Promoting Medical Tourism in India

Dr. Aniruddha Malpani at The Patient's Doctor asks the question

"What can the Indian Government do to promote medical tourism?"

My answer, the short version is, "Stay out of the way".

The long version is

1. Stay out of regulating who can set up a medical college and how to run a medical college.

2. Stay out of regulating who can join and how much fees is to be paid and what is to be taught.


I understand that the Government of India has a strong urge to do something to promote medical tourism. So I would suggest:

3 Negotiate with governments of foreign countries to simplify the process of recognition of Indian Medical degrees by foreign countries.
We as citizens of India cant do this easily. We can handle the rest of the things. Thank you.


Confidence in Indian Doctors

Right now, the biggest hurdle that is impeding medical tourism is the lack of confidence of foreigners in the competence of Indian doctors in the Indian health care setting to provide safe and effective treatment.

Foreign patients are not anxious about the competence of the significant number of Indian doctors who are working in UK, US and recently Australia as these Indian doctors have been certified by the respective foreign countries.

But getting this certification is costly in terms of money and time. For example a surgeon from India will have to repeat at least 3 years training in US, spend about a million rupees to be certified to treat patients from US. If this process is simplified, there will be more foreign certified Indian doctors in Indian hospitals. Foreign patients can then more easily rely on Indian hospitals. This is one way of solving this.

India doctors are not the only ones facing this and doctors of other third world countries offering medical tourism are also facing this hurdle. Whichever country in able to solve this problem first will take a lead in medical tourism.


Price Tag of Indian Hospitals

Dr. Aniruddha Malpani has suggested that the government should provide tax exemptions to hospitals that are involved in earning foreign exchange. To its credit, the Government of India has provided 5 year tax exemptions to hospitals in Tier II and III cities in the budget of 2008.

But Indian hospitals are so cost competitive, as compared to western hospitals and competing countries in medical tourism that even after paying tax, the price tag of Indian hospitals will be lower than the nearest competitor.

Price is not the issue. Confidence is.

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