Medical Tourism in India: Outsourcing of Medical Care

In Search of Affordable Healthcare

After the initial brouhaha over outsourcing of back room jobs to developing nations like India, Western countries, particularly, the U.S., are facing another outsourcing phenomenon – that of medical tourism.  As the name implies, it involves visiting a country not to bask about in the sun or go sightseeing, but to check into the best hospitals for sophisticated procedures like hip replacement surgeries, that may be beyond reach at home. As more and more Americans head offshore for affordable healthcare, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that the concept of medical tourism, particularly in countries like India, is here to stay.

Finding Affordable Healthcare Options in Hip Replacement Surgery

At some of the best hospitals for hip replacement surgery in India such as the Bharathi Rajaa Hospital in Chennai, doctors are increasingly finding their waiting lists chockablock with patients from the U.S., U.K., and the Middle East.  Most of them are in line for bone preserving procedures like Proxima hip replacement surgery.  Exorbitantly expensive in the West, it would set a patient back by about $8000 at this premier Indian hospital.  California native, Rick Theus, found himself in New Delhi recently for a new hip.  His insurance could not cover more advanced procedures like hip resurfacing in his country, and the older, total hip replacement surgeries available within his budget would have restricted his mobility.  So, he headed off to New Delhi’s Max Super Specialty Hospital’s Institute of Orthopedics and Joint Replacement, one of the best hospitals for hip replacement surgeries in India.  The entire trip, including surgery and airfare totaled $12,000, and just a few days after surgery, Rick was up and about and in the best of spirits.  For more and more patients like Rick, faced with a complete dearth of affordable healthcare options in their countries, medical tourism has proven to be an excellent alternative.

Source: R. Rangaraj, “Proxima Hip Replacement,” Chennai Online, December 4, 2006

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