31-Mar-15 One out of five patients in Malaysia's private hospitals is expected to turn to the overburdened public healthcare system after a new Goods & Services Tax (GST) is implemented on 1-Apr-15. The Malaysian Medical Association stressed that the shift is expected to be a temporary one lasting three to four months, pending medical insurance top-ups. [image: Saw Siow Feng / Malay Mail Online]

30-Mar-15 Latin American pharmacy chains are expanding both in terms of geography and breadth of services. In Chile, Colombia and Peru, over 75% of pharmacy retailing is controlled by 3 or 4 large players. As these markets consolidate, foreign giants are expected to take note and show interest in entering the region. [image: Global Health Intelligence]

30-Mar-15 It may be in China that the digital innovations which will eventually transform healthcare everywhere will first take hold. The country’s Internet companies see a huge opportunity. Alibaba Health has launched an app that lets users find nearby pharmacies. Tencent has a doctor appointment system using WeChat and WePay. Beijing’s government is using Baidu’s 'health cloud' service. [image: Bloomberg View]

29-Mar-15 The Drugs Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has notified the Medical Devices Rules 2015, bringing medical devices under comprehensive regulatory control for the first time in Pakistan. The country now claims to be ahead of its neighbours such as India and Bangladesh with respect to regulations specific to medical devices. [image: Fahrenheit211]

27-Mar-15 In the wake of PT Mitra Keluarga Karyasehat's successful IPO in Jakarta, financial analysts in Indonesia say that publicly-traded companies in the healthcare and hospital sector are set to see a brighter business outlook, as Indonesians are increasingly becoming more concerned about their health, especially the growing middle classes. This trend is supported by various government initiatives. [image: Tempo]