The Hindu Business Line : Concrete roadmap essential to promote health tourism

Healthcare is the new entrant among the various skilled services on outsource demand. Experts stress the need for a concrete action plan and framework in close co-ordination with hospitals, tourism and hospitality sectors.

Kochi , April 14

India is becoming a major health tourism destination and the number of foreign health seekers has grown at 80 per cent per annum in the recent years, experts in the medical field said.

The official estimates put the figure of health care needs from abroad as 2.2 million per year and most of the arrivals are from neighbouring countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh, Mauritius and Pakistan apart from West. However, experts have stressed the need for formulating a concrete action plan and framework in close co-ordination with hospitals, tourism and hospitality sectors.

There should be a clear road map in this regard and the government should make visa and immigration proceedings more simple, expedient and transparent. The accreditation proceedings and benchmarking of healthcare delivery centres vis-a-vis credibility and quality have to be ensured to match the expectations of overseas patients, Mr P.V. Antony, Managing Director of the Kochi-based Medical Trust Hospital, said.

Marketing efforts

The need of the hour, he said, is to make intense efforts to market modern medicine treatment modalities at the same level as the traditional and ayurvedic treatment combining with the Kerala's tourism efforts in various countries in Asia and Europe.

Once it succeeds, it would mean a substantial increase in arrival of foreign health seekers to the country, he said adding, that the visibility of the country's medical system abroad would make all the differences and give a major fillip to the State's ambitious health tourism plans.

He pointed out that the medical institutions in the State have made significant strides in catching up with the latest international developments in medical technology. Most of the institutions have the most advanced facilities for diagnosis and treatment of any ailment. At present, the technology gap between a typical Indian hospital and its western counterparts is virtually nil, he said.

Dr Azad Moopen, Chairman and Managing Director of Malabar Institute of Medical Sciences, Kozhikode, said that health tourism has been a great success story of the State, which catapulted it to the forefront of must-see world tourism destinations. A conscious effort by KTDC involving the private players from other parts of the State will help to spread the message of health tourism throughout the State.

Healthcare is the new entrant among the various skilled services on outsource demand. Sky-high cost of healthcare services in the US and Japan and inordinate delay in various treatments at the National Health Service hospitals of the UK are the compelling reasons for the thrust on healthcare outsourcing, Dr Philip Augustine, Managing Director and CEO of Lakeshore Hospital and Research Centre, Kochi, said. Commonly outsourced healthcare modalities are eye and dental surgery, heart surgery, cosmetic surgery, treatment of spine and joint disorders and infertility management.

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