Medical services deficit to provide vast opportunities, say analysts

Public healthcare providers can’t handle the demand, they added.

Asia’s predominantly ageing demographic has spiked demand for medical services, and analysts say this is to provide robust opportunities for private healthcare firms.

According to a report by BMI Research, the shift in lifestyles among Asia's population has also resulted in a significant uptrend for conditions such as diabetes

“According to the International Diabetes Federation, South Asia alone is expected to see the number of people with the disease to increase by 31mn over the next 25years to 73mn,” the report noted.

Meanwhile, the demand isn’t unlikely to be fully met by public healthcare providers.

“This is particularly acute in the developing markets where physician-to population ratios continue to fall below the World Health Organization recommended 1 per 1,000. Australia, for example, had 43 doctors per 1,000 people in 2015, as compared to Vietnam's 8,” the report said.

“We highlight that this shortfall is even more severe for specialists - Indonesia has only 0.008 obstetricians and gynaecologists in 2014 per 1,000 people. This creates a significant gap within the respective emerging markets that can be filled by private healthcare providers,” the report added.