New Delhi set to host first international summit on medical tourism

New Delhi is set to host the first-ever international summit on medical value travel to what the organisers say promote India as a “premier global healthcare destination”.

Nurul Islam Hasibfrom New Delhibdnews24.com
Published : 4 Oct 2015, 01:04 PM
Updated : 4 Oct 2015, 05:22 PM

The three-day summit beginning on Monday at the Pragati Maiden will showcase the medical capabilities of India and create scopes for collaboration among the participating countries from South Asia, Middle-East, and the Africa.

India is emerging as a preferred healthcare destination for patients across the globe for some of its world class facilities.

The ‘state-of-the-art’ treatment costs much lower than it does in the rival regional markets – Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

A joint report by consultancy firm KPMG and India’s industry body FICCI shows this market is projected to hit $3.9 billion this year with the inflow of medical tourists to cross 320 million.

Hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi patients are among them.

So, why do people travel out of Bangladesh for treatment?

“Proper diagnosis is a big challenge that drives patients out of the country,” believes Md Abdur Rob, Managing Director of Mindshare Global Consultancy Ltd in Bangladesh.

Rob, who has worked in medical tourism for more than 10 years, came to attend the summit.

“I found many patients go to India as they were not properly diagnosed in Bangladesh,” he told bdnews24.com.

“Even I have evidence that Indian doctors find nothing in a patient diagnosed with cancer in Bangladesh,” he said.

Bangladesh’s private medical sector witnessed a rapid growth in the last two decades.

International groups like India’s Apollo and Malaysia’s KPJ have set up their facilities here.

But, that has not caused a drop in the flow of Bangladeshis to India.

“Generally speaking, patients don’t have confidence. They even go to Indian hospitals to verify their diseases diagnosed in Bangladesh,” he said.

Md Rafiq-Ul-Alam, Chief Executive Officer of Meditrain that offers training to doctors, was involved with India’s Apollo Group in the late 1990s.

He, however, believed that the trend of going abroad for medicare “is not as high as it was before”.

“Once I saw people were travelling to India for an angiogram (heart check-up), but now they can do it in Bangladesh and they are doing that.

“Today, patients mostly go for cancer treatment and surgeries. Treatment for infertility is a new area where many Bangladeshis are going to India,” he said.

“Once for organ transplant, patients had to go abroad. Now hundreds of patients are having their organ transplant, particularly kidney transplant, in Bangladesh.”

Alam, however, said Bangladesh can also lure patients from India, particularly from its northeastern region.

“It’s easier for them to come to Bangladesh than go to Chennai or other states to see doctors at big facilities.

“We have some hospitals that have very modern state-of-the-art equipment and skilled doctors. We can focus three or four of them for medical tourism and develop them further.

“It’s a matter of policy decision of the government. But it is possible to lure patients away into Bangladesh. It needs strong commitment from the government and a good collaboration between the private and public sector,” Alam said.

What's in it?

The New Delhi summit styled ‘Advantage Health Care India 2015’ is being organised by India’s Ministry of Commerce & Industry, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and Service Export Promotion Council (SEPC).

Exhibitions, panel discussions, business-to-business meetings, and hospital visits will dominate the summit.

Traditional medicinal and health practices like Ayurveda and Yoga, which have a separate ministry in India, will also be featured at the summit.

Exhibition with focus on hospitals, healthcare centres, Ayush hospitals, medical educational institutions, devices and electronics, pharmaceutical companies, pharma machinery and packaging, and associated infrastructure – medical tourism facilitators, hotels, airlines, tour and travel companies.

State Minister (independent charge) for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman will inaugurate the summit.

The summit objective is to promote India as a ‘Premier Global Healthcare Destination’ and to enable streamlined medical services exports from India.

This objective is a unique conglomeration of the ‘5 – Ts’ – talent, tradition, technology, tourism and trade, according to organisers.