MEDICAL TOURISM TO INDIA

In Times of India ( May 21, 2011 ), Shobita Dhar provides following highlights on medical tourism to India :

·         In 2009, 2.2 % of the total tourists who came to India, came for medical treatment

·         India now handles 500,000 foreign medical tourists annually, compared to 1,200,000 tourists to Thailand

·         Major Indian cities attracting medical tourists are, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Goa, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad

·         17 hospitals in India have JCI accreditation ( Joint Commission International Accreditation and Certification System )

·         The latest Medical Tourism Climate Survey-2011, conducted for the European Medical Travel Conference, has revealed India to be the most popular destination for health travel in the world

·         The Indian Medical Tourism industry is growing at a rate of 30 % annually and is expected to reach $ 2.3 billion by 2012

·         Cost effectiveness of treatments in India are as follows 

( as a % of US costs ) :

#   Heart bypass…………….. 7.2 %    (  $ 7,200  / 100,000)

#   Angioplasty ………………..4.3 %    (  $ 7,000 /  160,000)

#   Hip Replacement ………..16.5 %  ( $  7,100 /  43,000)

#   Spine Fusion ……………….12.1 %  ( $  7,500 /  62,000)

#   Gastric bypass …………… 26.3 %  ( $  9,200 /  35,000)

#   Tummy tuck ………………. 45 %     ($  4,500 /  10,000)

#   Dental Inplant ……………..15 %    ( $  1,500 / 10,000)

     No wonder, Indian doctors settled in USA / UK are returning to India to set up world class hospitals.

With regards

HEMEN  PAREKH