Date: 28/11/2022 Shift: 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM Q. No: 192

Nowadays it is not uncommon to travel to a foreign country for medical treatment. Till quite recently the trend was to go to the west that offered the most advanced medical facilities. But over the last decade, thanks to the building of world-class facilities and infrastructure, there has been a marked reversal of the prevalent trend and India is now promoting itself as a heaven for medical tourism. It has on offer the highest level of services, facilities and professional skills for all medical needs.

Several factors combine to make India a preferred destination for medical tourism. On an average, the cost of treatment in India is one-tenth of the cost in the west. Secondly, foreign patients throng Indian hospitals to bypass the long waiting lists and queues in their native countries. Indian hospitals provide immediate attention to patients rather than asking them to wait for several months or even for years for a transplant. Indian doctors are well-equipped to handle bone-marrow transplant, liver and kidney transplants, cardiac surgery, joint replacement surgery, dental and cosmetic surgery in hospitals that match international standards. Of late, Indian hospitals have gained international recognition for their unsurpassed skills, techniques and procedures. Indian doctors, nurses and other medical staff are well versed in English, which makes communication easy with patients from the west. Also, foreign patients can get package deals including flights, transfers, hotels, treatment and post-operative vacation for their medical visits to India. Many patients prefer to combine their leisure and relaxation visits with heath care, thus deriving the dual benefit of treatment with travelling and sightseeing.

Several tour organizers now work in collaboration with renowned hospitals to guide and coordinate the travel plans of their clients. They take care of the specific medical needs of the clients along with planning a vacation for the patient as well as their companions. A very important aspect of medicine is the recovery phase. It has been statistically demonstrated that patients recover faster with a much higher success rate when their treatment includes practices that enhance physical, mental and emotional well-being. An additional advantage that India offers is this respect is that here, along with allopathy, patients can also go for Ayurveda, yoga and meditation, which speed up the healing process.

A. World class facilities and infrastructure is available in India.
B. Foreign patients can derive dual benefit of treatment with tourism.