25-Oct-16 Among patients diagnosed with diabetes, only 20-30 percent of East Asian patients have normal insulin secretion, lower than the 50 percent of Western patients. A Japanese retrospective study showed that while about 80 percent of Westerners with type 2 diabetes were obese, only 30-40 percent of Taiwanese were obese and the average age of onset was younger. [image: BBC]

24-Oct-16 With the increasing demand for TCM in Singapore, the integration of three important aspects - education, clinical practice and research - is seen as essential. To kick start research efforts, Singapore's Ministry of Health has ring-fenced SGD3 mn (USD2.2 mn) to encourage collaborative clinical research in TCM. [image: Yahoo! / Singapore Business Review]

17-Oct-16 Singapore's medical tourism receipts were SGD1.1 bn (USD791 mn) in 2012, dropping to SGD994 mn (USD715 mn) in 2014. Southeast Asia's medical tourists are looking elsewhere for treatment. In Singapore, a hip replacement at a private hospital costs SGD14,000. The same procedure at Mahkota Medical Centre in Malaysia - which treats 80,000 foreign patients annually - costs only SGD8,800. [image: The Straits Times]

17-Oct-16 India is looking at ways of persuading Chinese medical tourists to go to India. Having attracted patients from Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, India is now targeting the Chinese market. More Chinese are suffering from diabetes and cancer, lifestyle diseases. The traditional “Come to us as we are very cheap” approach will not work in China. [image: IMTJ]

22-Oct-16 China's has plans to develop a far-reaching social credit system, a plan that the Communist Party hopes will build a culture of “sincerity” and a “harmonious socialist society". The plan attempts to control China's poorly regulated market economy, to punish companies selling poisoned food or phony medicine, to expose doctors taking bribes and uncover con men. [image: Independent]