The US is fast losing its position as the preferred destination for medical tourism for patients from the Middle East. The Gulf Wars and the 9/11 attacks saw Europe emerge as an option for patients in the troubled West Asian region. But soon, all this too changed with Western nations tightening up security owing to constant threat perception and increasing incidents relating religion and race. This led to more and more patients looking at India for healthcare solutions.
While the Middle East had been looking to India for healthcare before the oil boom, the advent of the `liquid gold' saw an increase in purchasing power and hence a preference for advanced healthcare in the US. Middle Eastern patients also received government support through a state-sponsored health scheme known as the 'International Patient Referral' which has separate budgets allocated for nationals to undergo any surgical procedures which were not carried out in the hospitals there. The funds were not just for treatment but also for the stay of both patient and family members who accompanied him.
The political developments around the globe particularly involving the West and the Middle East saw a decline in the number of people from the Gulf going to the US for treatment. Coinciding with these developments, the Indian healthcare sector, in the intervening period, began to match the West in terms of sophistication and expertise. And with the large expat population already using India for cheap and reliable treatment, India turned out to be the natural choice for Middle East nationals for medical treatment. Further, in the nineties, private healthcare institutions started coming up there and Indian doctors were appointed in the Middle East. This gave them an opportunity to experience Indian medical expertise.
Patients from these regions are convinced by the medical expertise offered at large Indian hospitals, stated Dr SC Nagendra Swamy, group director, Medical Services & Post Graduate Studies, Manipal Health Systems.
Today, it is estimated that size of the medical tourism industry in India is around Rs 1,500 crore and in the last three years, the patients from the Middle East have accounted for up to 15 percent of the total number of medical tourists arriving in India.
According to the CII-McKinsey analysis on healthcare, medical tourism, by 2012 could contribute Rs 5,000-Rs 10,000 crore additional revenue to up-market tertiary hospitals.
Indian Advantage
In such a situation, India has before it an opportunity to corner at least 50 percent of the Middle East business in the next three years. Barring Saudi Arabia, which has some of the best hospitals, the region does not have any tertiary care hospitals.
Indian hospitals are sought-after by patients from Middle East for complications arising out of lifestyle disorders like cardiovascular and diabetes. This includes cardiac surgery, nephrology etc. Other critical care needs are neurology, neurosurgery, cancer, bone marrow transplant and a number of congenital disorders.
There are also situations where issues like infertility, cosmetology, psychiatry and drug abuse prompt patients and their families to look at the expertise of Indian healthcare providers. This is because they want to maintain the secrecy of the treatment or condition. Indian hospitals, on their part, must focus on state-of-the-art in-vitro fertilization (IVF) centres.
The healthcare sector in the region is driven both nationals and expatriates in the ratio of 30:70. Out of the 70 percent of expatriates, 60 percent are from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Indian expatriates form a major chunk: 45 percent of this 60 percent who come home for healthcare only because of family presence and affordable treatment. Among the nationals, only those who had a relationship with India came to Mumbai which was their only choice for treatment because of accessibility and information about hospitals.
A favourable point about Indian healthcare is good quality treatment at affordable cost. They not only look at the track record of success but also the connectivity to that place. That is why Mumbai draws the maximum. Out of the 15 percent of the patients accessed from the region, Mumbai draws 10 percent of the business and the remaining is distributed among New Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai. Mumbai is preferred because of the embassy and the local representatives. But over the years, New Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore hospitals have also became popular. Besides, they do not travel alone but in large groups and hence good accommodation with entertainment are a major preference. This is available only by large metrocities, pointed out Dr Nagendra Swamy.
Although Indian nurses are doctors are held in high esteem for their empathy, there are issues like cleanliness and personal hygiene which make them always draw a comparison with the West.