Medical Tourism in India

Pioneer in Medical Tourism

India is truly the pioneer in medical tourism. The first liver transplant and one of the first heart transplants internationally was done there. India has really become a global leader in medical tourism and is one of the world’s least expensive choices among medical tourism destinations. Medical tourism in India is a growing sector and is expected to experience an annual growth rate of 30%. Estimates of the value of medical tourism to India go as high as $2 billion a year by 2012. Surrogacy alone is said to be a half a billion dollar industry. As medical treatment costs in the developed world grow exponentially, with the United States leading the way, more and more Westerners are seeking alternative healthcare solutions.

Advantages of Traveling to India for Medical Treatment

The Advantages for individuals travelling to India for medical treatment include reduced costs, the availability of latest medical technologies, a growing compliance on international quality standards, and the fact that foreigners are less likely to face language barriers in India since English is widely spoken.

Popular Treatments

Most estimates claim treatment costs in India start at around a tenth of the price of comparable treatment in America or the UK. The most popular treatments sought in India by medical tourists are alternative medicine, bone-marrow transplant, cardiac bypass, eye surgery, hip replacement, and surrogacy.

Surrogacy in India

Over the past few years surrogacy has been exploding with growth in India, mainly because the Indian government formally “commercialized” surrogacy and actually heavily markets the industry. According to Hrishikesh Pai, a Mumbai-based in-vitro fertilization specialist and vice-president of the Indian Society for Assisted Reproduction, India now has about 350 facilities that offer surrogacy as a part of a broader array of infertility-treatment services, triple the number in 2005. Last year, Dr. Pai says, about 1,000 pregnancy attempts using surrogates were made at these clinics. This year, he estimates the figure will jump to 1,500, with about a third of those made on behalf of parents from outside India who hired surrogates. One of the main attractions of doing surrogacy in India beside the cost are the laws. When a couple has their baby through a surrogate in India, only the intended parents’ names appear on the birth certificate. The surrogate’s name does not appear on the birth certificate. This makes it easier for the intended parents to bring back their baby to their home country.

Accreditation

In order to attract foreign patients many Indian hospitals are promoting their international quality of healthcare delivery by turning to international accreditation agencies to standardize their protocols and obtain the required approvals on safety and quality of care. The Ministry of Tourism India (MoT) is planning to extend its Market Development Assistance (MDA) scheme to cover Joint Commission International (JCI) and National Accreditation Board of Hospitals (NABH) certified hospitals. JCI stands for Joint Commission International and is a nongovernmental organization that provides hospitals worldwide with accreditation. They are the international standard. To learn more about JCI, click here http://www.jointcommissioninternational.org/.  There are currently 13 Indian hospitals that have been accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI). With more and more hospitals receiving JCI accreditations outside the U.S., concerns on safety and quality of care are becoming less of an issue for those choosing to travel for medical treatment at an affordable cost.

Chennai

The south Indian city of Chennai has been declared India's Health Capital, as it nets in 45% of health tourists from abroad and 30–40% of domestic health tourists. The hospitals in Chennai are equipped with state of the art medical equipment and Chennai is relatively inexpensive city compared to the other metropolitan cities like Mumbai (Bombay) and Delhi. Nearly 450,000 foreigners sought medical treatment in India in 2007, with Singapore not far behind and Thailand in the lead with over a million medical tourists. As the Indian healthcare delivery system strives to match international standards the Indian health care industry will be able to tap into a substantial portion of the medical tourism market.

So What Are You Waiting For?

Call us at MedCareLink to learn how we can help you seek medical treatment in India. Remember, our services are absolutely free. If you are in the USA or Canada, call us toll free at 1.888.832.2089. If you are calling from an international location, please dial us directly at 1.949.783.6827. You can also click on CONTACT US in the menu above and submit your information in the contact form.