Several overseas patients are flocking to India where medical tourism is picking up and end-to-end solutions are being offered
Doctor Z India Pvt. Ltd. has been launched in Punjab’s capital Chandigarh to cater to the maddening rush of patients coming from US, Britain, Europe, South Africa and east African countries. Famed as an exceptional medical tourism company in northern India, the establishment was founded by a group of doctors to offer uninterrupted services – including pickups from the airport and scheduling doctor’s appointments to NRI clients.
In India, a surge has been noticed in the number of foreigners and NRI’s coming in to avail of treatments for heart diseases, knee replacement and cosmetic surgeries. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) estimates that medical tourism in the country is over $310 million at present and the number is predicted to escalate further by $2 billion in 2012.
With Doctor Z India’s early arrival in this flourishing zone, it is certain that the company is looking to eat the biggest share of the market’s pie. "Medical tourism is one of the fastest growing businesses in the world. Till now, it has been confined to a few selected hospitals in India. Doctor Z has moved a step ahead with the aim of establishing international patient care centres in our hospitals very soon," said Zora Singh, president of the Chandigarh chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and managing director of the Desh Bhagat group of institutes.
What do medical tourism companies do?
Mostly through its end-to-end solutions, these companies in India take care of arrival and departure of the guests, fix appointments with doctors and hospitals, arrange hotels, secure hospital rooms and look after post-operative needs.
Still, 'medical tourism' is not a very organized sector in India. It is reported that people schedule their own visits and appointments at various hospitals in private hospitals in Chandigarh, Mohali, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar.
Why India?
Indian hospitals are now at par with hospitals in developed countries & highly advanced medical technologies are being employed there. Foreign patients are increasingly getting aware of this and prefer treatments in India since the cost involved is much low and the expertise of doctors quite high. "A majority of the patients who come to India for treatment are NRIs living in the UK and the US. Chandigarh is set to become a hub for medical tourism in the region as nearly 1.25 lakh (125,000) NRIs visit the city every year," said cosmetic surgeon Tejinder Bhatti. "Most of the foreign patients undergoing cosmetic surgeries in India are generally middle aged - with a desire for a younger, better look," he added.
In the United States, a heart surgery could costs over $30,000 (INR Rs.13.50 lakh). But patients can avail the same treatment in India for almost $8,000 (INR Rs.3.60 lakh). The waiting time for a knee transplant in the US is around two years and for heart surgery about a year. No wonder, patients are compelled to look for other options outside the United States to procure better medical treatments.
Doctor Z India
Doctor Z India has established partnerships with hospital chains such as Fortis and Ivy in Mohali (10 km from here), Alchemist in Panchkula (15 km from here), and Inscol in Chandigarh. Plus, it has also introduced a green channel, an online registration system and other facilities to enhance interaction with patients around the world.
Do lower costs mean compromising on quality?
"We need to ensure that even if the cost of the treatments here is less, no compromises are made on the quality of services," said Gurbir Singh, medical director and regional medical advisor at Mohali's Fortis Hospital, one of the most frequented medical facilities by foreign patients. "Moreover, the sensitivities of foreign patients must be respected when you are inviting them for treatment here. Coming from different countries and continents, they have different expectations" Singh added.
Besides Chandigarh, Jaipur – the Pink City of India – has been recently accredited by AAPI as a centre for medical tourism. AAPI was established in 1982 to protect the interests of Indian-American physicians in the US. "AAPI is committed to provide logistic support for health tourism development in India, a choice destination as it provides state-of-the-art amenities for treatments like hip and knee replacements and cardiac surgery, high quality of healthcare infrastructure and low costs," AAPI President Dr. Singhvi said.
"This time we will be working towards bringing curriculum of some needed fellowship programmes like infectious diseases, allergy and immunology, geriatrics and wound care and hyperbaric medicine in India" he added.
With medical tourism gathering steam in India, it is certain that the country is on its was for further technological advancement and progress in this sector.
source | http://www.healthcare-digital.com/blogs/editor/medical-tourism-picking-momentum-india