Ministry issues new treatment plan for bizarre skin disease | Look At Vietnam

Ministry issues new treatment plan for bizarre skin disease

May 7, 2012

The Ministry of Health in Vietnam has brought out a new method to treat the bizarre and mysterious skin disease that is affecting residents in the central province of Quang Ngai, along with issuing warnings of further complications.

The new treatment method will replace the old plan that was issued in January 2012. From now on patients with mild inflictions can be treated by applying a cream containing corticoid and 2 per cent salicylic ointment all over their body, which will keep the skin moist and soft.
However, patients that are more seriously affected must be taken to the general hospital in the province or a bigger hospital in the city.
All doctors, irrespective of their division, must take part in diagnosing these patients. In case the patients suffer from kidney and liver failure, doctors must filter their blood and try and save lives.
The ministry also warned against complications such as blood bacterial contamination, pneumonia, lestospira-spirochaete bacteria, encephalitis, convulsion fits and even coma.
Quang Ngai Province had so far reported 180 cases of the yet unidentified skin disease, with eight persons having died at medical clinics and 11 at home.
SGGP

Medical Tourims Hub South Korea

South Korea becoming medical tourism hub 

October 16, 2011  about Health

The medical tourism market in South Korea is expected to grow around 30 percent during 2010-2012, according to a study from RNCOS, a global market research and information analysis company

A robotic operation performed at the Wonkwang University Hospital on September 29, 2011
Clean, modern facilities, and a warm welcome greet patients at several South Korean hospitals that have made it their goal to facilitate the growing trade in medical tourism here.
Thanh Nien Weekly visited four Korean hospitals late last month and was introduced to state-of-the-art medical institutions, qualified medical practitioners and the advanced practice of oriental medicine. South Korea is emerging as a major medical tourism destination and the country is trying to surpass Singapore, Thailand and India to become Asia’s new medical tourism hub.
To this end, Korea has over the years built up an impressive one-stop infrastructure to serve medical tourists, an increasing number of which are coming from the United States, Russia, China, Japan and many other nations in the region.
As part of the Medical Korea promotion project, the Korea International Medical Association (KIMA) – a government-private joint initiative founded in 2007 to promote Healthcare in Korea internationally – has held many familiarization tours like the one Thanh Nien Weekly was a part of.
One-stop services
Tourists arriving at Korea’s Incheon International Airport can find the Medical Tourism Information Center, which offers a rest area, information on medical institutions and travel agencies, and free Internet access.
In Seoul, foreigners can visit the Medical Tourism Promotion Center for a professional medical consultation. There, they can also use a BMI (body mass index) machine, a stress measurement device, and a blood pressure meter for free.
All hospitals we visited have reception desks for foreigners providing all services they need, including hospital and hotel reservations, consultations, payments, and more.

A room at Andong Hospital’s Guesthouse. Photo by Fang Pei

Managers at Andong, Bumin, Good Gang-An and Wonkwang University hospitals ensured us that they currently have professional interpreters who can help translate between Korean doctors and foreign patients.
With the growing number of Chinese and Russian visitors to Korean hospitals, many hospitals now provide booklets in Russian and in Chinese.
Good Gang-An Hospital said 90 percent of its foreign patients are currently from Russia. The number of foreign patients there has increased from only 88 in 2009 to 347 in 2010 and 285 in the first eight months of 2011. Bumin Hospital revealed it had so far received 420 foreign patients, including 70 from Russia and 40 from China.
Andong Hospital offers its Good Morning Health Tour program that allows guests to receive comprehensive medical check-ups and health examinations while staying at the Andong Hospital Guesthouse with comfortable and luxurious rooms overlooking the Nakdong River, said Kang Shin Hong, execute director of Andong Hospital Group.
Visitors to Andong have also a chance to discover many tourist attractions there, including the Bongjung-sa Temple built during Chosun dynasty in 672, the ancient Hahwae Village, the Wolyyoung Bridge - the largest wooden bridge in Korea, the Andong City Folk Museum and Gyemyoung-san Natural Forest.
Da Vinci Robot

Get healthy, swim in the Dead Sea-21 July, 2009

The mostly desert kingdom of Jordan is looking to the US to tap into the multi-billion dollar medical tourism market.

"Come here, do your surgery. Afterward, have a vacation, visit Petra, swim in the Dead Sea," said Dr. Fawzi al-Hammouri, the head of Jordan's Private Hospitals Association.

He was listing the country's most popular tourism destinations. Jordan hospitals are offering package deals, including air travel.

"All this, inclusive, is less than 25 percent of what you have to pay in the U.S.," he said.
The push -- which includes a Web campaign and a visit by a group of U.S. health care specialists and insurers -- is a key part of the country's strategy to develop new services and industries, according to tourism observers. Unlike many of its neighbors, Jordan lacks oil wealth and relies on tourism, worker remittances, foreign investments and aid for its revenue.
With health costs climbing eight percent each year in the U.S., experts say medical tourism has been drawing more Americans looking for anything from cardiac care to plastic surgery.

About 600,000 Americans -- roughly 25 percent of medical tourists -- will travel abroad for surgery this year, according to Paul Keckley, executive director of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions in Washington, D.C. It's an industry that will gross about $4 billion in 2009, he projected. Other experts estimate it could bring in ten times that level this year.

The World Bank has ranked Jordan number one in the region as a medical tourism destination, followed closely by Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, and Israel. It said the kingdom ranked fifth in the world in terms of medical tourism destinations.

Report by David Wilkening

Little Girl needs help

A father named Hung doesn’t sleep at night anymore. His daughter, named Ha, is suffering from hypogastrium cancer. She may only have a few more months to live. Medical expenses are far beyond what the family can afford. Their most valuable asset is a tiny, old house.

Ho Van Hung and his daughter at the Central Pediatrics Hospital.

Ho Van Hung, from Dien Kim, Dien Chau, Nghe An, is 33 years old. But people might think he is more than 40 because a hard life has left many wrinkles on his face.

A few weeks ago, Hung took his daughter to the Central Pediatrics Hospital. He was worried but hopeful. But he has had to bring his child back home in pain. The father feels helpless knowing that his little girl might be leaving him and his family forever, and he doesn't know what to do to prevent it.

Hung said his family discovered baby Ha was sick a few months ago. One day when she was playing with her grandmother and little sister, Ha's grandmother happened to touch her tummy and felt a hard lump. She was brought to a district-level hospital. Doctors there told the family to take the child to the provincial hospital.

At the provincial hospital, Ha was diagnosed as having a tumour in her stomach and they conducted an operation to cut out the growth. As the tumour was big (as big as an egg), they sent it to the Poland Hospital in Nghe An for testing. The results suggested it was only a benign tumor.

One month later, Ha often cried due to stomach pain, for the lump had returned, and soon her left leg became swollen. The family took her back to the hospital. This time they were advised to go to the Central Pediatrics Hospital in Hanoi.

The day Hung took their daughter to Hanoi, his wife had no more tears to cry. She couldn't go with them to take care of Ha herself, as she needed to take care of the two other children (a five- and a one-and-a-half year old) as well as their elderly parents.

Till that day, no member of the family had ever left Nghe An. Every day, they had earned around VND30,000 ($8-9) from producing salt. They borrowed VND10 million ($590) from relatives and neighbours to take Ha to Hanoi.

Doctors at the Central Pediatrics Hospital diagnosed Ha with stage-3 hypogastrium cancer. Although it had not yet metastasised, it was still very dangerous. This form of cancer is very rare and often hospitals cannot help. The possibility of being cured from hypogastrium cancer is quite low, about 30% according to international medical research.

Another disadvantage in Ha's case is that her reaction to chemotherapy was unclear, meaning that even if the treatment is continued, the doctors are not confident if that would help, notwithstanding the potential side-effects of chemotherapy: high fever, bad infection, or worse, hemorrhaging in the brain, lungs, or even death. Moreover, medication is very expensive.

Doctors said without treatment, she might only live for a few more months. As time goes by, the tumour gets bigger and will press down on internal organs; the cancer will likely metastasise to the bones, liver, etc. which will cause Ha considerable pain, as well as urination and bowel movement disorders.

Hung felt like the sky just crashed down on him. All that he had worried about had come true. The painful feeling of being helpless broke him down.

When Ha was in the hospital, he spent as little as possible to save the money he borrowed from friends for Ha's medical expenses. He got Ha a corn on the cob for breakfast, a loaf of bread for lunch, and a VND10,000 ($0.5) dinner. Whatever his daughter didn't eat, that was his meal.

"I ate just enough to take care of her, but that of course is not enough for a man,” he said.

"My wife was planning to ask for a bank loan to cure our daughter, but since I'm the head of the household, the bank required me to be there for the paperwork. I couldn’t leave Ha here, and I couldn’t let my wife come to Hanoi herself to take my place with Ha, she doesn't know the way around.”

He said he was taking Ha back home, but wasn't sure if he would be able to bring her back for treatment.

"It's so hard to decide. If we knew she would be cured, we would definitely sell our house. But the doctors said her chance to live is so slim, if we sold everything, what if we'd ended up losing her, losing our house and can't take care of our other children?"

Tears ran down the broken-hearted father's cheeks. He pulled his little girl into his arms and cried.

"Raising her this long, this much, how can I let her go? But what else can we do now? It's all up to fate."

Holding Ha in one arm, a duffle bag with all of their clothes in the other, he was leaving for the bus to go back to Nghe An. At home, Ha's mother, her sister and brother, her grandparents are waiting.

Readers who would like to help out Ha and her family, please contact Mr. Ho Van Hung at: Team 1, Kim Lien village, Dien Kim commune, Dien Chau district, the central province of Nghe An; Tel: 84-01696651273.

VietNamNet/VNE

Patients Flocking to Asia for Low Cost, Quality Treatment

RNCOS has released a report on the Asian medical tourism industry "Asian Medical Tourism Analysis (2008-2012)"- which says that Asia represents the world's most potential medical tourism market. The region accounted for nearly 12.7% of the global market and generated US$ 3.4 Billion revenues in 2007. The market is anticipated to remain strong in future too, registering a CAGR growth of 17.6% during 2007-2012.According to the report, the medical tourism market has been hitting it big due to improving healthcare infrastructure in the region. Countries, particularly India, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, are successfully meeting the demand for quality healthcare through world-class medical infrastructure and trained medical professionals, including tertiary hospital care. Most of the medical professionals in these countries are trained in world-class institutions abroad. Hence, hospitals provide foreign patients highly qualified, board-certified physicians, medical technicians, and top-tier nursing staff, together with highly personalized care. As a result, the success rate of complicated surgeries and patient satisfaction is very high.Another important factor pushing up the medical tourism in the Asian countries is low cost, says the report. Treatment cost in the Asian countries is very low against the developed countries. For instance , it ranges from one half to one-fifth of the prices in the US and other developed countries. Moreover, in some cases, the treatment cost is as less as 80% of the cost abroad. However, it depends on the destination country and the type of procedure to be performed."Asian Medical Tourism Analysis (2008-2012)" comprehensively studies the Asian medical tourism market and provides past, current and future overview on the five major Asian medical tourism markets - India, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines. It identifies vast differences between the various Asian tourism markets in terms of cost, infrastructure, patient perception, human resources, and level of government support. The RNCOS study gives statistical data on the market size, tourist arrivals, infrastructure and accreditations on all the five countries, complemented with analytical profiles on these markets. It thoroughly studies the market and provides forecast on its various segments, including medical tourism market and medical tourist arrivals by country.About RNCOS:RNCOS, incorporated in the year 2002, is an industry research firm. It has a team of industry experts who analyze data collected from credible sources. They provide industry insights and analysis that helps corporations to take timely and accurate business decision in today's globally competitive environment.For more information visit: http://rncos.com/Report/IM105.htmCurrent Industry News: http://www.rncos.com/Blog/

Cutting- Edge Technology at Bangkok Hospital Offers Hope to Patients With Tumors

Until recently, patients with inoperable tumors had little recourse to improve their conditions. But Bangkok Hospital Medical Center now offers advanced technology that literally provides a ray of hope.
(I-Newswire) - Bangkok, Thailand ( NetSweets ) June 30, 2008 – Patients with brain tumors for decades have had limited options for treatment, but the latest cutting-edge technology at the Bangkok Hospital Medical Center now offers hope.Previously, many patients could not be treated with radiotherapy because their tumors were too close to critical brain structures. Bangkok Hospital Medical Center ( BMC ) has acquired Novalis technology that involves shaped-beam radiation surgery, meaning many of these tumors can now be treated.Novalis shapes the radiation beams to match the exact shape of the tumor or lesion. The result is the tumor or lesion receives its prescribed dose of radiation, while avoiding critical tissues and organs. The primary advantages of stereotactic radiosurgery are its precision and minimal risk. Equipped with highly sophisticated computer-based imaging techniques, Novalis delivers the radiation beam with high precision and produces a sharp radiation dose gradient at the tumor and normal tissue boundary.It is the most clinically advanced cancer treatment option for patients often considered to have inoperable tumors,” says Jason Chandler, Novalis’ national sales manager.The Novalis procedure is non-invasive, painless and eliminates the risks associated with major surgery. Many patients are able to have shaped-beam surgery as a day treatment procedure.The actual treatment session typically takes less than 30 minutes. This involves the movement of the Novalis machine around the head or body as the focused beams converge on the target. Multiple radiation beams radiate the tumor from different angles. The invisible radiation is not felt at all.Novalis technology was initially used to treat tumors and lesions in the brain, head and neck. The latest upgrades have increased the accuracy and reliability, allowing its use on inoperable tumors in the spine, lungs, liver, breast, prostate and other areas in the body.Novaris may be the treatment of choice for patients whose doctors cannot perform traditional surgery because of the increased risk of harming critical structures inside the brain, BMC says. According to the Bangkok Hospital Medical Center, the latest cutting-edge technology gives patients a fighting chance to overcome their illnesses and a better quality of life after treatment.