For example, in April Madras Medical Mission, a Chennai-based
hospital, successfully conducted a complex heart operation on an 87-year-old
American patient at a reported cost of $8,000 (€7,000, £4,850)
including the cost of his airfare and a month's stay in hospital. The
patient claimed that a less complex operation in America had earlier cost
him $40,000.
Take the rising popularity of "preventive health screening". At
one private clinic in London a thorough men's health check-up that includes
blood tests, electro-cardiogram tests, chest x-rays, lung tests and
abdominal ultrasound costs £345 ($574, €500).
According to Hari Prasad, vice-president of Apollo Hospitals in Hyderabad,
foreigners should have confidence in India's medical system because many
Britons and Americans are accustomed to being treated by expatriate Indian
doctors. In any case, most private healthcare providers hold modest
ambitions about which foreign patients would come to India seeking
treatment.
There is a potential market of some 12m expatriate Indians who
would combine regular visits to India and save time and money by undergoing
non-emergency procedures such as eye operations, dental work, cosmetic
surgery and knee surgery
Source:
The Financial Times
India's rise in medical tourism
India is cashing in on its reputation for quality care with surgery
available for rock-bottom prices
There was a time when doing a search for “India” and “surgery”
on the internet simply came up with reports about knee operations on
cricketers from the sub-continent. Now dozens of agencies and hospitals
offering top-quality surgery at rock-bottom prices top the listings.
In just five years Indian health tourism industry has exploded, with hospitals
currently estimated to treat 150,000 foreigners a year. A Confederation of
Indian Industry report predicts that health tourism to india will be worth $1
billion to the economy by 2012. An agency that specializes in putting
prospective patients in touch with Indian hospitals claims that the industry
is growing at the rate of 30 per cent a year. Official figures indicate that
visitors from 55 countries come to India for treatment but the biggest
growth in business is from the UK and America.
Why is India so popular? Cost is the driving factor. Patients wanting
prompt private treatment usually pay 20-50 per cent of the UK cost for
surgery. A single knee replacement in the UK costs about £9,000 but a
Madras clinic quotes the operation at £2,150. The agency Surgery Abroad
International offers breast enlargement operations in India for £1,000,
compared with about £3,500.
The quality of medical facilities and staff in India is increasingly rated
internationally. About £50 million has been invested by private
healthcare companies in India in the past decade. In addition, about 75 per
cent of healthcare services in India are now in the private sector and new
private hospitals with state of the art equipment have been built in many of
the big cities. The Indian Tourist Board lists dozens of recommended
hospitals for cardiology, orthopaedics, keyhole surgery, oncology, cosmetic
surgery and holistic healthcare .There is also a good supply of
well-qualified doctors and experienced surgeons.
The Department of Health advises anybody considering surgery abroad to
consider every angle first. “Think about the standard of the facility,
the qualifications and experience of the doctor and what you can do if
something goes wrong,” a spokesman says.
By times online
Medical
Tourism: Heal Better, Heal Faster
Quality medical treatment at low cost, coupled with great traveling
experience is possibly the perfect way to recover from any medical ailment.
Medical treatment is a costly affair in developed nations that has made
patients from these countries thinks twice before undergoing any medical
treatment in their own country. As such, they find it more beneficial to
avail treatment in foreign countries offering similar and even better
medical services at a far more economical cost. An inexpensive vacation
package combined with a low cost medical treatment has led to the evolution
of a new but rapidly growing industry called medical tourism.
One of the reasons leading to the growth in health tourism to india is the
availability of quality medical services at a comparatively low cost in some
of the developing countries. Another factor that has contributed to the
growth of indian health tourism is the increased degree of convenience associated
with it. Some countries functioning through a public health-care system
often result in long delay in the required medical treatment.
The waiting period for a hip replacement surgery may even take more than a
year or two which can eventually leave the patient in excruciating pain for
all those years. Similar medical procedures are initiated in matter of few
days in leading medical tourism destinations like India. Proper medical
treatment followed by an exotic vacation can be a great aid in speedy
recovery. Medical Tourism packages not only offer patients the opportunity
for world-class treatment at affordable price but also provide them with an
enchanting holiday experience.
Why India
The countries where medical tourism is being actively promoted include
Greece, South Africa, Jordan, India, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore.
India is a recent entrant into medical tourism. According to a study by
McKinsey and the Confederation of Indian Industry, medical tourism in India
could become a $1 billion business by 2012. The Indian government predicts
that India's $17-billion-a-year health-care industry could grow 13 per cent
in each of the next six years, boosted by medical tourism, which industry
watchers say is growing at 30 per cent annually.
Price advantage is a major selling point. The slogan, thus is, "First
World treatment' at Third World prices". The cost differential across
the board is huge: only a tenth and sometimes even a sixteenth of the cost
in the West. Open-heart surgery could cost up to $70,000 in Britain and up
to $150,000 in the US; in India's best hospitals it could cost between
$3,000 and $10,000. Knee surgery (on both knees) costs 350,000 rupees
($7,700) in India; in Britain this costs £10,000 ($16,950), more than
twice as much. Dental, eye and cosmetic surgeries in Western countries cost
three to four times as much as in India.
India have a lot of hospitals offering world class treatments in nearly
every medical sector such as cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery, joint
replacement, orthopedic surgery, gastroenterology, ophthalmology,
transplants and urology to name a few.
For long promoted for its cultural and scenic beauty, India is now being
put up on international map as a heaven for those seeking quality and
affordable healthcare. Analysts say that as many as 150,000 medical tourists
came to India in 2004. As Indian corporate hospitals are on par, if not
better than the best hospitals in Thailand, Singapore, etc there is scope
for improvement, and the country is becoming a preferred medical
destination. In addition to the increasingly top class medical care, a big
draw for foreign patients is also the very minimal or hardly any waitlist as
is common in European or American hospitals.
Promoting Medical Tourism In India
Medical tourism focuses on treatment of acute illness, elective surgeries
such as cardiology and cancer, among others. From October this year, the
Government plans to start overseas marketing of India as a medical tourism
destination. Senior Government officials say that the formalities for
marketing medical facilities to a global audience have already started and
they hope to complete the process of price banding of hospitals in various
cities by the third quarter of this year. The government of India is of the
opinion that by marketing India as a global medical tourism destination, it
could capitalize on the low-cost, high-quality medical care available in the
country.
Statistics show that the medical tourism industry in India is worth $333
million (Rs 1,450 crore) whiles a study by
CII-McKinsey estimates
that the country could earn Rs 5,000-10,000 crore by 2012. Probably
realizing the potential, major corporate such as the Tatas, Fortis, Max,
Wockhardt, Piramal, and the Escorts group have made significant investments
in setting up modern hospitals in major cities. Many have also designed
special packages for patients, including airport pickups, visa assistance
and board and lodging.
Among the factors that make India an attractive proposition for medical
treatment is cost efficiency. The estimated cost for a heart surgery in the
U.S is $30,000, however the same could be performed India for about $6,000.
Similarly, a bone marrow transplant could cost about $2,50,000 in the US
while it could be done here for about $26,000.
By
General Health News
