Medical Tourism

What is Medical Tourism?

The concept of travelling to other countries for lower cost of medical care and treatment is a recent phenomenon.  This new trend has especially become popular among Americans and Europeans for getting the same care and quality of medical treatment in other countries at a much lower cost. 

Why Medical Tourism?

Depending on the destination these patients choose, the savings can be meaningful amounts, in some case more than 50%. Many patients pay for healthcare out of their pocket, especially the ones who may not be insured or under-insured seeking less expensive medical care or even those who seek expensive cosmetic or dental procedures. Among the most popular treatments are the cosmetic and dental treatments as these are mostly not covered by insurance. Among the insured clients, Cardiovascular or Orthopaedic procedures are most popular as these procedures are very expensive in US & Europe.  Even the increasing cost of insurance has given rise to the percentage of population which is either uninsured or semi-insured. In some cases like those in Canada, the waiting time to get an appointment could be 3 – 4 months. Similar issues have been experienced in UK. In SAARC, Africas and Middle East, issues pertaining limited advanced care facilities have been seen.

India - Medical Tourism destination

India is poised as the hub of Medical Tourism for many years to come because of the progress that India has made in the field of medical and travel. India's efforts to promote medical tourism started in 2002 in a study jointly carried out by the CII and McKinsey.Some of the reports suggest that India's medical tourism is growing at a rate of 15% or even more and is could generate a billion dollar revenue by 2010. India has also been recognized for its educations system which produces thousands of new doctors and medical support staff each year. Some of the hospitals in India can be compared to the best in the world with state of the art facilities.

India - Competitive Advantage

Patients in the US are used to being examined by doctors of foreign origin, especially recognizing the competency of Indian physicians, which makes them comfortable to be able to travel to India for medical procedures. Even in USA, one of six physician is an Indian. Another important advantage that India has is the language. English is a language the is used for all professional services extensively which makes it easier for the interaction between the patients and the medical practitioners here.

Some of the differences that a foreign patient would find in India are the care, compassion, hospitality and friendliness. In India most patients spend more time in the hospital than they would in their own country because of the post operative care that is provided to them here.

Lately, a lot of foreign tourists are coming to India to understand and use the alternate medical propositions like Ayurvedic streams of medicines, Naturopathy, Yoga apart from rejuvenation alternatives like the Kerela massages.

Information on Hospitals, Doctors and Care facilitators is now becoming available. Some of the doctors and hospitals have full information about the services and facilities on their websites. The media has also started showcasing the comparable environment for medical treatment in India for the overseas patients. Indian insurance companies have also proactively started talking to their overseas partners for treating their beneficiaries in India. WonderDoctor also provides enhanced information on some of the doctors having specialized skill sets and can organize an online consultation before the patient decides to come to India for treatments and / or medical procedures.

Preliminary professional guidance suggested

As the patients are away from their support network, the only advice we would give is to do complete study before coming and seek help of a professional organization having experience in medical travel. Though the quality of healthcare for the poor in India is undeniably low, some of the private facilities being offered here are using the advanced technology and procedures which are comparable with hospitals in developed countries. A professional help can help you identify these specialized hospitals and also make all necessary travel arrangements including boarding, lodging and local conveyance.