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Tourists
from around the world are beginning to realize the potential
of modern and traditional Indian medicine. Indian hospitals
and medical establishments have also realized the potential
of this niche market and have begun to tailor their services
for foreign visitors. At a regional geo-political level, this
nascent industry came to limelight with the arrival of 'Naby
Noor' from Pakistan, who came by the Indo-Pak bus service
and got a red-carpet treatment at hospital in Bangalore. Several
Indian state governments have realized the potential of this
'industry' and have been actively promoting it. Visitors,
especially from the west and the middle-east find Indian hospitals
a very affordable and viable option to grappling with insurance
and National medical systems in their native lands. Many prefer
to combine their treatments with a visit to the 'exotic east'
with their families, killing two birds with one stone. For
further details on Indian Medical tourism Industry, click
here. You
may also visit our health sections at Ayurveda,
or Yoga or
the Sitemap
Medical tourism likely to become India’s next big success
story
As the
concept of medical tourism continues to gain momentum in India,
the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, following a meeting
with the Ministry of Tourism, has stated that a National Accreditation
Health Board has to be set up for maintaining international
standards in our medical facilities.
“Medical
tourism as an industry has begun to take concrete shape with
the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry
of Tourism thrashing out the intricacies involved,” said an
official statement. The intricacies discussed include price
banding, hospital accreditation, quality control, categorization
and selection of hospitals etc.
Minister of Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Anbumani
Ramadoss said that the government has cleared medical visa
and there is tremendous potential for tourism as well as for
the health sector, with India specially being cheapest destination
for medical care of highest standards. He also emphasized
on modern diagnostics with Indian systems of medicinal care,
which has been accepted as an effective system of healthcare
worldwide.
Tourism
Minister Renuka Chaudhary said that the initiative will be
taken up on pilot basis to begin with. She said, India as
a highly skilled destination in holistic health-care, has
already been receiving tourists coming here for medical treatment,
particularly for specialized care and typical problems.
Recently, it was decided that a Task Force on health tourism
constituted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare would
assess the opportunities for promoting India as a health destination,
recommend action to be taken by the central and state governments
and specially recommend about super specialty medical care,
outsourcing of medical services to Indian IT based institutes
and gainfully utilize the expertise available in traditional
medicines.
The Task Force constituted in this regard in consultation
with the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) is in the
process of formulating a policy for accreditation of hospitals
both in modern system of medicines and Indian systems of medicine.
The Ministry is also considering setting up of a National
Accreditation Board for hospitals, which will not only specify
various standards for hospitals but also act as a linkage
with other National and International boards.
It was
acknowledged that the medical tourism is likely to become
the next big success story after software, adding the key
competitive advantages of India in medical tourism stem from
its comparative cost advantage, internationally renowned medical
doctors and hospitals and the diversity of the tourists destination
in the country. The Minister of Health and Family Welfare
said that compared to Western countries, it is well documented
that surgical procedures like heart bypass surgery or angioplasty
come at a fraction of the cost in India with renowned quality
doctors and the state of the art medical equipment. The tourists
inflow for a wide medical service spectrum from wellness tourism
to surgery and rehabilitation have made all interested stakeholders
work towards the common goal of making India the preferred
destination for medical tourism.
Dr. Ramadoss
said that some measures like fast track clearance for medical
patients at the airport are in the offing in coordination
with other Ministries that would be of great help to foreign
tourists coming to India for medical treatment. In this regard,
the Minister also mentioned development of appropriate health
packages for traditional therapies like yoga, meditation,
ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine, which
would not only attract high-end tourists from European and
Middle east countries but also give a boost within the country.
As per
the information available, the medical tourism industry in
India is worth $333 million and as per latest estimation an
additional revenue of $2.2 billion is expected by 2012, says
a Centrum report on medical tourism in India.
By Satish
G.
NEW DELHI, India (from
eTurboNews Oct 08, 05)
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