India

Who could have guessed ten years ago that India would grow into one of the world's most popular destinations for health travelers? Driven by a surging economy, a surplus of well-trained healthcare practitioners, and a proven national penchant for international outsourcing of customer service, India now aims to be the leader in health travel. Serving more than 150,000 international patients annually, it's off to a good start.

India's official national health policy encourages medical travel as part of its economy's "export" activities, even though the services are performed within India. The government uses revenues generated from medical travel to increase its holdings in foreign currency. With government and corporate investment solidly behind its healthcare system, more hospitals and superspecialty centers are opening every year.

Unlike its Asian counterparts, which have traditionally encouraged medical travel by aggressively recruiting top-of-the-line physicians from other countries, India produces some of the world's finest physicians and surgeons internally, with excellent in-country teaching hospitals and research centers. (Many Indian physicians have joined American hospitals. At last count some 35,000 Indian specialists practice in the US—and more than one in six surgeons practicing in the US are of Indian descent!)

India clearly has a two-tier health delivery system. Because of the country's widespread poverty, the Indian public healthcare system offers medical care to the poor at little or no cost. Few in India can afford cosmetic surgery and other elective treatments that attract foreign patients. The good news is that large, private hospitals are plowing profits from their international business into improved healthcare services for the indigent.

Currently, India's medical travel industry is clipping along at a 30 percent growth rate annually. Recently, those gains have come from increasing numbers of Americans, Canadians, and Europeans seeking treatment, particularly the more expensive cardiac and orthopedic surgeries, for which health travelers can save tens of thousands of dollars compared to the cost of treatment at home. Success and morbidity rates are on par with those found in the US and Europe, with major surgeries at 15–50 percent the cost. More Americans travel to India for cardiac and orthopedic procedures than for all other treatments combined.

Most patients traveling to India stay in one of the larger cities, such as Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai, or Mumbai, where the best private hospitals are located.

At a Glance

•   Language   Hindi (English widely spoken)
•   Time Zone   GMT +5:30
•   Country Dialing Code   91
•   Electricity   220V, plug types B and E
•   Currency   Rupee
•   Recommended Immunizations   Hepatitis A, boosters for Typhoid and Polio, Antimalarial Drugs
•   Treatment Specialties   Cardiovascular, Cosmetic, Dental, General Surgery, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics, Organ Transplants, Weight Loss
•   JCI-Accredited Hospitals   Bangalore: Apollo Hospital/Bangalore; Wockhardt Superspecialty Hospital  Chennai: Apollo Hospital/Chennai; Sri Ramachandra Medical Center  Delhi: Fortis Escorts Heart Institute; Indraprastha Apollo Hospital; Moolchand Hospital  Hyderabad: Apollo Hospital/Hyderabad  Kerala: Ahalia Foundation Eye Hospital   Kolkata: Apollo Gleneagles Hospital  Mohali: Fortis Hospital  Mumbai: Shroff Eye Hospital and LASIK Center; Wockhardt Superspecialty Hospital; Asian Heart Institute  Punjab: Satguru Partap Singh Apollo Hospital
•   Standards and Accreditation   Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Indian Medical Association, Indian Health Care Federation, British Medical Association (BMA), General Medical Council (GMC), JCI

 

Patients Beyond Borders: Everybody's Guide to Affordable, World-Class Medical Travel The world's bestselling guide to the most popular international hospitals and clinics, specialty treatments and procedures, accommodations, and more. Hundreds of listings, and helpful advice to ensure your successful medical journey. Learn more... "A must-read for those considering medical tourism." —ABC News

 

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