News and views about Medical Tourism in India

Weekly news updates on health travel in India

Medi cities are being planned across different cities in India. Employment opportunities are on the rise in the health care and pharmaceutical sector.

Chillibreeze Business Research Team

Medical tourism is an emerging trend

Global competition is an emerging trend in the health care industry as a growing number of high-quality health care facilities in developing countries have begun catering to so-called "medical tourists" or "medical travelers" from other countries. 

Uninsured patients and those from countries where care is rationed by waiting are also attracted to high-quality health care that is up to 80 percent less expensive than the cost of care in the United States, say Milica Z. Bookman, professor of economics at St. Joseph's University and Rudy Rupak, founder of PlanetHospital.com.

July 27, 2007
Source: Daily Policy Digest

A healthier future...

Medical cities could change the way medical education and research and development is conducted in India, taking it from public to private to corporate. The Indian ratio of doctors to population stands small at 0.6 doctors per 1,000 people, the world average being 1.8 per 1,000.

Dr Naresh Trehan, President of the Indian Healthcare Federation is planning the Rs 1,250 crore MediCity in Gurgaon. Other corporate medi cities being planned:

• Fortis Medicity
• Apollo Health City
• MIOT medical city
• Dhirubhai Ambani Health City
• CMC Ajit Singh lottery medicity

Jul 27, 2007
Source: Business Standard

The Future Trends of the Economic Environment of India Has Been Analyzed inside New Report along with Its Impact on the Healthcare Industry Today

Research and Markets announces the addition of new Frost & Sullivan report Economic Analysis for the Indian Healthcare Industry to their offering.

Modernization of the healthcare systems and greater collaboration with the healthcare industry to provide innovative drugs, modern medical equipment, better healthcare services, as well as expand healthcare insurance are the primary aims of the Indian Government. It has stated in the National Health Policy that it hopes to increase the number of healthcare centers in remote areas and improve supply of essential healthcare services by boosting the public healthcare expenditure to 2.0 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2010.

India is to become one of the largest and fastest growing economies in the world. The GDP and gross capital formation are expected to increase sturdily and the inflation rate is likely to reduce. The Government is also implementing suitable policies to considerably lower the unemployment rate.

India is fast emerging as a regional hub for healthcare services, attracting patients from various countries. In fact, medical tourism is one of the most promising and dynamic sectors of the industry. Key healthcare initiatives undertaken by the government include establishment of new regulatory bodies, launch of several healthcare programs, and changes in patent laws. It is also implementing Telemedicine, one of the largest healthcare projects in the world, to revolutionize the delivery of healthcare services using information and communications technology.

Frost & Sullivan’s Healthcare Country Industry Forecast provides vital inputs for evaluating the attractiveness of a country and its healthcare industry.

July 24, 2007
Source: Business Wire

Evolving from generics

The human resource demand for the health care sector is on the rise. Hospitals need doctors as well as service and technical personnel and drugs manufacturers need researchers and technicians of various types.

A career in pharmaceutical research or health care is promising option.

Multinationals like AstraZeneca and Indian players like Ranbaxy and Dr. Reddy’s are actively doing drug research in India. Cipla and Ranbaxy are also developing generic versions of branded global drugs at cheaper rates. There are research jobs at institutes such as the Central Drug Research Institute in Lucknow, the National Chemical Laboratory in Pune, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology in Hyderabad.

July 24, 2007
Source: Hindustan Times

Healthcare, pharma & biotech: key players

Employment growth in biotechnology is 10 times that in other life science industries. Several jobs are available in R&D, manufacturing and quality control.

Top corporates in the pharmaceutical and healthcare include Apollo Hospitals, Ranbaxy, Cipla, Dr Reddy’s and Fortis.

July 24, 2007
Source: Hindustan Times

Bengal emerging hub for medical tourism

Even till a few decades after Independence, Kolkata was considered to be in the forefront of the healthcare sector in the country. It was widely felt that the government sector should take on the onus of providing healthcare facilities, at least at the primary and secondary levels. Private players could, however, come in at the tertiary level, where speciality healthcare services were required.

The pressure of a burgeoning population coupled with constraints pertaining to resources and available infrastructure ensured that the government sector was found wanting when it came to delivery of healthcare services. Gradually, the number of people who came to Kolkata from other eastern States and the North-East for medical treatment started dwindling. Indeed, many people from West Bengal, as also from other neighbouring States, headed for South, West and North India for specialised medical treatment.

However, since the mid-1990s, the trend appears to have been reversed. In the last few years, West Bengal has zeroed in on its strategy for the healthcare sector. A health policy has been formulated towards this end. Among other things, the policy focuses on the importance of PPP in healthcare and its delivery mechanism. Several latest healthcare facilities have been set up by the private sector even as the State Government has been proactive in encouraging public private partnerships (PPP) in this sector.

The PPP model pursued by the State Government does not involve only the private sector but also non-government organisations and community-based organisations. In the last 10-15 years, several new healthcare facilities have come up in the city. While there are many healthcare institutions and allied service providers, there are a few whose names merit special mention. They include:

CALCUTTA MEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE: Set up in 1969, the Calcutta Medical Research Institute (CMRI) is the first private hospital to be set up in the city. Since then, the hospital has emerged as a leading multi-speciality tertiary care hospital with ISO 9001:2000 certification. Its pathology laboratory has received NABL accreditation from the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India.

B.M. BIRLA HEART RESEARCH CENTRE: Set up in 1989, B.M. Birla Hearth Research Centre (BMBHRC) is eastern India’s first, dedicated and super speciality cardiac care facility. The comprehensive cardiac care facility offers complete cardiac care, with the latest digital cath lab, 64 slice cardiac CT scan, EECP therapy, EP study, gamma camera, lifestyle guidance clinic, etc. It provides critical cardiac care for infants and children.

B.P. PODDAR HOSPITAL & MEDICAL RESEARCH CENTRE: Set up in the posh New Alipore area, B.P. Poddar Hospital & Medical Research Centre is a 220-bedded, multi-speciality hospital that has established itself as a leading edge healthcare provider in the city. It also offers a learning environment where medical experts come together to promote research and patient care.

ANANDALOK HOSPITAL: Motivated by the spirit of “Manav Seva”, Mr D.K. Saraf began his life’s journey with utmost dedication nearly two-and-a-half decades ago. Today, Anandalok Hospital, the healthcare facility he founded, epitomises quality healthcare at affordable costs.

BASIL INTERNATIONAL LTD: There is no better antidote than nature cure and natural wellness. And this has been well understood by the Mumbai-based Basil International Ltd, which is setting up two resorts that are aimed at promoting wellness, rejuvenation and good health.

NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY LTD: Healthcare insurance policies offer wide coverage and continuous protection against unforeseen health contingencies. For a small price, healthcare insurance policies help to bring affordability in healthcare for one and all. National Insurance Company Ltd offers various schemes that include Mediclaim Insurance, Vidyarthi Mediclaim for students, Parivar Mediclaim for families and Varistha Mediclaim for senior citizens.

July 18, 2007
Source: The Hindu Businessline

Cougar to focus on medical tourism

Better infrastructure and a higher number of inbound tourists has made Cougar Resorts & Travels (CRT) aim at tapping the medical tourism segment. Arun Raghavan, its director, says, "Undergoing even a minor treatment in the west is expensive vis-à-vis here. About 25 to 30 per cent of the inbound tourists can be tapped for medical tourism."

An increasing number of hospitals are equipped with world-class facilities and it is a known fact that surgeries in India are almost half as expensive as its western counterparts because of next to nothing import duties. "Healthcare is another issue in the west," added Raghavan, "Patients are on a never-ending waiting list and going to private doctors is not a feasible option for the common man." In case of medical tourism, tour operators often send their prospective clients' medical records to the concerned hospitals. The doctors go through these records and interact via e-mails or have telephonic conversations to build confidence of the patient. Once the patient is convinced, they arrange for travel either themselves or through a travel agent.

"We take care of the patient's entire journey and hospitals too play an integral part in this process. Some even facilitate pick-ups and stay of the relatives within the hospital premises and if advised by the doctors, we incorporate leisure activities in the itinerary," concluded Raghavan.

July 17, 2007
Source: www.expresstravelworld.com

Healthcare expansion brings more jobs

It is the era of health and a booming healthcare industry is testimony to it. While the Government increases seats in medical and paramedical colleges, private universities are into an expansion mode. Not just conventional medical courses, even students of science courses can now hope for high-end career prospects, all of which portend a much bigger and expansive reach for healthcare.

The net result: more foreign nationals are now seeking India for its lower cost and reliable medical services. Medical tourism has arrived in India. It has also taught Indian healthcare industry to become competitive and provide the best not only to the international but to the local patient too.

In the past few years the major super speciality hospitals in Chennai have been playing host to a number of foreign nationals who seek treatment for even difficult procedures. The success in complex surgical procedures has made smaller hospitals also to look up to the examples set by larger corporate hospitals. Rajah Muthiah Medical College Hospital of Annamalai Nagar is expanding its horizons. By next year it will become a super speciality hospital.

While the medical fraternity concentrates on research, surgeries and procedures, paramedical support systems are also looking up. Hospitals with 50 beds conduct certificate courses for laboratory technicians and larger hospitals with over 200 beds have nursing courses.

Despite major strides in the clinical field, India still imports about 90 per cent of the instruments used by the medical fraternity. This is a neglected area and has currently seen a rising interest and demand to make them indigenously. The country is looking to making a range of instruments from those needed for pathogen detection to automated clinical machines. Developing such instrumentations would need multidisciplinary approach involving biological and medical researchers, clinicians, instrumentation engineers.

July 16, 2007
Source: The Hindu