Health Tourism in India

Medical or Health Tourism is a concept where a patient travels to another country for medical
treatment in order to save costs, or get treatment faster or even to avail of better medical
facilities. Most patients from countries like USA and UK travel to developing countries such as
India for treatment because India offers some of te cheapest pricing options of treatment, offers a
good holiday, there are no waiting lists or queues to stand in, the doctors are comparable to
anyone in the world and finally, language does not pose a problem as most people speak English.

Why would someone travel to India and not to Thailand?

Although the cost difference between treatment in India and Thailand is not much, India offers
what you call a language advantage - a patient would surely prefer a country where English is
widely spoken. Also, it is believed that the facilities in India are more suited for International
patients.

India is considered the leading country promoting medical tourism-and now it is moving into a
new area of "medical outsourcing," where subcontractors provide services to the overburdened
medical care systems in western countries.
India's National Health Policy declares that treatment of foreign patients is legally an "export"
and deemed "eligible for all fiscal incentives extended to export earnings." Government and
private sector studies in India estimate that medical tourism could bring between $1 billion and
$2 billion US into the country by 2012. The reports estimate that medical tourism to India is
growing by 30 per cent a year.

India's top-rated education system is not only churning out computer programmers and
engineers, but an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 doctors and nurses each year.

With an increasing number of foreign patients flocking to India for treatment, India could earn
Rs.100 billion through 'Medical Tourism' by 2012, a study has indicated.

According to the study conducted by the Confederation of Indian Industry and McKinsey
consultants, last year some 150,000 foreigners visited India for treatment, with the number rising
by 15 per cent a year.

With a large pool of highly trained doctors and low treatment cost, healthcare aims to replicate
the Indian software sector's success. Built on acres of land the new sleek medical centres of
excellence offer developed world treatment at developing world prices, a report in 'The
Guardian' said today.

A number of private hospitals also offer packages designed to attract wealthy foreign patients,
with airport-to-hospital bed car service, in-room internet access and private chefs. Another trend
is to combine surgery in India with a yoga holiday or trip to the world famous Taj Mahal.
The report said it is not just cost but competency that is India's selling point. Naresh Trehan, who
worked as a heart surgeon in Manhattan but returned to start Escorts hospital group in India, was
quoted as saying that his hospital in Delhi completed 4,200 heart operations last year.

India is also working hard to increase it's infrastructure to better suit the needs of patients coming
to India for treatments such as heart surgey, knee replacement, other orthopaedic treatments,
cosmetic surgery, eye care, dental treatment or any other treatment for that matter. This is one of
the primary fields which India intends to explore during the coming years.
How can you trust Indian Doctors?

Well, many highly qualified doctors have had some form of training from abroad , specially
USA and UK. Indian surgeons and doctors are known for their skill and research throughout the
world.

A NICE blend of top-class medical expertise at attractive prices is helping a growing number of
Indian corporate hospitals lure foreign patients, including from developed nations such as the UK
and the US. If a liver transplant costs in the range of Rs 60 lakh-70 lakh in Europe and double
that in the US, a few Indian hospitals, such as Global in Hyderabad, have the wherewithal to do
it in around Rs 15 lakh-20 lakh. Similarly, if a heart surgery in the US costs about Rs 20 lakh, the
Chennai-headquartered Apollo Hospitals Group does it in roughly Rs 2 lakh.

As more and more patients from Europe, the US and other affluent nations with high medicare
costs look for effective options, India is pitted against Thailand, Singapore and some other Asian
countries, which have good hospitals, salubrious climate and tourist destinations. While Thailand
and Singapore with their advanced medical facilities and built-in medical tourism options have
been drawing foreign patients of the order of a couple of lakhs per annum, the rapidly expanding
Indian corporate hospital sector has been able to get a few thousands for treatment.

But, things are going to change drastically in favour of India, especially in view of the high
quality expertise of medical professionals, backed by the fast improving equipment and nursing
facilities, and above all, the cost-effectiveness of the package, said some of the hospitals
Business Line spoke to.
Medical tourism: Next big forex earner

Medical tourism is likely to be the next major foreign exchange earner for India as an
increasing number of patients, unwilling to accept long queues in Europe or high costs in the
US, are travelling to the country to undergo surgery, according to a media report.
Medical tourism is on the rise with more people from the United States, Europe and the
Middle East seeking Indian hospitals as a cheap and safe alternative, says an article in an
upcoming issue of Bloomberg Markets magazine. The report says Indian doctors are setting up
what could be a medical renaissance in their country and the next great boom for the Indian
economy.
Many Indian hospitals are coming together to improve the quality of health care, boost first
impressions and aiming for $2.3 billion in annual revenue by 2012, it says.
Instead of paying $2,00,000 for a mitral valve surgery in the US, a patient could travel to India
and receive the same treatment for $6,700.
Similarly, rather than paying 15,000 pounds Sterling for hip resurfacing in the UK, a patient
can get the same procedure for 5,000 pounds in India, including surgery, airfare and hotel stay,
the magazine says.

Would you do it? Has a cheaper workforce enabled India to compete in a field many thought
could never flourish in that country? These are the questions many people throughout the
world have been asking themselves, and increasingly the answer is yes, Bloomberg Markets
says.

Medical insurance is seen as the fastest growing segment in the Indian economy.
A recent outcome of the privatisation of health services in India has been the growth of
medical tourism to the extent that this sector is perceived as a fast-growing segment of the
economy. India is a recent entrant into this industry and is expected to become a $2-billion
business by 2012.

The driving force behind medical tourism is its cost effectiveness and the possibility of
attracting substantial tourism revenue. Medical care, packaged with traditional therapies like
yoga, meditation, ayurveda, allopathy, and other traditional systems of medicines, attract high-
end tourists especially from European countries and the Middle East.

Kerala has pioneered health and medical tourism in India. But low- cost treatment is the
ultimate factor weighing in favour of India. Medical care costs only one-fifth of the costs in
the West. So if a particular surgery costs $30,000 in the West, it would cost only $6,000 in
 India.

India has gained acceptance in areas of medical care such as organ transplant, knee
replacement, open-heart surgery and others because of the efforts of the corporate sector in the
medical as well as tourism industry. The state-of-the-art equipment and well-qualified
practitioners at these hospitals is what attract patients from other countries.

It is estimated that foreigners account for about 12 per cent of all patients in top hospitals of
Mumbai, like Lilavati, Jaslok, Breach Candy, Bombay Hospital, Hinduja Hospital, Apollo and
Wockhardt.

India has over 150000 medical tourists each year and this figure is rising at a high pace. Some
recent programs recently on BBC and CNBC have reinstated the fact that medical tourism is a
good idea if - you want to save costs, you need the treatment to be done at your time and
convenience; you need a high quality budget incorporated.

Many people from the developed world come to India for the rejuvenation promised by yoga and
ayurvedic massage, but few consider it a destination for hip replacements or brain surgery.
Yet that's exactly what the government in the Indian state of Maharashtra hopes will happen
soon. Together with the state's business sector and private health-care providers it recently
launched the Medical Tourism Council (MTC) of Maharashtra. Its aim: to make India a prime
destination for medical tourists.

At its swish offices in central Bombay, also known as Mumbai, members of the council explain
the concept. Bombay, they argue, has private hospitals on a par with the best in the world.
Many of the surgeons at hospitals such as the Hinduja are leaders in their field, working with the
best equipment available.

But they can provide their expertise at a fraction of the price that comparable surgery would cost
in Europe or the United States.