The Next super Power - Spreading its healing power

Anjali Doshi and B.R. Srikanth
Mumbai


AFTER LIVING in pain for nearly 15 years, Russell Cole, 62, travelled from
California to Mumbai last November to have three joints operated-knees and
right hip-at the L.H. Hiranandani Hospital, Powai. Cole, who suffered from
severe arthritis, paid Rs 6 lakh for the surgeries that would have otherwise
cost him over Rs 25 lakh in the US.

Three weeks later, Cole headed for home - back on his feet and pain-free. "I
would definitely recommend India to my friends who have been putting off
orthopaedic surgeries for years because they can't afford it," Cole said.
George Marshal, a retired policeman, underwent an angiography at a National
Health Service (NHS) hospital in the UK. He was put on an eight-month
waiting list for the surgery. On studying available options, Marshal decided
to have his operation at Wockhardt Hospital, Bangalore. The operation was
conducted last year and he is doing well.

In 2005, Cole and Marshal were just two of an estimated 1,75,000 patients
who travelled to India for medical care (Thailand and Singapore are other
popular medical tourism destinations). "That number is growing by 30-35 per
cent every year," says Vishal Bali, CEO, Wockhardt Group of Hospitals.
Wockhardt gets roughly 900 overseas patients every year in its Mumbai and
Bangalore outlets. Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai, in that order, are
the major medical tourism hubs in the country, accounting for about 70 per
cent of the total medical tourism revenue. South India, Kerala in
particular, gets top billing among those looking for alternative therapies
like Ayurveda that make up the rest of the revenue pie.

From an excruciatingly long wait for diagnostic and surgical procedures to
skyrocketing medical costs, there are many reasons why India attracts nearly
2 lakh overseas patients a year. American citizens come here because of
mounting medical costs and high insurance premiums in their country. In
2005, 46.6 million Americans had no medical insurance and 120 million were
without dental insurance, according to the country's Census Bureau. Patients
from South-east Asia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh also favour India
due to cost-effective treatment. Poor infrastructure in African countries
and a dearth of medical experts in the Gulf are forcing people from those
parts to come to India for treatment.

Surgery costs in the US and the UK are five to 10 times higher than India. A
heart surgery that costs about Rs 14 lakh in the US costs only about Rs 2.5
lakh in India.

Bangalore-based eye clinic Netradhama offers advanced care for cataract,
lasik, glaucoma, retinal and corneal problems. Dr Sri Ganesh of Netradhama
also does contact lens implants. The procedure costs $6,000 (approximately
Rs 2,76,000) in the US, while it costs only Rs 50,000 here. The growing list
of patients from overseas has encouraged medical centres such as Mallya
Hospital to reserve five to 10 per cent of its beds for foreign patients.
The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) believes that promoting medical
tourism is in India's interest. According to a 2004 CII report, the country
has the potential to attract a million tourists every year that would
contribute roughly Rs 23,000 crore to the economy.

Numerical strength 1.75 patients travelled to India in 2005 and their number
is lakh growing by 30-35% every year 14 is the cost of a heart surgery in Rs
the US. The same surgery lakh costs about Rs 2.5 lakh in India 23,000 India
cantourism, says earn from Rs medical crore a CII report


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