Earlier this year, a five year-old Bangladeshi boy who had suffered a brain stroke was brought to Gleneagles Global Hospital in Chennai for treatment. With the hospital’s assistance, they obtained an expedited visa. The parents then travelled to Chennai for a critical brain surgery under Dr. Lakshmi Narayan, a renowned neurologist. The surgery removed significant nerve blockages that were affecting his speech and mobility. Aahil’s tilted face, a consequence of the stroke, was also returned to its normal position. ClinicSpots, a healthcare startup that’s into medical tourism, helped the parents in the journey of treatment and this story is from their website.
On the ClinicSpots website, numerous such accounts of lives saved or improved as a result of effective medical treatments in India demonstrate the promising future of medical tourism in India. At the inaugural session of the 2nd G20 Health Working Group Meeting in Goa, Shripad Naik, Union Minister of State for Tourism and Ports & Shipping and Waterways, revealed that India witnessed more than 1.4 million medical tourists in 2022, which made it one of the top destinations for medical tourism. A total of 595,000 medical tourists visited India in 2019, an increase of 22.3% from the previous year.
Healing Haven
Medical tourism in India has gained immense popularity in recent years. The country’s advanced healthcare infrastructure, world-class medical facilities, and highly skilled medical professionals are attracting patients from across the globe. India offers a wide range of medical services, from complex surgeries to routine medical treatments, all at a fraction of the cost compared to Western countries.
According to Indian Health Guru, medical travel consultants, “Medical travel in India is not just known for its cost savings or the high standard of medical care facilities, but also because the waiting time is much lower for any treatment in India than in any other country. Medical help is often an emergency and situations can turn worse if the treatment is delayed. While you might have to wait for several months to get a surgical operation done in the US, UK, etc., in India things can be arranged within a week.”
Akshay Oleti, Business Head, Fortis Hospitals, Bengaluru, says that India is competitive in terms of cost. “International patients are drawn to India because medical care here is 1/10th the price of what it is in the US and 1/5th the price in the UK. For instance, a root canal costs 2000 euros abroad, whereas in India, a complete cardiac surgery can be done within 2000 euros.”
Fortis Bannerghatta in Bengaluru alone treats 150-200 international patients every month. “We receive patients from the Middle East, SAARC nations, Africa and the Pacific Islands. There was a dip during the pandemic but the numbers are rising again,” adds Oleti.
Oncology, Urology and neurosurgery are the top three streams of treatments for foreign patients at Fortis. In addition, they also come for kidney transplants, liver transplants, cardiac surgeries and brain and spine surgeries. It gets five kinds of international patients – international corporate, international insurance clients, cash paying patients referred to a doctor by a contact, website generated leads and walk-ins.
Till now, Indian Health Guru has facilitated travel for over 500 patients from 15 countries, including the USA, UK, Spain, Tanzania, Zambia, Kenya, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria.
Post pandemic Scenario
In Delhi, post-pandemic medical tourism has reportedly resumed, with patients arriving from Iraq, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, and Kenya mostly for cardiac surgery, paediatric liver, kidney, and bone marrow transplants, brain and spinal surgery, plastic surgery, and bariatric surgery, among other procedures.
In addition to Delhi, patients who are heading straight for hospitals such as Fortis, Apollo, Global Hospitals, Narayana Health, Escorts, and Medanta Medicity also prefer to go to Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai. Delhi used to be the most popular destination for Afghan patients before the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021. Since tertiary care was conspicuously lacking in Afghanistan, there used to be a massive influx of Afghan patients into Delhi.
The majority of Afghans would travel to Delhi seeking medical care for heart conditions, brain tumours, orthopaedic issues, and cancer as India provided hassle-free visas and safety.
Government support for health
The fact that the Indian government has begun issuing medical visas to visitors from 165 nations is helping the cause. Foreign nationals seeking medical care in India are granted medical and medical attendant visas by the government. Both of them are formally referred to as ‘Medical Visa’ and ‘Medical Attendant Visa’. These visas enable the foreign patient and their companion to visit India for medical care and remain there for the amount of time indicated in the visa.
The Ayush Visa has also been made available by the Ministry of Home Affairs to foreign nationals who wish to receive conventional medical care such as Ayurveda, Yoga, Sidha, Naturopathy.
In order to market India as one of the top medical tourism destinations in the world, the Indian government launched the one-stop Heal in India webpage. The government of India is actively working towards its objective of making India a centre for medical and wellness tourism on a worldwide scale.
“I would say that we’ve gone one level above medical tourism. India has not just become the best in medical tourism but also in doctor tourism because, with the talent pool that we have and the skill set that we have, our doctors are now touring across the world and performing procedures, with the new rules that allow us to operate in many other countries. It has actually created a shift in the paradigm where we’re not talking just about tourism and medicine.
We are talking about serious stuff—the medical part of it—because of the skill set of the medical team, the technology, the access to health care, and the cost. People just want to come here and gain access and even other advanced countries are inviting doctors to train and perform complicated procedures in their own countries through invitation. And I’m one of those examples,” says Dr.Vishal Rao, Head and Neck Cancer Surgeon at HCG Cancer Centre, Bengaluru.
The Ministry of Tourism lists several factors behind the boom for medical tourism in India. According to the website, the majority of physicians and surgeons employed by Indian hospitals received their training or experience in various medical facilities in the US, Europe, or other developed countries. The majority of nurses and doctors speak English well.
State-of-the-art facilities
Many Indian hospitals have access to state-of-the-art medical and diagnostic equipment from multinational firms. India produces some of the world’s best nurses. Around 10,000 nurses are graduated from India’s almost 1000 accredited nursing programmes each year. A budget traveller can nevertheless afford first-rate amenities and service. Additionally, the field of healthcare travel agencies has become buoyant with many players and has played a role in facilitating foreign patient visits to India.
According to Dr. Banarji B.H., Senior Consultant – Orthopedics, Sakra World Hospital, Bengaluru, witnesses a regular inflow of international patients from Yemen, Oman, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and African nations, out of which many are seeking orthopaedic treatments like complicated fracture surgeries and shoulder keyhole surgeries. “Language barriers and follow-ups become a challenge at times; otherwise, it works out fine, but still, these countries prefer India because of similarities in food, culture, weather and costs,” he says.
This cost-effectiveness is a significant driving factor for medical tourists. Additionally, India’s diverse culture, competitive doctors, and world-class infrastructure of hospitals make it an attractive destination for recovery and relaxation post-treatment. The medical tourism industry in India continues to grow, fostering international collaboration and ensuring top-notch patient care.
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