health products globally. The Singaporean government’s
initiative characterizes the health industry as one of the foundations of the new economy
projected to be one of the drivers of growth. Singapore also holds a vital position as it is one of
the remarkable financial centers. This is in connection with Singapore’s conventional focus on
services. However, recently Singapore has repositioned itself as the hub for medical products in
the region.
Political
The changing disease landscape spanning from infectious to chronic and communicable
diseases, the government is promoting various initiatives (Phua and Pocock, 2012). The
government provides clear guidelines and policies in connection to the burgeoning health
industry, which provides support to domestic and foreign health promotion services. This ensures
that they benefit from a well-established infrastructure with regards to the health products and
promotion of entrepreneurism in the health industry (PESTLE Contributor, 2015). Barriers to
entry are relatively low for new players in the health industry (Rahman, 2019). The Economic
Development Board provides help in advisory services for establishing an HSP. However, it is
crucial to fathom that they do not offer a financial incentive in doing so, not unless the state
endorses a particular program.
Economic
The market for medical tourism in Singapore can be classified as highly segmented,
where low-income patients cannot afford services in Singapore and instead visit Thailand or
Malaysia for such services (Phua and Pocock, 2012). Thus, the Singapore market is top-notch for

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health services where it comes with an expensive price tag that has little or no influence when it
comes to deterring high-income patients. Thus, such patients are able and willing to pay out of
pocket for various health services offered. What may be lacking is the market for middle-income
patients (BBC, 2018). Hence, the international trend of the increasing middle class and their
purchasing power parity may have ramifications for the health industry in Singapore, which
could be misleading not unless there are initiatives to deter the rising OPP services.
Technology
Singapore has advanced medical technology, which has played a vital role in developing
the field of biomedical sciences sector. The medical technology sector accounted for more than
Singapore $4.3 billion of the GDP in 2011 and created more than 9000 occupations (Song, et
al., 2014). Singapore boasts of excellent patent rights protection and enforcement (EDB
Singapore, 2018), and this has led to more global companies investing in the country to
establish research centers. Moreover, Spring Singapore pledged a 60 million investment for
startups in the Med-Tech sector.
Social
In the advent of an aging population and the rise of chronic diseases, chronic diseases
have become the leading sickness compared to other years, where infectious diseases as the
primary cause of death and morbidity in many nations while translating to increased costs of
healthcare. The rising cases of people with chronic illnesses who need mental health provide an
avid opportunity for health service providers in Singapore who can anticipate increased demand
for mental health management services connected to chronic conditions and rehabilitative
services for the old individuals.