Medical tourism in India is projected to grow by six times from US $350 million now to an over US $2 billion industry in 2012. Hence, hospitals in India have a very bright future.

India is the largest democracy in the world and is one of the fastest-growing economies that is projected to more than double in the next five years.

India is one of the most attractive medical tourism bargains for someone in the West who is looking for high-end medical procedures or surgery overseas at a low cost.

Some of the unique advantages that India provides for medical tourists from the West are below!

Low Cost of Medical Treatment: Prime Driver of Medical Tourism in India

  • Private health care in India is comparable to much that is available at the best hospitals in the world and a far lower cost. Even considering the cost of air travel and luxury hotel accommodation (if required), the cost savings comes out to be 40-80% of what is in the USA.

Experienced and Talented Pool of Medical Professionals

  • With a long history of subsidized medical education and high investments in medical research, India has one of the biggest pools of medical professionals and scientists in the world.
  • Many Indian doctors have learned their trade and practiced it in the US and UK.
  • Due to the sheer volume of patients and less bureaucratic delays in acceptance of new medical procedures, surgeons have more experience in some of the new medical techniques. For example, hip resurfacing surgery was introduced in the USA by the FDA in 2006, whereas it had already been in practice in India for many years then.

Strong Private Hospital Infrastructure

  • India has one of the biggest private hospitals in the world. Many of them are affiliated with top world medical institutes like Harvard Medical and Johns Hopkins. A number of these hospitals are also accredited by JCI, USA, or ISO.
  • These medical centers have the infrastructure, experience, and setup for quality-conscious medical tourism patients from the West.

English Is Widely Spoken

  • It’s the medium of most public conversations and the preferred language of communication in hospitals and medical centers.
  • English is also the medium of instruction in schools and professional training.

A Government That Is Favorable to Medical Tourism

  • The Indian government has a special visa for medical tourists that allows them to stay for long periods in the country. Also, the government has an investment of US $6.5 billion in the pipeline for medical tourism.
    This is for setting up affordable hospitals in India and budget hotels for patient’s relatives.

Experience in Medical Tourism

  • Medical tourists from South Asia and Middle East have been coming for medical treatment to India for many years now. Also, Medical tourism from UK to India has become quite common. It’s only Medical Tourism from North America (USA, Canada) to India that is a relatively new phenomenon.

Medical Decisions by Doctors, Not by Rules Made by Non-Medicos

  • Unlike many countries, doctors have most of the say in medical treatment in India, unlike many countries where doctors are afraid that what they say or do might be used against them in a law suit.

Familiarity of Western Patients With Indian Doctors

  • Many Western patients have had previous experience with Indian doctors.
  • One in 20 physicians in the USA is from India; a large number of Indian physicians practice in the UK, too.

To summarize it, the future of Medical Tourism in India is very bright. In the next few years, Hospitals in India are going to expand, and new hospitals will open.

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