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MEDICAL TOURISM
Developed countries like USA and UK are today facing a
severe crisis of shortage of nurses and doctors. The aging
population and ever improving life expectancy are
stretching the already strained medical resources.
Compared to a long wait a patient has to undergo for a
surgical procedure, the same can be got done in India in a
matter of weeks and that too in less than half the cost. A
heart surgery that would cost $30,000 (or approximately Rs.
1,290,000) in the U.S. costs approximately $7,000 (or Rs.
301,000) in India. A bone marrow transplant procedure
would run up a bill of $250,000 (or Rs. 10,750,000) in the
U.S. versus $30,000 (or Rs. 1,290,000) in India.
India
has the cost advantage, the technology and clinical
expertise and manpower to be an international health
destination. Clinical outcomes in India are at par with
the world’s best centers. However, in order to foster a
sense of trust and safety in the minds of the foreign
patients, Indian hospitals are getting their hospitals
benchmarked for quality by trusted accreditation agencies.
Already, six Indian hospitals have got Joint Commission
International (JCI)
accreditation. These are
Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, Delhi,
Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai,
Apollo
Hospital, Chennai
&
Apollo Hospital, Hyderabad,
Shroff Eye Hospital,
Mumbai,
and
Asian Heart Institute, Mumbai.
Again, National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and
Healthcare Providers
(NABH),
a
constituent board of Quality Council of India, provides
certification of benchmark standards for hospitals and
other healthcare organizations in India. Two
Max Healthcare hospitals got NABH certification
recently. It is advantage India in promoting medical
tourism. At present, an estimated 150,000 visitors from
abroad come to India for treatment.
Hospitals in India have begun tying up with prominent
hotels to promote Medical Tourism.
MAx Devki Devi Heart & Vascular Institute, New Delhi,
for example has a tie-up with Marriot Hotel in Delhi.
Fortis hospital also recommends to its prospective
foreign patients hotels near its hospital.
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