India is becoming a popular medical tourism hub

by Mayuri B. Business Development

India has been well known for its picturesque locations, warm hospitality and rich heritage and culture. Many global travellers show interest in visiting India primarily because of these reasons. Hence, it has become a must-visit location for many travellers. In recent times, the tourism sector has been witnessing tremendous growth and becoming a medical tourism hub because the Medical Tourism Industry is seeing a progression in the percentage growth, which is 18% CAGR per year. Although it contributes to around 18% of the global medical market of tourism; however, it is expected to reach up to 20% which would have a worth of about $ 9 billion by this year. As per research, India’s popularity in the global tourism medical market is because it provides the lowest medical costs coupled with the highest quality when compared with the other medical tourism places.

India is slowly stepping towards utilizing its potential in the global medical market through private-public partnerships, which is, in turn, paving its way in becoming a medical tourism hub. There are many organizations widespread in India that are known to offer healthcare services at reasonable rates. Being an English-speaking nation acts as an added advantage for India. Although language diversity is there, however, language interpreters are readily available who can provide language interpretation services to the global tourists. Starting from cardiac treatment to transplantation of bone marrow, India has gained popularity in every kind of treatment. Due to the availability of alternative and advanced medical processes, India has become a popular medical destination for many.

Add to this medical facilitators have helped contribute to the medical tourism economy to grow. medical tourism not only contributes to the economic growth of a nation but to those of a country's travel and tourism industries too. At Clinicspots, we have assisted more than 500+ international patients to get their treatment in India. ClinicSpots being an online medical health portal and a medical tourism service provider, has served about 50 patients a month. Having a large network of hospitals pan India, ClinicSpots is also able to bridge the gap between foreign patients finding the right doctor for their treatment. We also offer an Q&A medical platform to further assist foreign and domestic patients to get queries answered by medical experts and doctors for treatment guidance and cost of treatment.

Majority of the patients are seen visiting from the Commonwealth of Independent States CIS countries, Africa and the middle East. Apart from complex surgeries like hip replacement, cancer treatment, cardiac surgeries, there seems to be a growing demand even for plastic and cosmetic surgeries in India and for hair transplantation surgery in India.

Below are the major reasons that have turned India into a major medical tourism hub globally;

Affordable Services: One of the major strengths of India is it consists of highly skilled and experienced physicians who provide international standard medical services to its patients at an affordable cost. When compared to countries such as the UK, US, India is no less in providing world-class medical amenities to its patients. The country provides these medical facilities and other medical procedures at a very lower price which is around one-tenth of the cost of the same methods in the UK and the US. For example, the cost of open-heart surgery in the US is around $ 150000, but the same surgery would cost around $ 3000 to 4 10,000 in some of the best hospitals in India. Hence, a patient can save between 30 to 70% when they travel to India for their medical treatments.

Sound Technology: Indian hospitals implement the technological advancements in every aspect of the healing process, starting from sharing the treatment plan to post-hospitalization care and thus manages the entire medical treatment efficiently. The future of healthcare of India is being shaped through machine learning to IoT sensor technological progression. India has managed to earn advantages compared to the rest of the countries because of its fast adoption of technological advancements.
Personalized Care and Attention: A booming segment of healthcare in India is providing personalized care and attention to its patients. Depending on the convenience of the patients, personalized care is offered to them. For each patient, the individual diagnostics traits are identified and based on that, and personalized care is provided to the patient. As India continues to provide customized services to its patients at reasonable prices, it has been successful in attracting medical tourists across various countries over the world. According to Cyber Medical Research, India is expected to grow up to at least $ 6.2 billion by this year primarily due to this reason.
Recovery after the treatment: The post-treatment recovery can be challenging for many patients. India has a variety of therapeutic options that are natural and easy to use that facilitate post-treatment recovery. Natural treatments such as Yoga, Naturopathy and Ayurveda are the best for providing respite to the ailing patients. Yoga and Ayurvedic treatments are gaining popularity as well as global acceptance since these treatments are holistic wellness programs, and they get rid of toxic elements from the body and maintain the balance of the body. WHO has accepted Ayurvedic treatment as an alternative form of medicine, due to which an increased number of global patients are opting for this treatment. The medical tourists of different countries that visit India sought for Ayurvedic treatment as it has been recognized as one of the most popular treatments.
Both the government and the private players are playing a pivotal role in making the process simple, transparent and seamless for the patients. The government has introduced Medical Visa, and multiple entries and more extended stays are allowed, which is another reason for the growth in the medical tourism industry. The government is facilitating holistic healthcare which can be well understood by the different programs such as the Ayushman Bharat Yojana launched by the government. To make it par with the international standards, private healthcare facilitators play a crucial role by building and improving the medical infrastructure.

As a final note, it can be said the cost and resource benefits have strengthened the position of India that has caused India to become a medical hub in the global tourism market.