To understand and highlight the growth of medical tourism in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday inaugurated a Medical Tourism Conference in the state. The conference, the first of its kind in the southern state, witnessed participation from 73 representatives from 21 countries, including those from Africa and the Middle East.
While speaking to News18, Managing Director of the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation, Sandeep Nanduri IAS, said, “Tamil Nadu is at the forefront of the medical tourism sector in India. 40% of international patients coming to India are visiting Tamil Nadu. Cities like Delhi and Mumbai also attract a significant number of international patients. This conference will discuss how Tamil Nadu can prepare to compete with them.”
“Direct interactions of hospital administrators with foreign representatives of countries from where patients could potentially visit Tamil Nadu will be facilitated in this conference. Patients from Africa, Middle East countries, America and Britain come to Tamil Nadu for certain specialized medical services,” she said about the conference.
Underscoring the tremendous growth the medical tourism industry has seen in the state, B Chandramohan IAS, Principal Secretary, Tourism, Culture and Religious Endowments said Tamil Nadu receives 15 lakh patients annually for various services like cardiac treatments, orthopaedic treatments, infertility procedures, cancer treatments.
About the affordability and cost of medical treatments in India, especially Tamil Nadu, where skilled medical workers are abundant, Jithu Jose, Deputy Head of the International Patients Division at Apollo Hospitals, says, “55% of the services needed for international patients are elective surgeries.”
“Due to higher costs in the US and longer waiting times in Canada, patients are coming here. The same medical treatment is provided here at a lower cost. In the past ten years, the arrival of international patients to Apollo hospitals has increased by 300 to 400%. Currently, 60,000 to 70,000 international patients are coming to Apollo Hospitals in Chennai per year. Ten years ago, patients were coming from 25 to 50 countries to India. Now they are coming from 120 countries,” he added.
Tamil Nadu is leading in the medical tourism sector in India with over 40 per cent of the international patients availing medical services in the state.
Cities such as Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, and Vellore attract 1.5 million international patients annually.
About the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns on the medical tourism industry, Praveen Kumar Miital, Senior Director, FICCI said, “Even during the Corona pandemic, this sector, which saw less than 5% growth, is now growing at 29.3%.’’
‘’Medical treatment in India is provided at a cost that is about a tenth of the cost that needs to be paid in America and Britain. Though patients in these countries are covered under the insurance scheme, the wait time is long. India has zero wait time. This conference will give a boost to the sector, and help focus on policies,’’ he added.
B Mukund, Manager, of Global Patient Connect at Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital, said, “In 2016, 100 international patients were coming to our hospital per month. Now this number has doubled. Patients are coming not only from African countries but also from countries like Romania and Ukraine.
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