WHAT IS MEDICAL TOURISM ?

Medical tourism can be broadly defined as the provision of 'cost effective' private medical care in collaboration with the tourism industry for patients needing surgical and other forms of specialized treatment.
The process of healthcare tourism is jointly facilitated by the corporate sector involved in medical and healthcare as well as the tourism industry - both private and public.
Medical tourism has become a common form of vacationing, and covers a broad spectrum of medical services. Medical tourism mixes leisure, fun and relaxation together with wellness and healthcare.A combination of many factors has lead to the recent increase in popularity of medical tourism.

Exorbitant cost of healthcare and medical facilities in advanced countries, ease and affordability of international travel, favorable currency exchange rates in the global economy, rapidly improving technology and high standards of medical care in the developing countries has all contributed their share to this rapid development of medical tourism.

India has originated as one of the most important hubs for medical toursim.Many people from the developed countries come to India for the rejuvenation promised by yoga and Ayurvedic massage however, a nice blend of top-class medical expertise at attractive prices is helping more and more Indian corporate hospitals to lure foreign patients, including patients from developed nations such as the UK and the US, for high end surgeries like Cardiac ByPass Surgery or a Knee/Hip Replacement.
As more and more patients from Europe, the USA and other affluent nations with high medical costs look for effective options, healthcare tourism in India is definitely on the cards for most of them and the fast growing Indian corporate health sector is fully geared to meet that need.

Not just cost savings or the high standard of medical care facility, but also the waiting time is much lower for any treatment in India than in any other country. Medical help is often an emergency and situations can turn worse if the treatment is delayed. While you might have to wait for several months to get a surgical operation done in the US, in India things can be arranged within a week.

Medical Tourism India (a.k.a. Health Tourism India) is a developing concept whereby people from world over visit India for their medical and relaxation needs. Most common treatments are heart surgery, knee transplant, cosmetic surgery and dental care. The reason India is a favourable destination is because of it's infrastructure and technology in which is On par with those in USA, UK and Europe. India has some of the best hospitals and treatment centers in the world with the best facilities. Since it is also one of the most favourable tourist destinations in the world, Medication combines with tourism has come into effect, from which the concept of Medical Tourism is derived.

Taken from Financial Times (2/7/03)
India is promoting the "high-tech healing" of its private health care sector as a tourist attraction. The government hopes to encourage a budding trade in medical tourism, selling foreigners the idea of travelling to India for low-cost but world-class medical treatment. Naresh Trehan, executive director of Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre, a leading private health care provider, says India has established world-class expertise in practices such as cardiac care, cosmetic surgery, joint replacements and dentistry.

Merging medical expertise and tourism became government policy when finance minister Jaswant Singh, in this year's budget, called for India to become a "global health destination". .....For example, in April Madras Medical Mission, a Chennai-based hospital, successfully conducted a complex heart operation on an 87-year-old American patient at a reported cost of $8,000 (€7,000, £4,850) including the cost of his airfare and a month's stay in hospital. The patient claimed that a less complex operation in America had earlier cost him $40,000.