Promoted by the government and fuelled by the corporate boom in medical care, India is increasingly seen as the favoured destination of “medical tourists” who cross national boundaries to seek treatment that is cheaper than in their home countries. Medical tourism is a multi-billion dollar industry promoted by governments and the medical and tourism industries.
Patients who travel abroad for medical treatment do so for a variety of reasons. The elite from developing countries seek treatments not available in their own countries. Thus private hospitals in India are seeing an influx of patients from Bangladesh and the Gulf. Patients from the United States seek treatments that cost five to 10 times in their own country. And, as public-funded health insurance is unable to cope with the rising demands of an increasingly aging population, patients from countries such as the United Kingdom and Canada travel to India to beat the huge waiting period for many routine procedures.
The key selling points of the Indian medical tourism industry are the combination of high quality facilities, competent, English-speaking medical professionals, “cost effectiveness” and the attractions of tourism. The cost differential is huge: Open-heart surgery costs up to $70,000 in Britain and $150,000 in the US; in India’s best hospitals it could cost between $3,000 and $10,000. Knee surgery costs Rs. 3.5 lakh ($7,700) in India; in Britain it costs $16,950 (1). Dental, eye and cosmetic surgeries in western countries cost three to four times as much as in India. Medical tourists usually get a package deal that includes flights, hotels, treatment and, often, a post-operative vacation.
Two other major factors are the sustained growth of corporate hospitals and hospital chains across India and government patronage and promotion of medical tourism as part of public policy.