help required in medical tourism project

nehasharmabms

Par 100 posts (V.I.P)
humm good topic and some one has made a project on the same also plz surf the site properly iam sure u will find something i guess u should look out in upload/download projects section
 

vengabeats

Par 100 posts (V.I.P)
pramod_iyer87 said:
Hey,
I am doing the 100 mks project in medical tourism........i need some data.........plzzz help if u can......thnks


Hey Pramod, can u give us a brief idea bout the topic and also what u had collected :tea:
 

s_m2024

New member
some article c if it helps u.font size may make u read it wid sm interest i guess so
Medical tourism growing worldwide

Futurist Marvin Cetron, founder and president of Forecasting International, serves on the advisory board of UD’s Department of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management.
11:34 a.m., July 25, 2005--Falling ill while abroad seems like the worst sort of traveling nightmare. Yet, for growing numbers of travelers, the lure of combining affordable medical care with attentive room service is a chief draw for packing a suitcase and boarding a plane.

Here, UDaily previews excerpts from an article by Frederick J. DeMicco, ARAMARK Chair in Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management and department chairperson, and Marvin Cetron, founder and president of Forecasting International, on the growing trend of medical tourism. In Q&A format, both experts share abridged portions of their views from an article soon to be published in the FIU (Florida International University) Hospitality Review.

DeMicco and Cetron, along with Owen Davies, a consultant for Forecasting International, also have coauthored a recently published book on tourism trends titled, Hospitality 2010: The Future of Hospitality and Travel.

Medical tourists have good cause to seek out care beyond the United States for many reasons. In some regions of the world, state-of-the-art medical facilities are hard to come by, if they exist at all; in other countries, the public health-care system is so overburdened that it can take years to get needed care. In Britain and Canada, for instance, the waiting period for a hip replacement can be a year or more, while in Bangkok or Bangalore, a patient can be in the operating room the morning after getting off a plane.

For many medical tourists, though, the real attraction is price. The cost of surgery in India, Thailand or South Africa can be one-tenth of what it is in the United States or Western Europe, and sometimes even less. A heart-valve replacement that would cost $200,000 or more in the U.S., for example, goes for $10,000 in India--and that includes round-trip airfare and a brief vacation package. Similarly, a metal-free dental bridge worth $5,500 in the U.S. costs $500 in India, a knee replacement in Thailand with six days of physical therapy costs about one-fifth of what it would in the States, and Lasik eye surgery worth $3,700 in the U.S. is available in many other countries for only $730. Cosmetic surgery savings are even greater: A full facelift that would cost $20,000 in the U.S. runs about $1,250 in South Africa.

The savings sound very attractive, but a good new hip and a nice new face don’t seem like the sort of things anyone would want to bargain with. How does the balance of savings versus risk pay off in terms of success rates?
Inferior medical care would not be worth having at any price, and some skeptics warn that Third World surgery cannot possibly be as good as that available in the United States. In fact, there have been cases of botched plastic surgery, particularly from Mexican clinics in the days before anyone figured out what a gold mine cheap, high-quality care could be for the developing countries.

Yet, the hospitals and clinics that cater to the tourist market often are among the best in the world, and many are staffed by physicians trained at major medical centers in the United States and Europe.

Bangkok’s Bumrundgrad hospital has more than 200 surgeons who are board-certified in the United States, and one of Singapore’s major hospitals is a branch of the prestigious Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. In a field where experience is as important as technology, Escorts Heart Institute and Research Center in Delhi and Faridabad, India, performs nearly 15,000 heart operations every year, and the death rate among patients during surgery is only 0.8 percent--less than half that of most major hospitals in the United States.

In some countries, clinics are backed by sophisticated research infrastructures as well. India is among the world’s leading countries for biotechnology research, while both India and South Korea are pushing ahead with stem cell research at a level approached only in Britain. In many foreign clinics, too, the doctors are supported by more registered nurses per patient than in any Western facility, and some clinics provide single-patient rooms that resemble guestrooms in four-star hotels, with a nurse dedicated to each patient 24 hours a day.


Frederick J. DeMicco, ARAMARK Chair in Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management and department chairperson
Add to this the fact that some clinics assign patients a personal assistant for the posthospital recovery period and throw in a vacation incentive as well, and the deal gets even more attractive. Additionally, many Asian airlines offer frequent-flyer miles to ease the cost of returning for follow-up visits.

How is the medical tourism trend being tracked and what trends, if any, do gathered statistics show?Ten years ago, medical tourism was hardly large enough to be noticed. Today, more than 250,000 patients per year visit Singapore alone--nearly half of them from the Middle East. This year, approximately half a million foreign patients will travel to India for medical care, whereas in 2002, the number was only 150,000.

In monetary terms, experts estimate that medical tourism could bring India as much as $2.2 billion per year by 2012. Argentina, Costa Rica, Cuba, Jamaica, South Africa, Jordan, Malaysia, Hungary, Latvia and Estonia all have broken into this lucrative market as well, or are trying to do so, and more countries join the list every year.

What sort of trends in medical tourism do you foresee in the near future?
Some important trends guarantee that the market for medical tourism will continue to expand in the years ahead. By 2015, the health of the vast Baby Boom generation will have begun its slow, final decline, and, with more than 220 million Boomers in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, this represents a significant market for inexpensive, high-quality medical care.

Medical tourism will be particularly attractive in the United States, where an estimated 43 million people are without health insurance and 120 million without dental coverage--numbers that are both likely to grow. Patients in Britain, Canada and other countries with long waiting lists for major surgery will be just as eager to take advantage of foreign health-care options.

Which countries are significant leaders in the medical tourism industry?
Major centers for medical tourism are Bangkok and Phuket, with six medical facilities in Bangkok boasting hospital accreditation from the United States.

As in most tourist-oriented medical communities, the major attractions are cosmetic surgery and dental treatments. However, eye surgery, kidney dialysis and organ transplantation also are among the most common procedures sought by medical vacationers in Thailand.


Cetron and DeMicco, along with Owen Davies, a consultant for Forecasting International, coauthored the recently published ‘Hospitality 2010: The Future of Hospitality and Travel.’
For a few patients, Phuket has another attraction as well: Bangkok Phuket Hospital is the premier place to go for sex-change surgery. In fact, that is one of the top 10 procedures for which patients visit Thailand.

India is a relative newcomer to medical tourism, but is quickly catching up with Thailand, and recent estimates indicate that the number of foreign patients is growing there by 30 percent each year.

Looking ahead, are there any medical technologies or procedures in which particular countries excel?
India has top-notch centers for open-heart surgery, pediatric heart surgery, hip and knee replacement, cosmetic surgery, dentistry, bone marrow transplants and cancer therapy, and virtually all of India’s clinics are equipped with the latest electronic and medical diagnostic equipment.

Unlike many of its competitors in medical tourism, India also has the technological sophistication and infrastructure to maintain its market niche, and Indian pharmaceuticals meet the stringent requirements of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Additionally, India’s quality of care is up to American standards, and some Indian medical centers even provide services that are uncommon elsewhere. For example, hip surgery patients in India can opt for a hip-resurfacing procedure, in which damaged bone is scraped away and replaced with chrome alloy--an operation that costs less and causes less post-operative trauma than the traditional replacement procedure performed in the U.S.

For North American patients, Costa Rica is the chosen destination for inexpensive, high-quality medical care without a trans-Pacific flight, and it is the particular mecca for westerners seeking plastic surgery.

South Africa also draws many cosmetic surgery patients, especially from Europe, and many South African clinics offer packages that include personal assistants, visits with trained therapists, trips to top beauty salons, post-operative care in luxury hotels and safaris or other vacation incentives. Because the South African rand has such a long-standing low rate on the foreign-exchange market, medical tourism packages there tend to be perpetual bargains as well.

Additionally, Argentina ranks high for plastic surgery, and Hungary draws large numbers of patients from Western Europe and the U.S. for high-quality cosmetic and dental procedures that cost half of what they would in Germany and America.

Lastly, Dubai--a destination already known as a luxury vacation paradise--is scheduled to open the Dubai Healthcare City by 2010. Situated on the Red Sea, this clinic will be the largest international medical center between Europe and Southeast Asia. Slated to include a new branch of the Harvard Medical School, it also may be the most prestigious foreign clinic on the horizon.

Article by Becca Hutchinson
Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson and Jack Buxbaum
 

s_m2024

New member
some more

THE most recent trend in privatisation of health services is medical tourism, which is gaining prominence in developing countries. Globalisation has promoted a consumerist culture, thereby promoting goods and services that can feed the aspirations arising from this culture. This has had its effect in the health sector too, with the emergence of a private sector that thrives by servicing a small percentage of the population that has the ability to “buy” medical care at the rates at which the “high end” of the private medical sector provides such care. This has changed the character of the medical care sector, with the entry of the corporate sector. Corporate run institutions are seized with the necessity to maximise profits and expand their coverage. These objectives face a constraint in the form of the relatively small size of the population in developing countries that can afford services offered by such institutions. In this background, corporate interests in the Medical Care sector are looking for opportunities that go beyond the limited domestic “market” for high cost medical care. This is the genesis of the “medical tourism” industry.



MEDICAL TOURISM AS AN INDUSTRY

Medical tourism can be broadly defined as provision of ‘cost effective’ private medical care in collaboration with the tourism industry for patients needing surgical and other forms of specialized treatment. This process is being facilitated by the corporate sector involved in medical care as well as the tourism industry - both private and public.



In many developing countries it is being actively promoted by the government’s official policy. India’s National Health policy 2002, for example, says: “To capitalise on the comparative cost advantage enjoyed by domestic health facilities in the secondary and tertiary sector, the policy will encourage the supply of services to patients of foreign origin on payment. The rendering of such services on payment in foreign exchange will be treated as ‘deemed exports’ and will be made eligible for all fiscal incentives extended to export earnings”. The formulation draws from recommendations that the corporate sector has been making in India and specifically from the “Policy Framework for Reforms in Health Care”, drafted by the prime minister’s Advisory Council on Trade and Industry, headed by Mukesh Ambani and Kumaramangalam Birla.



GROWTH OF THE MEDICAL TOURISM INDUSTRY

The countries where medical tourism is being actively promoted include Greece, South Africa, Jordan, India, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore. India is a recent entrant into medical tourism. According to a study by McKinsey and the Confederation of Indian Industry, medical tourism in India could become a $1 billion business by 2012. The report predicts that: “By 2012, if medical tourism were to reach 25 per cent of revenues of private up-market players, up to Rs 10,000 crore will be added to the revenues of these players”. The Indian government predicts that India’s $17-billion-a-year health-care industry could grow 13 per cent in each of the next six years, boosted by medical tourism, which industry watchers say is growing at 30 per cent annually.



In India, the Apollo group alone has so far treated 95,000 international patients, many of whom are of Indian origin. Apollo has been a forerunner in medical tourism in India and attracts patients from Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The group has tied up with hospitals in Mauritius, Tanzania, Bangladesh and Yemen besides running a hospital in Sri Lanka, and managing a hospital in Dubai.



Another corporate group running a chain of hospitals, Escorts, claims it has doubled its number of overseas patients - from 675 in 2000 to nearly 1,200 this year. Recently, the Ruby Hospital in Kolkata signed a contract with the British insurance company, BUPA. The management hopes to get British patients from the queue in the National Health Services soon. Some estimates say that foreigners account for 10 to 12 per cent of all patients in top Mumbai hospitals despite roadblocks like poor aviation connectivity, poor road infrastructure and absence of uniform quality standards.



Analysts say that as many as 150,000 medical tourists came to India last year. However, the current market for medical tourism in India is mainly limited to patients from the Middle East and South Asian economies. Some claim that the industry would flourish even without Western medical tourists. Afro-Asian people spend as much as $20 billion a year on health care outside their countries – Nigerians alone spend an estimated $1 billion a year. Most of this money would be spent in Europe and America, but it is hoped that this would now be increasingly directed to developing countries with advanced facilities.


PROMOTION OF MEDICAL TOURISM

The key “selling points” of the medical tourism industry are its “cost effectiveness” and its combination with the attractions of tourism. The latter also uses the ploy of selling the “exotica” of the countries involved as well as the packaging of health care with traditional therapies and treatment methods.



Price advantage is, of course, a major selling point. The slogan, thus is, “First World treatment’ at Third World prices”. The cost differential across the board is huge: only a tenth and sometimes even a sixteenth of the cost in the West. Open-heart surgery could cost up to $70,000 in Britain and up to $150,000 in the US; in India’s best hospitals it could cost between $3,000 and $10,000. Knee surgery (on both knees) costs 350,000 rupees ($7,700) in India; in Britain this costs £10,000 ($16,950), more than twice as much. Dental, eye and cosmetic surgeries in Western countries cost three to four times as much as in India.



The price advantage is however offset today for patients from the developed countries by concerns regarding standards, insurance coverage and other infrastructure. This is where the tourism and medical industries are trying to pool resources, and also putting pressure on the government. We shall turn to their implications later.



In India the strong tradition of traditional systems of health care in Kerala, for example, is utilised. Kerala Ayurveda centres have been established at multiple locations in various metro cities, thus highlighting the advantages of Ayurveda in health management. The health tourism focus has seen Kerala participate in various trade shows and expos wherein the advantages of this traditional form of medicine are showcased.



A generic problem with medical tourism is that it reinforces the medicalised view of health care. By promoting the notion that medical services can be bought off the shelf from the lowest priced provider anywhere in the globe, it also takes away the pressure from the government to provide comprehensive health care to all its citizens. It is a deepening of the whole notion of health care that is being pushed today which emphasises on technology and private enterprise.



The important question here is for whom is ‘cost effective’ services to be provided. Clearly the services are “cost effective” for those who can pay and in addition come from countries where medical care costs are exorbitant - because of the failure of the government to provide affordable medical care. It thus attracts only a small fraction that can pay for medical care and leaves out large sections that are denied medical care but cannot afford to pay. The demand for cost effective specialized care is coming from the developed countries where there has been a decline in public spending and rise in life expectancy and non-communicable diseases that requires specialist services.



MEDICAL TOURISM AND PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES


Medical tourism is going to only deal with large specialist hospitals run by corporate entities. It is a myth that the revenues earned by these corporates will partly revert back to finance the public sector. There is ample evidence to show that these hospitals have not honoured the conditionalities for receiving government subsidies - in terms of treatment of a certain proportion of in patients and out patients free of cost. If anything, increased demand on private hospitals due to medical tourism may result in their expansion. If they expand then they will need more professionals, which means that they will try to woo doctors from the public sector. Even today the top specialists in corporate hospitals are senior doctors drawn the public sector. Medical tourism is likely to further devalue and divert personnel from the public sector rather than strengthen them.



Urban concentration of health care providers is a well-known fact – 59 per cent of India’s practitioners (73 per cent allopathic) are located in cities, and especially metropolitan ones. Medical tourism promotes an “internal brain drain” with more health professionals being drawn to large urban centres, and within them, to large corporate run specialty institutions.



Medical tourism is going to result in a number of demands and changes in the areas of financing and regulations. There will be a greater push for encouraging private insurance tied to systems of accreditation of private hospitals. There is a huge concern in the developed countries about the quality of care and clinical expertise in developing countries and this will push for both insurance and regulatory regimes. The potential for earning revenues through medical tourism will become an important argument for private hospitals demanding more subsidies from the government in the long run. In countries like India, the corporate private sector has already received considerable subsidies in the form of land, reduced import duties for medical equipment etc. Medical tourism will only further legitimise their demands and put pressure on the government to subsidise them even more. This is worrying because the scarce resources available for health will go into subsidising the corporate sector. It thus has serious consequences for equity and cost of services and raises a very fundamental question: why should developing countries be subsidising the health care of developed countries?
 

pramod_iyer87

New member
hey,
My topic is basically about the growth and potential of medical tourism in india........and am trying to illustrate with some hospitals who have special packages for foriegn tourists for medical treatement
 

pratik_mehta7

Pratik Mehta
buddy, remember the large amount of tourist India attracts form britain, U.S, Russia Etc..

this is because the time and money required to get admitted in U.K is fantastic, it may cost you a moon. and the time required is somewhere around 9 -15 months......and that too depends on your age group........

you can also include Mediclaim and Insurance industries, as they are the grey areas.
 

ritu1985

New member
hi even i m making a project on medical tourism
can u please help me with the indian govt. ploicies regarding medical tourism..........
Thanks
 

yogin

MP Guru
Is India prepared for global medical tourism boom?



In recent years, India is being seen as an important player in the globally growing “Medical Tourism”, which is projected as a new segment in travel and healthcare business. The former Indian finance minister Jaswant Singh envisaged to make India a “Global health destination” and the budget tabled by him included government policy for collaboration between the available medical expertise in the country and tourism industry.

In simple words, medical tourism provides state-of-the-art private medical care in collaboration with tourism industry to patients from other countries at highly competitive price when compared to those prevalent in the western countries. The CII- McKinsey report mentions that the medical tourism market has been growing at the rate of 15 per cent for past five years and by 2012, Rs 10,000 crore will be added to revenues of the private players. Globally, medical tourism is said to be USD 40 billion industry and analysis available project that people from Afro-Asian countries spend as much as USD 20 billion every year on healthcare services from outside their countries.

Foremost, amongst the current private players, in medical tourism are hospitals in the Apollo chain. Main destinations are Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. These cities have private hospitals with medical expertise that can offer world class healthcare that costs one fifth to one tenth of the cost in US or Europe depending on the intervention required.

In addition to above destinations, the country has many cities with advanced medical facilities making India, a country with tremendous potential to capitalise on to increase its earnings to more than USD 1 billion annually and create hundreds of thousands new jobs in many sectors. This projection excludes earnings from other products included in the wellness tourism meant for rejuvenation of body and mind, eg herbal therapy, naturopathy, yoga, aromatherapy, reiki, music therapy which does not require advanced medical expertise.

India is relatively new entrant into this field and it has to prepare to face the already existing competition from other Asian countries, namely Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. These countries together currently attract as much as ten times more medical tourists than India. Hongkong and South Africa are emerging as big medical tourism destinations. The countries that are actively promoting medical tourism include Israel, Jordan, Thailand, Malaysia, Cuba and Costa Rica. Other countries including Greece and Croatia plan to be attractive healthcare destinations.

The trends in this new-founded tourism product are encouraging. However, there is an obvious lack of any conscious and well-founded efforts to market medical tourism by our country. The crucial partners in this industry include central government ministries of finance, tourism, health and medical entrepreneurs, tourist industry and insurance companies.

In many countries, medical tourism is promoted by the government’s official policy, which facilitates effective working of medical entrepreneurs and tourist industry to attract medical tourists. We need to go further to declaration in context to medical tourism in India’s National Health Policy 2002 drafted during the previous government.

The apprehensions expressed by some sections that “systematic development of medical tourism will boost up earnings by catering to the wealthy foreigners and Indians working in the foreign countries but it may adversely hit the low income population” need to be addressed for gaining approval of political opinions with varied views on liberalisation. ***If thought from a comprehensive and long-term prospective encouraging medical tourism as a government policy can be of immense benefit to boost Indian economy by increasing FDI, increasing employment opportunities, simultaneous expansion of tourism industry, aviation industry etc.

It will also improve healthcare delivery in the country by indirect benefits of standardisation of many aspects of healthcare delivery system, which currently is far from satisfactory.

From past ten years or so, India has entered a phase in medical expertise that is considered on par with international standards. This is because of high quality doctors and medical entrepreneurs who developed hospitals with required infrastructure and management style. Some of these hospitals have marketing departments to increase visibility and acceptance of their products in some countries.

They have got some success in overcoming prejudices of foreign patients about healthcare in developing countries. However in the current scenario, there is urgent need to streamline array of activities involved in the making India “Global health destination”. We require urgent formulation of policies and procedures by top level in the government and also co-ordination of activities of partners required to play key roles to ensure that India uses its strength in medical field to get global financial benefits.

Medical Tourism Policy

1. Kerala Health Tourism 2007 to be held in Kochi from March 23 – 26
Kerala Health Tourism (KHT) 2006 may be regarded as the starting point of promotion of tourism to Kerala. It is now deemed one of the most preferred tourism destinations in the country. To further promote the growth of medical tourism in Kerala, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), along with the Government of Kerala, is organizing the second edition of KHT to be held between March 23-26, 2007 at Hotel Le Meridien in Kochi.

At the press conference, the Kerala minister of tourism said: "Medical tourism is the fastest growing segment in tourism worldwide. In Kerala, we have taken special efforts to promote this growing sector." On congratulating CII on it's work, he further stated: "As a state, Kerala is leading in the area of medical tourism and it is expected that Kerala will be the first state in India to announce a Medical Tourism Policy. We are planning to announce the Medical Tourism Policy during the inaugural session of KHT 2007."

If all goes according to plan, the plan in KHT 2007 is to stress on growing trends, opportunities and challenges in the Indian Health tourism sector. The special attraction of KHT 2007 will be the exclusive Dental Tourism and Ayurveda Pavilions.

Accompanying the KHT 2007 is an International Conference on Health Tourism, which is being scheduled for March 24 and 25, 2007. It is expected that the conference will have highly-renowned Indian and International speakers from prominent hospitals, insurance companies, travel trade and government.


2. Kerala Promoting Medical Tourism to Gain International Recognition
It had been reported by Mr. E.K. Bharat Bhushan, Principal Secretary of Kerala Tourism that Kerala is to e promoted as an international medical tourism destination. This promotion ensures the huge opportunities in investments for the Non-Resident Keralites (NRKs), making it a venture that holds great promise. The main purpose behind this is to introduce Kerala as an international tourism location by 2010.

The government is willing to aid NRK investors in every way possible. However, only those hospitals which abide by the terms of the National Accreditation Board (NAB) would succeed in receiving government recognition.

Kerala has surprised the populace with the astounding growth that it has seen in tourist traffic, i.e., a growth of 31% in 2005. According to “Opportunities in Medical Tourism in India (2007)” (a RNCOS report), Kerala has been the most preferred travel destination, particularly for those seeking Ayurvedic rejuvenation. The hospitals in Kerala are also setting up special divisions and support systems for their global patients.

Investments in Medical Tourism

1. Health sector requires Rs 1.6 lakh cr in 10 years
Globally, India's healthcare sector will go through a complete makeover, where quality of services and competitiveness will play a major role. The Indian healthcare market will need a major boost worth about Rs. 1.6 lakh crore by around 2016 in order to augment its bed volumes from 10.50 lakhs to 16.82 lakhs, according to a study done by Crisil research.

It is expected that the potential of India's healthcare market can touch Rs. 2.17 lakh crore by about 2011, from the present Rs. 1.25 lakh crore. From this point, it has been estimated that India's healthcare market can further move from the mentioned Rs. 2.17 lakh crore to Rs. 3.64 lakh crore by 2016. In order that India may be able to meet the projected demand and maintain the ratio of beds to potential demand, she will need around Rs 66,800 crore.

2. Trinity Capital Buys 6 Mln Shares Of India's Fortis Healthcare For GBP 10.3 Mln In Pre-IPO Placement
Trinity Capital PLC has acquired 6 million shares of Fortis Healthcare Limited (FHL) for GBP 10.3 million in a further pre-IPO placement, at a cost of INR 145 per share. The acquisition will increase Trinity's strategic shareholding in FHL to 8 million shares or 4.24%. Trinity stated that the increase in investment would give it an opportunity to develop three hotels. It has also been noted that Trikona Capital will appoint a hotel operator to manage and operate the hotels.

According to Aashish Kalra, Managing Director of Trikona Capital: "Our increased investment in Fortis has secured the option to develop three hotels alongside FHL's future hospitals, this gives us considerable opportunity to tap into the growth potential of the healthcare industry. Apart from having an option to develop hotels along hospitals and healthcare facilities, this strategic relationship will also give rise to opportunities whereby Fortis may develop hospitals in our township developments." Trinity has noted that India's fastest growing sub-sector - medical tourism - is expected to grow from $18.7 billion to $45 billion by 2012. The year 2004 saw about 80,000 patients arrive in India from all over the world.

Holistic Healing Centres

1. Athulya Ayurvedic Medical Research Centre (AAMRC) – Cancer therapy through ayurveda
Located at Calicut in Northern Kerala, AAMRC utilizes scientifically proved natural sources of anti-cancer principles, without any degradation. All patients, whether in the beginning or the advanced stage, are benefited in terms of cure, relief from pain and suffering and extension of life span.

Traditional techniques and processes are used to prepare the medicines at home, while certain amount of mechanization is inevitably used for large scale production. The beauty of the therapeutics at AAMRC is that they contain active principles in their natural forms and their administration in prescribed doses does not cause any side effects.

2. Kadavu Ayurveda Centre
Located in Calicut, Kadavu Ayurvedic Resort is one of those places where you get to unwind and do away with life's pressures. The resort offers authentic ayurvedic treatments aside from ayurveda health regimens offered by the Kerala government.

Some of the facilities offered by the Kadavu Ayurvedic Resort are:

* 8 state-of-the-art Ayurveda Therapy rooms
* A huge river facing Yoga hall
* In house Ayurveda Pharmacy
* A post-therapy care room
* A mini Ayurveda laboratory
* Ayurveda Medicine manufacturing unit
* Herbal garden.

Visa Related Developments

1. MOT extends validity of Mvisa to 3 years
The Mvisa or MXvisa which had been introduced by the Indian Government's Ministry of Tourism (MoT) has been further enhanced. While earlier, the Mvisa was only valid for no more than six months, the validity has now been extended to three years, provided the tourist can furnish a recommendation and sanction for the same from the doctor.

According to an MOT official, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has informed the embassies of 18 countries of this new development, and also of how all Mvisa procedures will be completed within 48 hours. This has been done with the intention of increasing the potential of medical tourism in India. However, not more than two attendants can be granted miscellaneous visas at a time.

Medical tourism has been prioritized and the MoT has dedicated a series of lectures and speeches regarding this sector at the ITB Berlin 2007. According to MoT, 1,50,000 medical tourists made visits to India in 2006. Dr. Rajkrishnan, CEO of Dr. Rajkrishnan's Dental Clinic, Kochi, and also group member of CII stated: "The decision to extend the tenure of Mvisa is a welcome move and it will help in our efforts to promote medical tourism in the country."

Hospitals

1.Wockhardt Brain and Spine Hospital
Wockhardt Brain and Spine Hospital gives its patients comprehensive medical and surgical care – patients with disorders of the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nervous system. The latest techniques like minimally invasive spine surgery, Expandable devices for Lumbar Spine Fusion are routinely carried out with results at par with the best global medical centres. Some of the services that the Wockhardt Brain and Spine Hospital have to offer are:

* Brain surgery for abnormal blood vessels
* Endoscopic brain surgery
* Brain tumor surgery
* Brain surgery for epilepsy
* Brain surgery for clot removal
* Remodeling of skull for correction of birth skull defect
* Medical and surgical treatment for stroke
* Thoracoscopic surgery for spinal deformity etc.

2. Wockhardt Eye Hospital – Innovative Technology
The Wockhardt Eye Hospital is on it's way to becoming the apex of eye care surgery in India. It offers a wide range of expertise and know-how regarding eye ailments which involve both anterior and posterior segments of the eye. The eye-care centre has three surgical theaters that are well-maintained, which enables them to meet up with international standards. It also offers laser capabilities for some of today's complicated surgical procedures. The Wockhardt team constantly strives to provide better service to it's patients alongside offering some of the latest technology and treatments.

Travel Agencies

1. Health Tourism India
Health Tourism India is based in New Delhi with operational offices in South India. It has a team of associate hospitals and medical professionals who dedicate themselves to the patients needs. Health Tourism India ensures that all patients needs are covered; medical professionals are selected based on certain factors such as experience, certifications, infrastructural base and past records.

2. Life Smile Biosciences Pvt. Ltd.
Life Smile Biosciences Pvt. Ltd. is yet another travel agency that acts as service provider of medical tours in India. It also covers medical travel insurance.

Miscellaneous

1. Indian hospitals beckon unemployed British doctors
For what seems like a change, young doctors from the UK are looking to India for employment in private hospitals. Thousands of British doctors are emigrating to other countries due to uncertainties caused by flaws found in their recruitment system known as Modernising Medical Careers (MMC).

Due to dejection and frustrations as a result of being unable to find jobs in British hospitals, hundreds have applied for jobs elsewhere. One of the main hospitals attracting these young British physicians is the K.G. Hospital and Post-graduate Medical Institute in Coimbatore.

A junior doctor from the Oxford Deanery who applied for a job in Australia and New Zealand was offered a year-long surgical spot in New South Wales within a few days. According to the doctor: "I feel I have been forced out and betrayed by consultants and the government. I still hope to come back to the UK [but] if I was offered a training programme in Australia I would stay." However, while loads of these UK doctors have been looking overseas for jobs, many of the Indian doctors have been short-listed in the present round of employment. Lakshman Raman, Vice-Chairman of the British Association of Physicians of Indian origin (BAPIO) stated: "While it is difficult to calculate numbers, we have heard from quite a number of (Indian) doctors saying they have been shortlisted for interviews. It is, therefore, also true that those who have not been shortlisted have not been successful because of other factors and not because of their nationality. We are quite pleased about this".

2. Healthcare goes five-star in India
Healthcare is the new buzzword for corporates and individual businessmen alike, with a majority of them setting up private hospitals under their banner. Private healthcare has grown into a formidable industry with an estimated worth of Rs. 80,000 crore (CII estimate). The result: hospitals that don’t resemble hospitals, machines that were once unheard of in India and services that can match any five-star hotel. That’s right, People, the Indian healthcare industry is getting an extreme makeover, and is touching the lives of both Indians and foreigners alike.

According to a CII study, with demand exceeding supply, the industry is expected to continue its upward run at a rate of 13 per cent annually for the next six years. Hospitals are selling their treatment services by hiring the best names from the medical field. But healthcare is not a one-man show. Whether the expertise is trickling down to the doctors’ juniors is yet to be seen. The movement is still in its nascent stage and sustenance of service and standards over the next few years will be the deciding factor. Healthcare experts also feel the need for medical standardization, accreditation and certification in the medical sector by the government, to maintain standards. The availability of an alternative to government hospitals, and of quality care at reasonable costs, is changing the lives of tens of thousands of people.


Source : - Medical Tourism India: Kerala, New Delhi, South India, Wockhardt Brain and Spine Hospital, Wockhardt Eye Hospital, Trinity Capital, Athulya Ayurvedic Medical Research Centre, Kadavu Ayurveda Centre
:SugarwareZ-031:
 

zoya.abdali

New member
Hey,
I am doing the 100 mks project in medical tourism........i need some data.........plzzz help if u can......thnks

The healthcare industry in India is expected to grow in size to Rs 200,000 crore by 2012 from Rs 86,000 crore in 2001, while the total health tourism market is expected to go up to Rs 10,000 crore by 2012 — up from Rs 1,518 crore in 2004, registering a sharp growth of 20-25% per year.
READS good, feels better, promises big business! And why not? An estimated 1.75 lakh international patients came to India for treatment in 2005, about 30% more than 2004.
But forget the hype and grandiose figures for a while and you’d be tempted to ask: Is the Indian healthcare scenario geared for this growth in medical tourism? Does India have appropriate infrastructure? Are other imperative services such as hospitality, aviation and others prepared for this boom?
Opinions vary. In fact, while no one is discounting the potential, there’s a definite word of caution. Dr Narottam Puri, medical director, Max Healthcare, says though medical tourism is the current flavour, and for good reasons, there’s a lot of ground work to be done to arrive at credible figures. “We have, at best, rough estimates and we need to set our priorities considering the huge domestic healthcare challenge we have,” he reasons.
So is it too early to uncork the bubbly? Dr Naresh Trehan, executive director of Delhi-based Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre, has a different take. “Take, for instance, the coup in Thailand — one of the preferred healthcare destinations. The present instability there may deter medical tourists and, in turn, present a good opportunity for India. As a matter of fact, compulsions around the world are getting worse and more people today are travelling for their medical needs. But the key issue here is how professionally and efficiently will we seize the opportunity. We have to go ahead step by step, consolidate our ground position and deliver what we promise,” he points out.
Even Kolkata’s private healthcare industry is sceptical about the glorious dream of a Rs 10,000-crore medical tourism industry. “Popular healthcare tourism destinations in Asia such as Thailand and Singapore first promoted their tourism potential and then healthcare tourism. India is doing both simultaneously, which might take some time to work,” says Mr Sajal Dutta, president, Association of Hospitals of Eastern India (AHEI), a body of Kolkata’s corporate hospitals.
AHEI also feels several infrastructure issues need to be sorted out. “Starting from facilities in airports to faster customs clearances for foreign patients to better roads leading to the hospitals — unless these are improved, medical tourists will still prefer hospitals like Bumrungrad in Bangkok as their first option,” Mr Dutta points out.
These apprehensions are shared by Vishal Bali, CEO, Wockhardt Hospitals, who feels there’s a long road ahead, as he argues for better visa procedures and improved facilities at airports. R Basil, managing director, Manipal Health Systems, Bangalore, too says the government should actively approach other countries with concrete proposals on collaborations in medicine, medical education and research that could lead to concrete policy measures in favour of Indian healthcare providers.
Undeniably, India can boast of highly-skilled doctors and world class machinery and equipment. But the picture isn’t that rosy at the ground level. “Postoperative care, quality of nursing, skill sets of ward boys and the lack of professionalism at hospitals leave much to be desired,” says Delhi-based neurologist J Kumar who is also working on getting patients from abroad. He blames the casual approach of Indians for the lack of efficiency and feels that the service culture will take a long way to evolve.
Another issue that merits immediate attention is accreditation and quality standards. “To become a preferred healthcare destination, India needs to set uniform parameters across the country — both in terms of price and quality of services,” Dr Kumar observes.

FLIP SIDE VIEW

Point taken. But on a broad level, all this is not going unnoticed. Already, the government has developed a strategy to position India as a global hub for the quality-conscious medical tourist. In fact, the health ministry has already formulated stringent quality parameters for hospitals’ accreditation and is introducing international standards to the healthcare supply chain.
Working in tandem, the external affairs ministry has come out with a special ‘M’ category visa for those seeking medical treatment in India, while the civil aviation ministry is opening special counters at airports to facilitate a hassle-free entry. The tourism ministry, on its part, is pushing medical travel as part of its ‘Incredible India’ campaign and intends to showcase India as the emerging healthcare destination in the global arena.
Not surprisingly then, the healthcare industry is already seeing the beginning of a new era. The Apollo Hospitals group, that treated 7,000 foreign patients in 2005,
feels the government is taking the right steps and “this level of facilitation will definitely put India on the top of healthcare map,” says Dr Anupam Sibal, group medical director at Delhi’s Indraprastha Apollo.
Mr Bali of Wockhardt too feels that “the government is doing its bit — with the tourism industry taking some very positive steps.” Wockhardt has seen a steady growth in the number of patients from the US and the UK in the past 6-8 months.
“Last year, we received more than 3,000 patients from 20 countries. This year we expect the foreign patient business to grow by another 50% at least. This surely makes the future of medical tourism look very good,” says Mr Basil of Manipal Health Systems.

CUTTING AN EDGE

There can’t be two opinions on this. India is now being recognised as a quality destination for medical value travel and patients from over 55 countries are treated at Indian hospitals. Medical value travellers come seeking both quality and costeffective healthcare and India now offers the latest techniques such as robotic surgery, gamma-knife treatment for brain tumours and other cutting medical procedures. “The efficacy of treatment compares with that in the West, with death rate from coronary bypasses at 0.8% compared with 2.35% in the US,” according to Dr Trehan of Escorts.
Arguably, much of the advantage lies in low costs — India offers the same world class procedures and surgeries at about one-fifth to one-tenth of what is charged in western countries. In fact, medical procedures in India are even cheaper than in Thailand, the other main medical tourism destination in the region.
For instance, bone marrow transplants cost $30,000 in India and $62,500 in Thailand.
Another reason why India is strategically placed to attract patients is that healthcare systems in Europe and the US are under severe pressure, with patients having to wait for over a year for surgery. According to estimates, there are 50 million people in the US without medical insurance for whom domestic treatment costs are prohibitive.
Their medical treatment in India is now being facilitated by tie-ups between the insurance companies in the US and private Indian hospital chains. Security hassles in the western countries post-9/11 is further bringing in a new set of patients from Gulf countries to India.
What’s interesting, the western countries’ fascination with fitness and alternative therapies for health maintenance and healing is also aiding the momentum. In fact, Americans reportedly spend around $25 billion on non-traditional medical therapies and products alone. Also, consumers today are well travelled and seek something new and different in a holiday experience. In fact, rejuvenation, including yoga, and alternative therapies now form an integral part of health tourism in India.
This, actually, translates into a big opportunity for the traditional healthcare system — comprising Ayurveda, Homeopathy and Sidha — that has about 7 lakh practitioners. In fact, realising their importance, the government has launched a Rs 125-crore project for the scientific validation of these.
Melting technology barriers and the proven lead in IT have helped sharpen the edge and showcase the medical prowess better. Improved telecommunications and air transport are already being used in exchanging medical information and diagnostic images, while the time zone differentiation is actually working to its advantage in giving instant medical opinions.

THE ROAD AHEAD?

Quality in capital letters. In fact, healthcare circles in Kolkata feel the process of accreditation will provide a new thrust to the medical value tourism. Apart from eyeing the coveted Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation, hospitals are also eyeing the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) accreditation. These standards are expected to raise the standard in healthcare, set benchmarks and create a level-playing field at the global level.
“NABH accreditation will provide a fillip to inbound medical tourism and also showcase to the world India’s healthcare standards,” says Dr Y P Bhatia, chairman of NABH Accreditation Committee.
Indeed, as more foreign patients go down on the quality route, the defining parameter in healthcare will be accreditation — JCI or NABH — which will help dispel much of the concern in the international community about the standards of India’s private healthcare. “Singapore and Abu Dhabi have made it mandatory for all hospitals to have JCI accreditation. That’s the way to go for Indian hospitals too if they want to join the action building around medical tourism,” argues Dr Sibal of Apollo.
“Don’t forget, for every good story, there are 10 takers. But for every bad story, there are 100 takers,” sums up Dr Trehan.
Well you wouldn’t want to disagree with that.

OUR PROBLEMS


India is still a developing country and has several inherent problems
There is a negative perception about the country because of poor hygiene and sanitation
No uniformity of quality and accreditation is now becoming a reality
Medical insurance is still in its infancy and has a very low penetration Flight connectivity needs attention Infrastructural woes continue to affect the airports, roads and power Save for the initiatives taken by a few organised players, there has been no focused marketing till now

THEIR PROBLEMS

LACK OF KNOWLEDGE
The knowledge about medical tourism is mostly shared by word-of- mouth or by persons who are internet savvy
LACK OF TRUST
Patients from developed countries are still sceptical of the quality of medical care abroad, and doubly sceptical of ventures that have no personal or local contacts
LACK OF FOLLOW-UP
Continuity in health care is a major cause for concern. There are many stories on the internet about the people who opted for treatment abroad, but returned home without follow-up care and suffering complications
LACK OF MEDICAL LIABILITY
Patients from developed countries know that they have legal recourse to medical malpractice for healthcare in their countries. This is often not true of procedures that take place overseas, and are not under their legal jurisdiction


Risks

Medical tourism carries some risks that locally-provided medical care does not. Some countries, such as India, Malaysia, or Thailand have very different infectious disease-related epidemiology to Europe and North America. Exposure to diseases without having built up natural immunity can be a hazard for weakened individuals, specifically with respect to gastrointestinal diseases (e.g. Hepatitis A, amoebic dysentery, paratyphoid) which could weaken progress, mosquito-transmitted diseases, influenza, and tuberculosis. However, because in poor tropical nations diseases run the gamut, doctors seem to be more open to the possibility of considering any infectious disease, including HIV, TB, and typhoid, while there are cases in the West where patients were consistently misdiagnosed for years because such diseases are perceived to be "rare" in the West.
The quality of post-operative care can also vary dramatically, depending on the hospital and country, and may be different from US or European standards. However, JCI and Trent fulfill the role of accreditation by assessing the standards in the healthcare in the countries like India, China and Thailand. Also, traveling long distances soon after surgery can increase the risk of complications. Long flights and decreased mobility in a cramped airline cabin are a known risk factor for developing blood clots in the legs such as venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolus economy class syndrome. Other vacation activities can be problematic as well — for example, scars may become darker and more noticeable if they sunburn while healing.[21] To minimise these problems, medical tourism patients often combine their medical trips with vacation time set aside for rest and recovery in the destination country.
Also, health facilities treating medical tourists may lack an adequate complaints policy to deal appropriately and fairly with complaints made by dissatisfied patients.
Differences in healthcare provider standards around the world have been recognised by the World Health Organization, and in 2004 it launched the World Alliance for Patient Safety. This body assists hospitals and government around the world in setting patient safety policy and practices that can become particularly relevant when providing medical tourism services.
 

rosemarry2

MP Guru
Hey,
I am doing the 100 mks project in medical tourism........i need some data.........plzzz help if u can......thnks

Hey friend,

Here I am up-loading Medical Tourism in India - Progress, Opportunities and Challenges, please check attachment below.
 

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