Medical Tourism with India in the Lead

India Is fact Becoming a Top Medical Travel Destination

There isn’t a plethora of reasons to explain why India occupies such a pivotal position in the field of medical travel.  Instead, you can boil it down to three: the phenomenally low cost of surgeries, healthcare quality on par with some of the best hospitals in the world, and readily available treatment.  Of the many countries engaged in promoting medical tourism, India emerges as an obvious choice for many because of the presence of five JCI (Joint Commission International) accredited hospitals.  You can see the difference these hospitals make when a discerning patient from the West prefers to embark on a journey to India instead of countries like Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines.

Rapidly Growing Medical Tourism in India

In 2005, approximately 250,000 patients traveled to India to seek treatment for ailments ranging from hips to lips.  According to Vishal Bali, CEO of Wockhardt Hospitals (one of the five JCI accredited hospitals), “that number is growing by 30-35 percent every year.”  The state-of-the-art hospitals that are helping to fuel medical travel to India are also helping bolster a new cottage industry in the region; luxury travel vacation.  With 5-star hotels and world class restaurants in close proximity to the hospitals, the larger tourism industry is flourishing.

An Excuse for Luxury Travel Vacation

Apart from employing doctors trained in the best medical schools of the West, the corporate hospitals also boast immaculately designed interiors.  The lobbies of these hospitals resemble those of luxury resorts complete with creature comforts like cable TV, telephones, air conditioning.  These options help create the impression that one is on a luxury travel vacation despite not having the same selection of beaches and amenities more readily available in nearby Singapore or Thailand.

Source: Anjali Doshi and BR Srikant, “A Leader in Medical Tourism, Almost,” Hindustan Times, October 18, 2006