Medical value travel (MVT) or medical tourism, as it is often called, entails travel to another country for healthcare. Since health systems of most nations are far from perfect, citizens may find it necessary, convenient or more affordable to access medical diagnosis and treatment in another country, with or without combining the travel with leisure or sight-seeking.
In the spirit of One earth, One health, MVT is a win-win for the patient as well as the healthcare system of the host country. The former gets the much-needed care and the latter gets a guest who uses its facilities on payment. MVT is a well-established healthcare paradigm in global health now, apart from being a flourishing business opportunity. The global market is estimated to rise sharply to 192 billion USD in 2026 from the 41 billion USD in 2020.
India has a huge stake in the international MVT ecosystem, and our offerings come with exciting advantages. We offer advanced medical and surgical care in our leading hospitals, particularly in the private corporate chains and government institutes of national importance. But, more importantly, we also offer therapies based on traditional medicine, in particular, Ayurveda, Yoga and Unani. Besides, India offers a vibrant landscape of wellness and rejuvenation.
If we blend all the above and couple it with opportunities to experience our diverse tourism and cultural landscape, we have the world’s most exciting and diverse MVT setting. Furthermore, we treat our guests with utmost humility and warmth in the spirit of Atithi devo bhava!
India’s quality healthcare service comes with a compelling cost advantage. Cost of Indian healthcare is typically 2-3 times lower than in other countries. For instance, savings for angioplasty and knee replacement are to the tune of 80% and 88% compared to USA, respectively. This makes our system obviously attractive to people of less resourced countries in South Asia and in Africa where such facilities do not exist. But India is also attractive to citizens of more advanced countries where the waiting lists are unusually long. Not surprisingly, overseas Indians in North America and UK are increasingly exercising the option of combining their medical travel with vising their families – or vice versa.
Presently, we rank 10th in global medical tourism index and 12th in wellness tourism market. We have over 1600 hospitals accredited by the national accreditation board for hospitals (NABH), around 45 hospitals accredited by the Joint Commission International, and 184 Ayush hospitals accredited by NABH. Apart from the four metros, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Gurugram, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Chandigarh-Mohali, Pune and Jaipur are frontline MVT cities, and many more could be in the network in near future. India’s MVT market is poised to rise from Rs. 0.5 lakh crore (2020) to Rs 1.0 lakh crore by 2026. This is impressive, but the scope to make India a top global hub of MVT is phenomenal. MVT has a huge potential to create jobs apart from good health.
The Union government has made MVT a high priority. Stakeholder consultations have been held. G-20 co-branded mega events on Advantage Healthcare India-2023 in Delhi (April) and Gandhinagar (August) brought together health industry, government and international players. Private hospital chains are being encouraged and facilitated for this role. Medical visas are being promoted. A new category of Ayush (AY) visa for foreign nationals seeking treatment under Ayush systems of medicine has been created.
At the G20 health ministers’ meeting at Gandhinagar last month, an “Advantage Healthcare India” portal has been launched. This game-changing resource is a window of information and interaction for use by the prospective ‘medical tourists’ to India. It is designed to be a comprehensive, user-friendly, and multilingual interface that caters to the needs of patients from all corners of the globe. It offers a comprehensive platform for information dissemination, seamless patient journeys, transparent pricing, and grievance redressal.
The portal’s agile search functionality empowers patients to explore healthcare options based on city, hospital, doctor, medical procedure and MVT facilitator for identifying the most suitable services. The incorporation of seamless end-to-end patient journey tracking ensures a frictionless experience for all stakeholders including patients, MVT facilitators, and Hospitals. Notably, the commitment to fidelity is demonstrated through transparent online package pricing relevant procedures for modern and traditional systems both, facilitating informed decision-making.
The portal helps in navigating treatment options, scheduling appointments, visa facilitation and follow up. A teleconsultation module is also linked. Additionally, the portal efficiently captures patient testimonials.
Our aim should be to make India the preferred destination for MVT within a decade – for modern and traditional care, wellness and rejuvenation. Healthcare industry and enterprise should also rise to the occasion alongside the government. Both the private sector and high-end government institutions (including the AIIMS network) need to ensure three things in this context. First, attain and sustain world-class outcomes of medical and surgical care; second, build trust with clients based on transparency and value-driven care – from the first consult to post-discharge follow up; and third, go beyond healthcare and assist with hospitality needs of the visitors.
State governments should also facilitate comfort and care of foreign patients and their co-travelers. It would be a good idea to have MVT cells in the state health and Ayush departments. Local administration should ensure safety and security to our guests exhibiting zero tolerance to elements that may exploit them. Home stay may be encouraged for the attendants. We should be the finest hosts as well as best care providers.
As in medical profession, so in MVT, quality care and human touch are inseparable.
Read more
