Healthcare historians have conclusive evidence that medical tourism is as old as healthcare itself. In India, medical tourism has a long illustrious past – our history of medical tourism slowly unfolded with the popularity of yoga and Ayurvedic medicine. As early as 5,000 years ago, constant streams of medical travelers and spiritual students flocked to India to seek the benefits of these alternative-healing methods.
It has to be said though that in spite of the tremendous head start, we did lose our way. For a long we were relegated to become an insignificant force in global healthcare. It is only in the past couple of decades that we saw resurgence in Indian healthcare. Today, we are again seen as a global hub of healing; a destination synonymous with quality and expertise. Indian healthcare’s renaissance and strengthening credentials has had an obvious impact on our medical tourism story.
Healthcare tourism is an area of active focus worldwide today. One of the most important factors to keep in mind is that many of the global healthcare systems – especially in the U.S., U.K. and Germany are undergoing significant challenges: waiting lists, shifting priorities for healthcare, tightened eligibility criteria, etc.
Hence with the globalisation of information and the empowerment of the consumer, medical tourism involves individuals acting as a consumer, making their own decisions regarding their health needs, deciphering how they can best be treated, and then finding the most appropriate provider.
Focus on quality of medical care
Medical tourism is no longer about cheaper procedures and holiday trips. It is increasingly more about the quality of doctors and technology, and care models that many of these countries are pursuing that make this form of health tourism different. A market is evolving for both high-end clinical care and the hospitality that goes with it. Therefore, a focused thrust on making India a brand in medical tourism or MVT (Medical Value Travel) would be perfectly timed.
The Top specialties for medical travellers would broadly include the following: Solid Organ transplants (Liver, Kidney, Pancreas, Heart, Lung, and Intestine); Cancer; Cardiovascular; Orthopaedics (joint and spine; sports medicine); Neurosurgery; Reproductive (fertility, IVF, women’s health); Weight loss (LAP-BAND, gastric bypass); Cosmetic surgery and Dentistry (general, restorative, cosmetic).
Market may grow to $10.3 bn
Although the exact market size of the medical tourism market is difficult to predict, in a recent research report PwC predicted that the medical tourism sector is expected to grow to $10.3 billion in 2020, from $2.8 billion now. Also a 2014 study by consultants KPMG ranks India as the third top Asian destination for medical tourists after Thailand and Singapore, with 25 percent growth a year, outstripping the 16 percent growth in Thailand.
India though garners no more than a minuscule percentage of the world medical tourists contributing to less than 0.1% of the nation’s GDP. With a concerted effort India can target a GDP share of 2% from medical tourism. According to PwC, around 1.2 million medical tourists are expected to visit India by the end of this year, and that number is likely to double by 2020.
In recent years, the prowess of the Indian doctor has earned acclaim well beyond our shores. In the present day, India attracts over a million patients a year who have been coming to us from 121 countries. But this is the tip of the iceberg; India can serve millions more who are keen to be treated in our nation.
The sector has the promise and the potential to catalyse our economy to the next frontier.Medical value travel also brings to the table several tertiary benefits – these include high sectoral employment (doctors, nurses and healthcare technicians), raising the skill set of healthcare professionals, promoting support industry growth such as tourism, airlines, hotels etc.
Right impetus
The right impetus would encourage India to add more hospital beds and boost the much needed health infrastructure in the country. Moreover, as statistics show, every hospital bed adds direct employment for five people and indirect employment for twenty-five.
It is wonderful that the Government of India is setting up a separate department for medical tourism as in just in the span of about five years, the number of foreign tourists visiting India for advanced medical care has doubled. India now needs its ministries to provide a rock solid foundation, so that we can build a global reputation as a centre of excellence in global healthcare.
Effective branding, especially MVT branding under Incredible India, conducting road shows, initiating special branding efforts to promote Indian medical tourism through all the Indian embassies and in addition allowing only JCL, NABH and NABL accredited hospitals to provide healthcare to international patients would go a long a way in framing a strong MVT policy for the country. Apart from conferring MVT status on par with tourism, the Government could consider establishing SEZ for MVT and authorising such zones to qualify for exports of medical equipments and consumables.
The services of AYUSH could be utilised to promote integrated healthcare. Framing guidelines for promoting MVT through embassies, making the website more interactive, service tax exemption for ten years on MVT procedures, providing 100 % tax exemption on revenue generated through MVT would augur well for the industry and could give the much-required fillip to this niche sector.
Free visa regime
A key issue or concern faced by those seeking MVT is Visas. Our current medical visa regime has to be simplified and short term medical treatments should be permitted even with Tourist Category visas. This way, Indian hospitals can look at promoting even day care to minor surgeries to all foreign tourists visiting India.
Medical visa can be offered to those seeking long term or complex treatments like solid organ transplants, Bone marrow transplants etc where it requires their multiple entry as well as longer stay in India.
We should also consider the new E-visa regime to have options for short term medical treatments.
A simplified visa system alone makes India’s medical travel segment to focus on almost 5-6 million foreign tourist coming to our country and that would do a multiplier effect on our forex earnings from tourism.
A concerted effort on all these fronts can help India regain its exalted position as the ‘land of healing’. We urge the current dynamic Government to formulate a vibrant MVT policy and remove the bottlenecks to help achieve this. Immediate action is crucial, especially when the Indian hospital and hospitality sectors are waiting to play their part perfectly well in healing the sick and help the Government earn precious foreign exchange.
(The writer is Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals)
