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NEW DEHLI: Even as the US government is trying to bring down healthcare costs, hospitals in India are hopeful that their medical tourism industry will not be affected.
Many Indian hospitals have tied up with US corporates to treat their employees at affordable rates.
They are also hopeful that patients seeking elective surgeries will continue to choose India as a preferred destination.
Southeast Asian nations such as Singapore and Thailand have been favourite destinations for foreign patients seeking treatment at affordable rates.
However, Indian hospitals are fast catching up.
They are targeting American companies, which will possibly bring a fresh stream of patients seeking low-cost quality services.
India's two top hospital chains, Fortis and Apollo, have tied up with three US companies to treat patients.
Fortis said it has already treated 20 patients after entering into the partnership, while Apollo Hospital said its deals have triggered a near 100 per cent growth in the flow of US patients.
"If you look around, look at multinational companies (MNCs) or global companies, almost every industry has a global company," said Shivinder Mohan Singh, managing director of Fortis Healthcare.
"Healthcare is probably the only sector that does not have a MNC. It has very large companies but restricted within one country. So I think here is the opportunity to create a global hearlthcare MNC."
Fortis' recent acquisition of Singapore based Parkway Holdings will further consolidate its expansion plans.
The 24-per-cent stake in Parkway will make it the biggest hospital network in Asia.
It has now boasts a Pan-Asian presence, with a network of 62 hospitals and over 10,000 beds.
Fortis hopes the deal will allow it to tap the strong medical tourism business in Southeast Asia.
"There was a global survey that was done recently by an independent company in terms of rating hospitals in health tourism," said Malvinder Mohan Singh, group chairman of Fortis Healthcare.
"And the top two hospitals are Wockhardt Hospital in Bangalore that is a part of Fortis network and the second is the Gleneagle in Singapore, which is also a part of Parkway network. So within Fortis-Parkway network we have the top two ranked global healthcare facilities."
The Union Tourism Ministry estimates India's medical tourism market will be worth US$2 billion a year by 2012.
And to complement the efforts of hospitals, the government has also introduced a new category of medical visas for foreigners.
The visa issued to a patient and companion for a year, can be extended up to three years.
Indian hospitals see a constant flow of foreign patients mainly from the US.
Even though the US Healthcare Bill provides insurance cover for many ailments, elective procedures such as dental correction, facelift and beauty enhancement treatments are not on its priority.
Destinations such as India will continue to be on top as its healthcare costs are only a tenth of the US rates.
- CNA/yb
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