Published: Monday September 14, 2009 MYT 8:04:00 AM
Updated: Monday September 14, 2009 MYT 12:16:36 PM
Cheaper medical treatment in India attracts hordes
KOLKATA: Finding it cheaper to be medically treated in India, foreigners have increased their footfalls in the country.
"A large number of foreign tourists come to India for treatment because costs here are less in comparison to the West," Sanjeev Dev Chowdhury, an official of Regional Tourist office in Kolkata (the capital of India's eastern state of West Bengal) said.
Foreign exchange earning from medical tourists is expected to double by 2012, he added, reported PTI.
"It costs 80 per cent less for an operation here in comparison to the United States," Kushagra Katariya, Chief Executive Officer of Artemis Health Institute, Gurgaon said.
A heart surgery will cost around US$50,000 in the US, while in India it can be done for only US$10,000 which includes operation cost, accommodation and post operative stay with a companion.
"People from all over the world especially the US, Middle East, Africa, Bangladesh come to India in hordes for good medical treatment at cheap cost," Katariya said.
Asked about earnings from medical tourists, he said at Artemis around 20 percent of the total income comes from foreigners and the figure was increasing.
Katariya also claimed that medical tourism was a recession proof business and witnessing a boom.
"We hope that income from foreign medical tourists would touch 25 percent by the end of this year and around 30 per cent by next year."
Many hospitals have also set up a separate department to look after foreign medical tourists and provide all the details on the website as well.
"Foreign patients get information about our hospital, the facilities, the cost of treatment and other details from our website.
“They can also seek appointment with a doctor through our website," an official of the Calcutta Medical Research Institute said.
Medical tourists just need to contact the department and tell them about their needs and everything is taken care of by the department including pick up and drop off at the airport, Katariya said .
The Artemis CEO, however, said: "Singapore and Thailand have an edge over over India in medical tourism. Their infrastructure is better than ours. We need to have more better airport facilities and better hotels." - Bernama
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