By Abdul Hakkim A & Deeneshwaran M

Medical tourism is the travel of people toanother country for the purpose of obtainingmedical treatment in that country.

i.e. medical care in collaboration with the tourism industryfor patients needing surgical and other forms of specializedtreatment.

Lack of Medical treatments and Facilities within their country

Healthcare may be too expensive at home

Waiting time may be too long To access Alternate Medical

treatment

Internationally accredited medical facilities using the latest technologies

Has one of the best qualified professionals in each and every field, and this fact has now been realized the world over.

Is renowned for ancient alternative therapies such as Ayurveda,Yoga and Therapeutic Massage

60-80% Less expense when compared to similar procedures in western countries

India has state of the art Hospitals Fluent English speaking staff With the best infrastructure, the best possible

Medical facilities, comparable with any of the western countries

Options for private room, translator, dedicated staff during their stay

Alternative

• Ayurvedics, Siddha treatments• Kerala is popular in this service

Wellness• Spa, Stress relief, Rejuvenation centres• Key Competitor: Thailand

Life saving

• Open transplant, Cardio vascular surgery, Hip replacement• Key Competitors: Singapore, Jordan & Thailand

Cosmetics

• Plastic surgery, Breast enhancement, Skin treatment• Key Competitors: South Africa & Cuba

Dental Care Eye Care Heart Surgery Cosmetic Surgery Ayurvedic Therapies Yoga and Meditation Orthopedic Surgery Health Check Up Cardiology

Pediatrics ENT Care Gastroenterology Nephrology Neuro Surgery Oncology Ophthalmology Psychiatry Genitourinary Care

Patient prequel

Dest./hospital selection

Arrange follow up care

Travel to selected hospital

Treatment

Recovery abroad

Travel back

Follow up care

1.Quality of treatment▪ Doctors – procedures - infrastructures

2.Connectivity 3.Cost of treatment 4.Ease of access

▪ Visa – pre procedure documentation 5.Purchase

▪ Travel itinerary – terms of paymentPre p

roce

dure

stag

e

1.Management of hospital▪ Admission▪ Attention to patient needs

2.Competence of Doctors and Staff▪ Doctors available when required▪ Quick & responsive staff

3.Facilitation and care▪ Linguist abilities of doctors and staff▪ Affordable accommodation

Proc

edur

e sta

ge

1.Discharge instructions 2.Self explanatory billing 3.Post procedure monitoring 4.Availability of prescribed medicines

home country 5.Oppurtunity for consultation after

getting back home

Post

pro

cedu

re s

tage

The government has also started issuing M (medical) visa to the medical patients and MX visas to two attendants accompanying him.

Attendants are who have blood relations with the patient

Foreigners coming on ‘M visa’ will be required to get themselves registered mandatorily well within the period of 14 days of arrival with the concerned FRROs/ FROs

visa may be upto a period of one year or the period of treatment whichever less

can be extended for a further period upto one year by the State Government/ FRROs

Any further extension will be granted by the Ministry of Home Affairs only on the recommendations of the State Government/ FRROs supported by appropriate Medical documents.

Such visa will be valid for maximum three entries during one year. State Government/ FRROs may permit one additional entry in emergent situation if required.

Accreditation is one important component in patient safety Accreditation Canada, formerly known as the

Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation – 1968

Joint Commission International (JCI) ( USA) Australian Council for Healthcare Standards

International, or ACHSI (Australia) Trent Accreditation Scheme (UK) Accreditation of France (France)

The International Society for Qualityin Health Care (ISQua) is an umbrella organisation for such organisationsproviding international health care

accreditation. ISQua is a small non-profit limited company

with members in over 70 countries.

A body set up to ensure safety and hygiene norms for hospitalin India

Board member of the InternationalSociety for Quality in Health Care (lSQua)

on board of Asian Society for Quality in Healthcare (ASQua)

No. Name Location Date Of Accreditation

1 Aditya Birla Health Services Ltd. Pune, India Since 14 Dec 2012

2 Ahalia Foundation Eye Hospital Palakkad, India Since 31 Dec 2009

3 Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals Kolkata, India Since 23 Jan 2009

4 Apollo Hospital, Bangalore Bangalore, India Since 17 July 2008

5 Apollo Hospital, Chennai Chennai, India Since 28 Jan 2006

6 Apollo Hospital, Hyderabad Hyderabad, India Since 27 April 2006

7 Artemis Health Institute Gurgaon, India Since 11 Jan 2013

8 Asian Heart Institute Mumbai, India Since 19 Oct 2006

9 Fortis Escort Heart Institute New Delhi, India Since 19 Feb 2010

10 Fortis Hospital, Bangalore Bangalore, India Since 8 Feb 2008

No. Name Location Date Of Accreditation

11 Fortis Hospital, Mohali Mohali, India Since 14 June 2007

12 Fortis Hospital, Mulund Mumbai, India Since 25 Aug 2005

13 Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals New Delhi, India Since 17 June 2005

14 Medanta- The Medcity Gurgaon, India Since 30 Aug 2013

15 Moolchand Hospital New Delhi, India Since 4 Dec 2009

16 Narayan Institute Of Cardiac Sciences Bangalore, India Since 20 Jan 2011

17 Narayan Multispecialty Hospital, Jaipur Jaipur, India Since 26 July 2012

18 Satgur Partap Singh Apollo Hospital Ludhiana, India Since 2 Feb 2007

19 Sri Ramachandra Medical Center Chennai, India Since 6 Feb 2009

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Thailand India China singapore south korea Malaysia Spain Indonesia Germany Phillippines Costa Rica

JCI Accredited Hospitals

Market size is estimated to reach a market worth $32.5 billion in 2019 at a CAGR of 17.9% from 2015 to 2019

30 % yearly growth There are approx. 50 million uninsured

Americans which are willing to go abroad for affordable and quality medical care

900000 Americans traveled abroad for medical care in 2014

Country Treatment

Antigua Addiction and Recovery

Barbados Fertility/IVF

Brazil Cosmetic Surgery

Costa Rica Dentistry

Hungary Dentistry

India Orthopedics, Cardiology

Israel Fertility/IVF

Malaysia Health Screenings

Mexico Dentistry, Bariatric

Singapore Cancer

South Africa Cosmetic Surgery, Cardiac

Thailand Everything

Turkey Vision

The illegal purchase of organs and tissues for transplantation had been methodically documented and studied in countries such as India,China,Colombia and the Philippines.

Legal remedies for medical malpractice may be unappealing to the medical tourist

Challenging to differentiate between acceptable medical innovation and unacceptable patient exploitation

Medical tourism sector in India is still in anascent stage. The medical tourism industryoffers high potential for India primarilybecause of its inherent advantages in terms ofcost and quality. However in the wake ofmounting competition, there is a dire need ofcareful policy intervention so as to reap thefull benefits from inherent advantages andenhanced capabilities.