Feature

‘Clinical’ly potent

Clinical tourism is not just about cosmetology. Sanjeev Bhar explores the growth potential of this branch of medical tourism

Medical tourism is the latest buzzword in the Indian tourism scenario. While India's medical tourism is on a growth path there is a subset of medical tourism branching out separately, clinical tourism, which is at a very nascent stage in India. "India offers cultural uniqueness along with the best of medical treatments coming from a pool of highly qualified and experienced doctors. Hence, we have a potential to grow and go a long way in clinical tourism," avers Dr K M Kapoor, senior consultant and head (Department of Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery) at Fortis Hospital Chandigarh. "I regularly operate upon foreigners and NRIs and the numbers are increasing with every passing month," he adds.

Fact of the matter

Clinical tourism is actually all about rectifying minor injuries connected to ENT, cosmetic touch up, liposuction, orthopaedic surgeries, implants, hair grafting, dental correction, etc. Preventive health check-up is another draw for this segment, as concerns about health in the western world are increasing and they are turning to India for treatment. Clinical tourism is neither about major transplants, nor is it about holistic healing. Many in the industry believe that clinical tourism has tremendous potential to grow on its own as a separate branch. Therefore, India has very reason to be optimistic about the link between India's promotion as the destination of the century for travel and the fact that the country provides excellent facilities for cosmetic surgery, etc at a fraction of the cost?

New and niche

This is one aspect of tourism, which is not bound by season and is a year-round activity. It goes beyond clinical conferences, which attract medical practitioners and other related professionals. According to G V K Shashtri, general manager, MICE & business development, Travel Corporation of India (TCI), "We now need to look at clinical tourism seriously. India needs to begin with consultancy first, and then proceed ahead." Currently, India needs to adopt a specialised focus in order to promote clinical tourism as a separate entity and the first goal would be to identify the market and see if it has the potential to grow.

Dr Bidhan Das, director, operations, Rockland Hospital Delhi says, "There are many treatments where hospitalisation is not required. With the advancement in medical science and in technology, things have become much easier. Hospitals in India have good infrastructure and facilities, and nowadays there are special 'day care centres' which can be useful for the purpose of clinical tourism."

Realising the worth of this special branch of medical tourism, tour operators are of the opinion that the time is right for the government and other sectors to come together and realise the potential of this facet of tourism. "Tourism ministry should form a committee and make people from the medical fraternity, travel and hospitality to come together to carve out a strategy," opines Shastri. He further states, "Without a co-ordinated effort and a joint approach the segment won't grow, and we might miss out an opportunity of revenue generation."

Tourists coming to India have a viable option of getting the best of pre and post-treatment facilities, which otherwise costs double in the West. Emphasising on cosmetic needs, Kapoor says, "What also prompts the growth of this form of tourism is the sheer affordability of treatment in India as opposed to the exorbitant costs of cosmetic surgery abroad.” Shastri adds yet another angle, "We need to upgrade tele-medicine facilities to set up a base for clinical tourism. Medical transcription is doing well; we just need to further its scope."

India advantage

Indian expertise in the field of medicine has been well documented and acknowledged. It is a country, which has a rich tradition of providing holistic medicinal services like yoga, meditation, Ayurveda, etc and skilled doctors. Kapoor informs that in US alone, 33 per cent of doctors are of Indian origin who are basically ambassadors of high competence and goodwill.

Anil K Maini, president-corporate development, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, adds, "Attractive prices, good clinical outcomes, no waiting periods, low infection rates and traditional Indian hospitality are our positive points." The segment is being bolstered with setting up of a large number of corporate and private hospitals, which boast of state-of-the-art equipment and nursing care.

Kapoor highlights the potential of clinical tourism saying, "We have a high cost differential with western countries for example the cost of breast augmentation is approximately 1,500-1,700 pounds in India while the same is more than 4000-5000 pounds in Western countries. Cosmetic surgery and cosmetic medicine industry is more than 500 billion dollars world wide and even if we get a one per cent share, it will be a huge advantage for tourism." The Quality Council of India (QCI) gives accreditation to hospitals and hence a definite treatment standard is ensured.

Push and promotion

It is the right time to get into clinical tourism and nurture the possibilities is the general consensus. "The government has to provide special incentives and tax breaks to doctors, and hospitals earning foreign exchange on the lines of the IT and hotel industry," opines Kapoor.

According to Kapoor, like Thailand and Singapore, who are aggressively marketing their hospitals and healthcare facilities and even a few key doctors, India also needs to aggressive international marketing for this segment. "It is time to promote medical tourism packages on Incredible India campaign brochures, highlighting every possible area, including clinical tourism," concludes Kapoor.

Echoing his sentiments Shastri adds, "Travel agents and tour operators should now float packages combining both the clinical and leisure aspects of tourism. The itinerary should focus on a tourist spending minimum time for clinical needs with the rest being allocated for relaxation, sightseeing etc. Tourists are bound to get attracted to such an option and we already have some plans in the pipeline and will be identifying hospitals which can serve these kind of tourists. Our target markets are the countries from the Middle East and Europe."