Medical Tourism: The concept, advantages and how it works: The Article’s Highlights
- Medical tourism is very popular where 495,056 people travel to India for medical tourism from their country to another every year
- MyMedTrip.com advises each patient the best doctor and hospital from their varied network keeping in mind their customized medical need
- The hospitals which are listed on MyMedTrip.com are accredited with the local medical board (NABH in India) or JCI – Joint Commission International
- A case manager is assigned to each case. Patients are picked-up from the airport, assisted throughout till they are dropped back at the airport after their treatment
Medical tourism is the popular new norm
Each year, more than 495,056 people travel from their home country to India to seek a good treatment whereas the number of global medical travelers commutive is much higher. This is due to one of the many reasons:
- Unavailability of good hospitals or skilled doctors in their home country
- Very expensive treatment cost in their home country
- Treatments not covered by insurance
- Long wait period for surgeries
- Several wrong diagnosis cases
India offers a very rich option in healthcare at a fraction of the cost. For example:
A liver transplant in the United States would cost around $ 300,000. The same would cost around $ 32,000 at a NABH and JCI accredited hospital in India. The doctors are highly experienced and skilled with 15-20 years due to high volume of patients they see and the mandatory trainings they undergo to achieve excellence
Cost Comparison
India has an advanced medical healthcare which due to which people travel for many procedures. Few of the most popular surgeries that are conducted are joint surgeries, spine surgery, CABG, lung, liver and kidney transplants, oncology, IVF, bariatric and many more.
Countries like Canada have 26 weeks wait period for a hip or knee replacement surgery. This wait period becomes very painful for the patients to wait for over 4 months to receive their treatment. Patients are now finding it easy for them to take a flight to India, get their surgery done at a good, accredited hospital for a faction of the cost (approx. $ 8,500 for unilateral hip replacement and around $ 12,000 for total hip replacement) or less and get ready to travel back to their country a week after the surgery.
For people living in countries like Iraq or Yemen where good healthcare infrastructure and high skills is a major challenge, they travel to India for their treatment which is absent in their country. From a trusted source, on an average, around 20,000 people travel from Iraq to India each year on medical visa.
What is the role of MyMedTrip.com?
MyMedTrip will help the patient to connect with the right doctor at a recognized hospital for the treatment one is seeking. MyMedTrip will be securing the interest of the patient so that the right consultation is given to the patient at the most competitive price.
The process flows as follows:
Initial Consultation
While the patient is in his home country, the patient or his family sends all relevant latest medical reports for a medical case enquiry to MyMedTrip’s website or through WhatsApp at +91 9818 2373 91. MyMedTrip’s team analyzes the report and connects with a medical specialist for consultation.
The doctor after looking at the reports replies back to the query mentioning the brief about the procedure required, cost, number of days stay required, success rate and any other relevant details. In case a surgery is not required, the same is communicated to the patient and travel can be avoided.
After the report is sent back to the patient, a video consultation between MyMedTrip’s consultant and the family is carried out in which further questions are answered. If the patient wishes to speak with the doctor, an option for a paid teleconsultation is also available.
Visa Assistance
When a patient decides to travel, he shares his passport details at hi@mymedtrip.com or contacts through WhatsApp at +91 9818 2373 91. A medical visa invitation letter is issued to the patient with which he will get the visa from the nearest Indian Embassy. The medical visa costs roughly $120 per person.
The guest houses options will also be shown to the patients before their travel so that they can chose and pre-book before their travel.
Preparing for medical travel
After the visa is issued and the patient and his family buy the air tickets, MyMedTrip will connect the case in charge with the patient so that it becomes easy for them to identify at the airport for pickup.
MyMedTrip will offer a complimentary cab pickup from the airport and will drop the patient to the guest house. In case where an immediate medical attention is required, the patient will be picked up by an ambulance from the airport and taken directly to the hospital for admission.
The consultation and medical procedure
The case in charge who is also the language translator for the patient assists the patient with the consultation, medical tests during surgery and post-surgery till the patient is discharged.
After the medical procedure and the post-op is over, the patient is assisted with their travel back to their home country.
