Medical Tourism in India
Health Tourism India
It is a new concept whereby people from world over visit India for their medical treatment. Heart surgery, knee transplant, cosmetic surgery and dental care are the most common treatment modalities which attract patients from various countries. The main reasons for India becoming a favorable 'medical' destination are the infrastructure and technology which is at par with those in USA, UK and Europe. The cost of such 'state of the art' treatment is very low in India. Moreover, India has some of the best hospitals in the world with the best facilities. Since it is also one of the most favorable tourist destinations in the world, medication combined with tourism has come into effect, from which the concept of Medical Tourism is derived.
As health care cost has gone sky high, patients in the developed world are looking overseas for medical treatment. India is capitalizing on its low cost and highly trained and competent doctors to attract these patients. The cost of coming to India for surgery can be markedly cheaper, and the quality of services is often better than that found in the United States and UK.
Many countries have developed links for speedy treatments in India for their nationals on account of the fact that in these countries one has to wait for extended periods of time to undergo operations.
In India, medical treatment is not only fast but also costs a fraction of what it costs in USA or Europe. Even tale-consultancy is available for expert opinion and transmission facilities. Some of the states have already established themselves as destinations for health care and medical tourism. The growing need is for high level specialized treatments like cardiac surgery, transplants, cancer treatment, neuro-surgery, and many more.
Why is India most suitable ?
Indian corporate hospitals excel in cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery, joint replacement, orthopedic surgery, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, transplants and urology to name a few. The various specialties covered are Neurology, Neurosurgery, Oncology, Ophthalmology, Rheumatology, Endocrinology, ENT, Pediatrics, Pediatric Surgery, Pediatric Neurology, Urology, Nephrology, Dermatology, Dentistry, Plastic Surgery, Gynecology, Pulmonology, Psychiatry, General Medicine & General Surgery.
The various facilities in India include full body pathology, comprehensive physical and gynecological examinations, dental checkup, eye checkup, diet consultation, audiometry, spirometry, stress & lifestyle management, pap smear, digital Chest X-ray, 12 lead ECG, 2D echo color Doppler, gold standard DXA bone densitometry, body fat analysis, coronary risk markers, cancer risk markers, carotid color Doppler, spiral CT scan and high strength MRI. Each test is carried out by professional M.D. physicians, and is comprehensive yet pain-free.
There is also a gamut of services ranging from General Radiography, Ultra Sonography, Mammography to high end services like Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Digital Subtraction Angiography along with intervention procedures, Nuclear Imaging. The diagnostic facilities offered in India are comprehensive to include Laboratory services, Imaging, Cardiology, Neurology and Pulmonology. The Laboratory services include biochemistry, hematology, microbiology, serology, histopathology, transfusion medicine and RIA.
All medical investigations are conducted on the latest, technologically advanced diagnostic equipment. Stringent quality assurance exercises ensure reliable and high quality test results. 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 may become 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. In fact, priority treatment is provided today in Indian hospitals.
The Apollo Group, Escorts Hospitals in New Delhi and Jaslok Hospitals in Mumbai are to name a few which are established names even abroad. A list of corporate hospitals such as Global Hospitals, CARE and Dr L.V. Prasad Eye Hospitals in Hyderabad, The Hindujas and NM Excellence in Mumbai, also have built capabilities and are handling a steadily increasing flow of foreign patients. India has much more expertise than say Thailand or Malaysia. The infrastructure in some of India's hospitals is also very good. What is more significant is that the costs are much less, almost one-third of those in other Asian countries.