Viewpoint

A healthy trend

Gour Kanjilal

India is being increasingly seen as a destination for medical tourism of international repute. Medical tourism in India is worth Rs 1,200 crore and growing at an average rate of 20 per cent. The quality of Indian doctors is undisputed the world over and are well accepted for their expertise. India has made some special reckoning in this field and the one which goes in its favour is faster treatment compared to the western countries.

Overseas, the waiting part is the most disturbing and patients always look for fast treatment and quick recovery. The waiting period for low end surgery is very high abroad (in UK, thousands of patients wait for eye operations alone). Moreover, India has the largest population of doctors of MD level in the world and boasts of surgeons who have been trained in the US and the UK.

Best of the best

India is well-equipped to offer the best of services with its modern and state-of-the-art medical service infrastructure and this facility is scattered all over the country. They all follow modern technology. The treatment in India is often supplemented with traditional systems such as naturopathy and ayurveda. These alternative medicines work well. India has an advantage over other countries not only in terms of cost (which is about a tenth of UK and US, and a fifth of that in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore), but also in terms of English-speaking doctors and paramedical staff. Their personalised attention also makes the real difference.

Complete privacy is maintained and most leading hospitals have a website that offers customised solutions, reservation and coordination. This has helped market the service and tour operators, travel agents and specialty clinics have made team efforts to promote medical packages abroad. They are talking about pre/post treatment procedures and offer recuperation holiday packages for clients and their attendants. India offers a good number of recuperation getaways in and around every metropolitan city.

These agents/tour operators develop links with overseas insurance companies too. For India, VFR traffic from the Middle East, UK, USA, Canada are the prime mover as many of the NRIs who have large family and are not covered for children beyond permissible limits (say above two children per family) India is the place for low cost medical treatment. Guests for medical tourism is possible from neighboring countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka, where medical system is not that developed.

Statistics never lie

Foreign patients coming to Indian hospitals for treatment are expected to contribute about 15 per cent of total earnings by corporate hospitals by 2009. As given to understand from corporate hospitals overseas, patients currently contribute between nine to 12 per cent of the total revenue and is expected to grow significantly (around 15 per cent) by 2010. According to a CII report, more than 1.5 lakh foreign patients visited India for medical purposes last year.

The author was deputy director general/regional director, Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India and presently works as executive director with IATO, New Delhi