KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia is set to raise its profile in healthcare travel through an international guide on medical services in the country.

The Malaysian edition of Patients Beyond Borders, considered the Lonely Planet of healthcare tourism, will improve the nation's prominence among Westerners seeking affordable world-class medical treatments.

The book will allow local medical centres to capitalise on the Western market, which is under tapped. Of the 375,000 medical tourists who came to Malaysia last year, less than 8 per cent were from the United States or Europe.

The Patients Beyond Borders: Malaysia edition will be launched by Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen on July 21 at the International Healthcare Conference and Exhibition 2009 at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

The 240-page guidebook offers an overview of the country's 30-plus private hospitals, health travel agents and accommodation.

Author Josef Woodman said Malaysia's advantage was in its affordable healthcare, great infrastructure and language-friendly environment.

"Malaysia is one of the top destinations as it is less expensive than Singapore and Thailand. It also has great infrastructure, is easy to get around in and English is widely spoken here," he told the New Straits Times on the sidelines of the Healthcare Travel Exhibition and Congress in Singapore recently.

Patients Beyond Borders: Malaysia Edition will be sold at Kinokuniya and Borders book stores. It will also be available online through Amazon and Kindle.

--NST