Medical Tourism in Bangalore: Scope and Challenges - ijcsmr

International Journal of Computer Science and Management Research Vol 2 Issue 3 March 2013ISSN 2278-733XMedical Tourism in Bangalore: Scope andChallengesShama Mankikar #1 , Dr. Sneha Mankikar *2# Department of computer Engineering, Pune UniversityMAEER’s M.I.T, Pune, India1 shamamankikar@gmail.comAssistant professor – MBA , Bangalore University,Krupanidhi School of Management, Bangalore, India2 Sneha_kanade@hotmail.comAbstract— Medical tourism is commonly perceived and popularlydepicted as an economic issue, both at the system and individuallevels. The decision to engage in medical tourism, however, ismore complex, driven by patients’ unmet need, the nature ofservices sought and the manner by which treatment is accessed.Leisure has seized to be the sole reason for tourist activity, andthe competitive world of business is looking to combine businesswith pleasure, giving birth to the concept of medical tourism. Inorder to beneficially employ the opportunities medical tourismoffers, and address and contain possible threats and harms, aninformed decision is crucial. Accordingly, it comments on theimperative of access to health information and the currentregulatory environment which impact on this increasinglypopular and complex form of accessing and providing medicalcare.Medical tourism, medical travel, health tourism or global healthcare is rapidly-growing practiceof traveling across international borders to obtain health care.Medical tourism can be defined asprovision of 'cost effective' personal health care/ private medicalcare in association with the tourism industry for patients needingsurgical healthcare and other forms of dedicated & specializedtreatment. This paper aims to enhance the current knowledge onmedical tourism by isolating the focal content of the decisionsthat patients make. Based on the existing literature, it reflectsscope and challenges in opting for or against medical care, andengaging in medical tourism, including considerations of therequired treatments, location of treatment, and quality andsafety issues attendant to seeking care. This paper examines theintroduction, origin of medical tourism, some facts about medicaltourism in India, core competencies, opportunities, challengesmedical packages and future of medical tourism in Bangalore.Keywords: Health tourism, medical tourism, medical packages,tourism industry, Bangalore..I. INTRODUCTIONMedical tourism (also called medical travel, health tourismor global health care) is a term initially coined by travelagencies and the mass media to describe the rapidly-growingpractice of traveling across international borders to obtainhealth care. Medical tourism can be defined as provision of'cost effective' personal health care/ private medical care inassociation with the tourism industry for patients needingsurgical healthcare and other forms of dedicated & specializedtreatment. Medical tourism is an emerging concept.Governments all over the globe are highly concerned abouttheir ability to meet their social obligations in the healthsector. They are highlighting it as ‘International standardhealthcare services at affordable prices.’ Medical or Healthtreatment package tourism is a recurrent form of vacationing,and covers a broad range of medical services. It mingles freetime, leisure, fun relaxation, amusement and recreationtogether with wellness and healthcare packages. At the sametime tourists are able to receive an orientation that will helpthem to improve their life in terms of their health and generalwell being. It is like rejuvenation and cleans up process on alllevels - physical, mental and emotional. Medical or healthtourism is among the fastest growing industries in the world.The major forces driving growth of this emerging industryinclude the rising cost of healthcare and limiting scope ofinsurance coverage in developed countries, increasing waitingtime for treatments, and low cost of treatments elsewhere.The concept of medical tourism is not a new one. The firstrecorded instance of medical tourism dates back thousands ofyears to when Greek pilgrims traveled from all over theMediterranean to the small territory in the Saronic Gulf calledEpidauria. This territory was the sanctuary of the healing godAsklepios. Epidauria became the original travel destination formedical tourism. Our Indian system of medicine likeAyurveda and Unani system of medicine for the same causewere very famous and peoples from different countries comefor their treatment and healings. In Roman Britain, patientstook the waters at a shrine at Bath, a practice that continuedfor 2,000 years. From the 18th century wealthy Europeanstraveled to spas from Germany to the Nile. At first, meretraveling was considered to be a good therapy for mental andphysical well being. Spa towns and sanitariums may beconsidered an early form of medical tourism. In eighteenthcentury England, for example, patients visited spas becauseShama Mankikar et.al.1983www.ijcsmr.org

International Journal of Computer Science and Management Research Vol 2 Issue 3 March 2013ISSN 2278-733Xthey were places with supposedly health-giving mineralwaters, treating diseases from gout to liver disorders andbronchitis. In the 21st century, relatively low-cost jet travelhas taken the industry beyond the wealthy and desperate.Later, mostly wealthy people began traveling to touristdestinations like the Swiss lakes, the Alps and specialtuberculosis sanatoriums, where professional and oftenspecialized medical care was offered. In this century,however, medical tourism expanded to a much larger scale.Thailand, followed by India, Puerto-Rico, Argentina, Cubaand others quickly became the most popular destinations formedical tourists. Complicated surgeries and dental works,kidney dialysis, organ transplantation and sex changes, toppedthe list of the most popular procedures. People from manyadvanced countries, including the United Sates and Europe,see a benefit in traveling to developing third world countries,like India, Thailand, Philippines, South Africa, andetc. whilecombining medical treatments with inexpensive vacation. Thistrend is now known as medical tourism.The three major medical tourism hubs in the world areSingapore, India and Thailand. Indian tourism industry isexperiencing a strong period of growth, driven by theburgeoning Indian middle class, growth in high spendingforeign tourists, and coordinated government campaigns topromote ‘Incredible India’.Medical tourism is perceived as one of the finest growingsegments in marketing ‘Destination India’ today. India is onthreshold of a healthcare revolution and emerging as thedestination for medical tourist. Healthcare industry accountedfor 5.1 per cent of the country’s GDP in 2006.• Private healthcare to form a large share of the healthcarespend, and would increase to US$ 33.6 billion in 2010 fromUS$ 14.8 billion in 2002.• Expected to generate employment opportunities for ninemillion people by 2012.• India offers easy access to visa facilities for overseaspatients along with best emerging medical infrastructure inlarge and tertiary towns. This shall generate earnings of aboutUS$ 19.5 billion in foreign exchange by 2012.• The market is estimated to touch US$ 77 billion by 2013 at aCAGR of 15 %.• Share of private expenditure as a percentage of totalexpenditure on healthcare has grown from 60 per cent tonearly 80 per cent over the last decade.• With an annual growth rate of 30 per cent, India is alreadyinching closer to Singapore andThailand, which are established medical care hubs that attractmillions of medical tourists a year.• India excels in providing quality and cheap health careservices to overseas tourists. The field has such lucrativepotential that it can become a $2.3 billion business by 2012,states a study by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). In2004, some 150,000 foreigners visited India for treatment, andthe numbers have been rising by 15 per cent each year.II. BANGALORE AS MEDICAL TOURISMDESTINATIONMedical tourism is gaining popularity in India & is recognizedas a hot medical hub or global health destination at presentbecause foreign tourists travel India in search of low-cost &world-class medical treatment. India is also capitalizing on itlow-cost and world class medical expertise to appeal these‘medical tourists.’ India is promoting the "high-tech healing"of its private healthcare sector as a tourist attraction. In short,Medical Tourism in India = World Class Treatment +Holiday + Big Savings.India has been the most attractive destination for the visitorsaround the globe. India is a perfect destination for medicaltourism that combines health treatment with visits to some ofthe most alluring and awe-inspiring places of the world. Thisis not only due to the heritage attraction of the country but themedical tourism India which has depicted a steady southwardmovement, of late. People rush India for 5 Reasons– price,service, quality, availability (cutting edge treatments) &tourism. India is in the process of becoming the "GlobalHealth Destination" owing to the following advantages:• Reduced costs/Economical and affordable pricing - The key‘selling point’ of Indian healthcare tourism is its “costeffectiveness.” Price advantage is a major selling point. Theslogan, thus is, "first world treatment at third world prices".The cost differential across the board is huge- only a tenth andsometimes even a sixteenth of the cost in the west. Mostestimates claim treatment costs in India start at around a tenthof the price of comparable treatment in America or Britain.The cost of medical services in India is almost 30% lower tothat in Western countries and the cheapest in South-east Asia.• Availability of latest medical technologies -The mostpopular treatments sought in India by medical tourists arealternative medicine, bone-marrow transplant, cardiac bypasssurgery, eye surgery and orthopaedic surgery. India is knownin particular for heart surgery, hip resurfacing and other areasof advanced medicine. All these medical treatments andinvestigations are done by using the latest, technologicallyadvanced diagnostic equipments. India has a provision andpractice of alternative traditional medicine like ayurveda,pranic healing, aromatherapy, music therapy, meditation andyoga. Many people from the advanced countries come to Indiafor the upgrading promised by yoga and Ayurvedic massage.A nice blend of top-class medical expertise at attractive pricesis helping a rising number of Indian corporate hospitals attractforeign patients, including from developed nations as theyhave accepted ayurveda as a medical system and haveexpressed interest in the ayurveda curriculum and research.Shama Mankikar et.al.1984www.ijcsmr.org

International Journal of Computer Science and Management Research Vol 2 Issue 3 March 2013ISSN 2278-733Xpatients, hospitals are leaving no stone unturned to offerworldclass facilities to foreign clientele, particularly from theGulf.Bangalore is one of the top medical tourism destinations inIndia, with professional experts, technological sophisticationand health care services that easily match the best in theworld. Its reputation as the global technology hub andcosmopolitan city has made it a prominent health caredestination for foreigners from developed as well asdeveloping countries. Bangalore has a pleasant weather allthrough the year.Some of the lead institutes and private hospitals in Bangalorewith regular patients from abroad include: Hosmat, Recoup,Soukya, Manipal, Narayana Hrudalaya, NIMHANS,Wockhardt, Advanced fertility centre, Sagar Apollo, KidwaiMemorial Institute of Oncology, Sri Jayadeva Institute ofCardiology, St. John’s Hospital, St. Martha’s, VictoriaHospital and Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher MedicalSciences, Mallya Hospital, Manipal Hospital and TheBangalore Hospital.Bangalore has few of the world’s best doctors and medicalpractitioners, who have been trained by the rigorous Indianmedical education system as well as in countries like UK andUSA. The practitioners are registered with the Indian MedicalAssociation and other Indian and international professionalbodies. Many hospitals now have international accreditation todispel any concerns of patients coming for treatment. Most bighospitals have eminent doctors from abroad as consultants.Also, most hospitals that have foreign patients have facilitiesand services customized for the comfort and convenience ofthe patients.Popular specializations for medical consultation, treatmentsand surgeries in Bangalore include Cardiology, Orthopedics,Nephrology, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Dentistry, Oncology,Infertility, Gynecology, Homeopathy, Ayurveda, Naturopathyetc.IV. TOP 5 HOSPITALS AS PREFERRED DESTINATION INBANGALOREBangalore promises to be the perfect destination for anymedical tourist. The government, the medical fraternity andthe tour operators are all preparing for this new revolution.Here’s a list of top 5 hospitals in Bangalore. Bangalore is oneof the top medical tourism destinations in India, withprofessional experts, technological sophistication and healthcare services that easily match the best in the world. Itsreputation as the global technology hub and cosmopolitan cityhas made it a prominent health care destination for foreignersfrom developed as well as developing countries. Bangalorehas a pleasant weather all through the year.Bangalore has few of the world’s best doctors and medicalpractitioners, who have been trained by the rigorous Indianmedical education system as well as in countries like UK andUSA. The practitioners are registered with the Indian MedicalAssociation and other Indian and international professionalbodies. Many hospitals now have international accreditation todispel any concerns of patients coming for treatment. Most bighospitals have eminent doctors from abroad as consultants.Also, most hospitals that have foreign patients have facilitiesand services customized for the comfort and convenience ofthe patients. Popular specializations for medical consultation,treatments and surgeries in Bangalore include Cardiology,Orthopedics, Nephrology, Neurology, Neurosurgery,Dentistry, Oncology, Infertility, Gynecology, Homeopathy,Ayurveda, Naturopathy etc.Narayana HrudayalayaThe poor come here for the world's kindest care, for no onehere is turned away for lack of funds. This was the vision ofDr. Devi Shetty, who believed that no child should bedeprived of the best healthcare, because the parents cannotafford it. Caring with Compassion, this world's largest hearthospital for children, is set to be transformed into the world'sbiggest health city, with all super-specialties that the medicalworld offers. "Narayana Hrudayalaya is founded by one of the India’s oldestconstruction company “Shankar Narayana ConstructionCompany”. Narayana Hrudayalaya group currently has 5000beds in India and aims to have 30,000 beds in the next 5 yearsin India to become the one of the largest healthcare player inthe country. The Group performs largest number of heartsurgeries on children in the World providing cardiac care tochildren from 73 countries. The postoperative pediatriccardiac surgical unit has 80 critical care beds which is World’slargest Pediatric cardiac surgical Intensive Therapy Unit (ITU)to look after children who have undergone heart operations.Fortis HospitalFortis Hospital (formerly Wockhardt Hospitals) Bangalore is apart of the 40 hospitals chain of Fortis Healthcare. The FortisHospitals network consists of 11 hospitals focusing on thehigh end tertiary care around the specialties of cardiac care –adult and pediatric cardiology and cardiac surgery, complexbrain & spine surgeries, orthopedics and joint replacementsurgery and minimal access surgery.The entity consists of 2 JCI accredited hospitals located inBangalore and Mulund. Fortis Healthcare is engaged inproviding the latest in internationally recognized medical careto patients with a variety of ailments and medical conditions.Their network consists of Super Speciality Hospital Hubs thatconcentrate on one or more specialties. These hospitals areinterconnected to a larger network of multi-specialityhospitals that ensures patient access to expert care for anyspeciality. This unique network architecture provides expertcare to patients and a level of confidence in receiving theShama Mankikar et.al.1986www.ijcsmr.org

International Journal of Computer Science and Management Research Vol 2 Issue 3 March 2013ISSN 2278-733X• Overseas medical care not covered by many insuranceplayers.• Under-investment in healthcare infrastructure.VII. FUTURE / MEASURES TO ENCOURAGEMEDICAL TOURISMMinistry of Health and Family Welfare with Ministry ofTourism set up a task force to evaluate the opportunities in theindustry and formulate a policy to accredit healthcareinstitutions. The need of the hour is to club together a coupleof pathies as we have a strong base of yoga, naturopathy, andayurveda, as alternative healing therapies. Following are somepoints that must be taken into account to encourage medicaltourism:• Create incentive structures (e.g. tax breaks) which encouragethe corporate sector to set-up more infrastructure.• Need to set-up more high-value hospitals/health carefacilities – specialty facilities with state of the art equipmentand high service levels.• Develop business models to make these facilities have asmaller gestation period.• Private firms in the insurance sector should set-up medicalinsurance facilities and also tie-up with foreign insurancecompanies to cover foreigners coming into India forhealthcare facilities.• Corporate in the healthcare sector should actively controlmedical fraud, insurance fraud in order to encourage insurancefirms to provide medical insurance products.[5] Sharmila R Umamaheswari, “Why are Medical TouristsFlying To India?”, Facts For You, Oct. 2008, Vol.29, No. 1.[6] Dr. S Mahesh Kumar, “Tourism and Hospitality: Room forGrowth”, Facts For You, July 2010, Issue Vol. 30 No. 10[7] “Managing New Health Markets”, Indian Managementvol.47 Issue 2, Feb. 2008.[8] Prosenjit Datta and Gina s. Krishnan “Global HealthTrade”, Business World, December 22, 2003.[9] Gina s. Krishnan “the check-up”, Business world, July2005 “India Fosters Growing 'Medical Tourism' Sector", TheFinancial Times, 2 July 2003 (Ajmeri).[10] http://www.meditripsindia.com/index_more.html[11] http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2007-02-28/bangalore/27874769_1_medical-tourism-foreign-patientssuper-speciality-hospital[12] http://www.mybangalore.com/article/1010/top-5-hospitals-for-medical-tourism-in-bangalore.html[13]http://www.chillibreeze.com/whitepapers/medicaltourism1.aspVII. CONCLUSIONThe medical tourism industry has thus found an effectivestrategy to boost up its market by offering a wide range ofmedical tourism packages. Medical tourism services providedetailed information on all different medical tourism packagesalong with some valuable suggestions as well. With hospitals,hotels, conveyance facilities meeting international standards,medical tourism package.REFRENCES[1] Ajmeri, S. R. (August 2012,). MEDICAL TOURISM - AHEALTHIER FUTURE FOR INDIA. Arth Prabhand: AJournal of Economics and Management .[2] V Kubendran, “Medical Tourism: Advantage India”, FactsFor You, January 2006, Issue Vol. 27, No.4[3] Rakesh Kumar Goswami, “Medical Tourism: The NextBest Thing”, Facts For You, January 2007, Issue Vol. 27,No.4.[4] Dr. I Satya Sundaram, “Tourism: India Awakens To‘Incredible’ Opportunities”, Facts For You, Issue Vol. 28,No.3, December 2007.Shama Mankikar et.al.1988www.ijcsmr.org