Medical tourism is what the doctor ordered

Over seven million foreign tourists visited India last year. Among them was a small segment that came for medical treatment and care. The percentage of ‘medical value tourism’ may be low now but the potential for its growth is immense. At present, the value of medical tourism has been estimated at $3 billion. It is expected to touch $8 billion in the coming four years. Currently, India is the third most sought after country for medical tourists and by 2020, it can become the leading destination for the same.

The three main reasons compelling foreign nationals to seek medical treatment in India are the country’s qualified pool of doctors, the state-of-the-art facilities and the competitive cost of treatment. India offers medical facilities, including critical care, at one-tenth of the cost in the US.

Besides these advantages, some hospitals display validated clinical outcomes on their websites that are open to public scrutiny, using the highest international norms and standards set by ICHOM (International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurements). It gives international patients the opportunity and the confidence to make an informed choice.

The government of India realises the importance of medical tourism and in June 2015, it announced the setting up of the National Medical & Wellness Tourism Promotion Board to help the overseas medical tourists. This is the right step for promoting India as a medical tourist destination.

Positive measures such as streamlining the medical visa process to easily issue e-Tourist Visas (eTV) and multiple entry medical visas for post-operative medical care, enhancing airport facilities for medical tourists, including rapid immigration clearances are helpful. The government should also consider relaxing fiscal laws allowing easier money transfer for treatment.

Despite its 410 government and private medical colleges producing 50,000 doctors a year, India continues to face a talent shortage besides the challenge of retaining its medical talent. Medical tourism can help turn this around. As of now, India garners no more than a minuscule percentage of the world medical tourists contributing to less than 0.1% of the nation’s GDP, but with more enabling measures, it will have the potential to grow substantially in the coming years.