Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital
Chiang Mai University Medical Hub
Chiang Mai is one of four provinces in Thailand which has been selected by the government to be a future Medical Health Hub. Recognized for its solid medical infrastructure, welcoming people, attractive culture and environment, deep and multi-faceted academic resources, easy access and spirit of hospitality, Chiang Mai, along with three other provinces, has received large government subsidies to develop its medical tourist market.
Since the government began to promote Thailand as a medical tourist destination in 2003, Thailand’s medical tourist industry has grown exponentially. To further this expansion, Chiang Mai University, which has had a reputed faculty of medicine for over 60 years (founded in 1959), has been tasked with creating a strategy to support this government initiative.
Chiang Mai University’s Faculty of Medicine has decades of research under its belt, with access to a wealth of resources and data which can support Chiang Mai’s vision of becoming a medical tourist hub. The university’s Maharaj Nakorn Hospital has served Thailand’s northern population for decades by pooling its resources together with its medical experts available in all fields. The university’s Sriphat Medical Center has been founded to expedite medical services to private patients and the university’s Center of Medical Excellence Clinic has concentrated on research and development to support sustainable medical needs. The personnel, the facilities, the infrastructure and the skills are all resources which the university has to help realize the government’s vision.
Chiang Mai’s welcoming nature: a strong draw to attract medical tourists
Chiang Mai Medical and Health Hub
Center for Medical Excellence Clinic
The Medical Hub will use an academic-focused approach to offer medical services that utilizes health science know-how and academic resources,” said Professor Pongruk Sribanditmongkol, M.D., Ph.D., Vice President of Chiang Mai University who is heading this project.
Professor Pongruk Sribanditmongkol, M.D., Ph.D.
Vice President of Chiang Mai University
“We have an army of medical personnel, with a history of producing medical doctors with expertise in a myriad of fields, all of whom we continue to foster and support. For instance, we send our physicians to world renowned medical centers to gain experience and expertise in various fields of study such as liver transplants, so that we can now perform liver transplants for northern patients without the need to send them to Bangkok. Today most liver transplant or heart patients are treated right here in Chiang Mai. We can also diagnose, x-ray and treat complex cancers and have a smooth management system to support all aspects of service, from our expanding language skills for customer care to medical expertise. We are more than capable of becoming a medical hub.”
The Chiang Mai Medical Health Hub is also interlinked with the city’s tourist infrastructure that is already fine-tuned to support the industry’s growth.
“I believe that people all over Thailand and from other parts of the world will come here for medical treatment,” added Professor Pongruk. “The medical hub will have 450 beds, with any surplus being of benefit to local patients too. This project will employ many people in the medical profession as well as caterers, drivers and other service providers and we anticipate around four to five billion baht per year to be injected into the local economy.”