Int. J. Mgmt Res. & Bus. Strat.

2014 Jasmin Padiya and Snehal Goradara, 2014

ISSN 2319-345X www.ijmrbs.com

Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2014
© 2014 IJMRBS. All Rights Reserved

MEDICAL TOURISM IN INDIA, HAS IT ARRIVED?:

AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION
Jasmin Padiya1* and Snehal Goradara2

*Corresponding Author: Jasmin Padiya  jasminpadiya@yahoo.com

Medical Tourism Industry has attracted attention of government, entrepreneurs and research
scholars equally. In background of tremendous business potential for the country and an
opportunity to improve upon health care facilities, this paper aims to study current state of industry
and the road ahead. Further an empirical investigation reveals the satisfaction level of foreign
patients with various facets of medical tourism and lessons are drown for all the stakeholders.

Keywords: Medical Tourism, India, Health Care, Patient Satisfaction

INTRODUCTION MEDICAL TOURISM IN INDIA

Medical tourism in India has emerged as the
fastest growing segment of tourism industry
despite the global economic downturn. High cost
of treatments in the developed countries,
particularly the USA and UK, has been forcing
patients from such regions to look for alternative
and cost-effective destinations to get their
treatments done. The Indian medical tourism
industry is presently at a nascent stage, but has
an enormous potential for future growth and
development. At present the medical tourism
sector is extremely unorganized, where only a
few hospitals and doctors are garnering benefits.
Given the existing infrastructure, well skilled
doctors and medical professionals and low-cost
health services, the sector may see a five-fold
rise in its contribution to GDP from the existing
less than five per cent contribution. (Samal, 2012)
Medical Tourism (also known as Health Tourism,
Medical Travel) is about travelling to a foreign
country for medical treatment. It involves the
benefit of cost effective treatment, private medical
care in collaboration with the tourism industry. The
concept of Medical Tourism is fast catching-up in
India where people from any part of the world
travel to the country for the purpose of medical
treatment and get the dual benefit of travelling and
sightseeing to various parts of India.
Medical Tourism is a growing concept in India
because of various reasons. Much of it depends
upon factors those are:
• Low cost surgeries and medical treatments
such as complex Bone Marrow transplant,
liver transplant, kidney transplant, specialized
cardiac/heart surgery, surgeries for hip joint

1
GLS Institute of Computer Technology (MBA), GLS Campus, Law Garden, Ellis Bridge, Ahmedabad 380006.
2
N R Institute of Business Management (GLS–MBA), GLS Campus, Law Garden, Ellis Bridge, Ahmedabad 380006.

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Int. J. Mgmt Res. & Bus. Strat. 2014 Jasmin Padiya and Snehal Goradara, 2014

replacement, knee joint replacement, dental an enormous potential for future growth and
surgery, and cosmetic surgeries, to mention development.
a few. All these surgical procedures are carried
We have also found that India represents the
out by expert doctors.
most potential medical tourism market in the
• India has various state-of-the-art medical world. Factors such as low cost, scale and range
institutes and hospitals of international of treatments provided by India differentiate it from
standards. other medical tourism destinations. Moreover, the
growth in India’s medical tourism market will be
• People all around the world are eager to see
a boon for several associated industries, including
the diversity and unity of India. So, when they
hospital industry, medical equipments industry
get the advantage of medical treatment along
and pharmaceutical industry.
with a dual advantage of getting to travel India,
they choose India over others. In addition to the existence of modern medicine,
indigenous or traditional medical practitioners are
• Comparatively the cost of surgery in India is
providing their services across the country. There
estimated to be one-tenth of that in the United
are over 3,000 hospitals and around 726,000
States or Western Europe, and sometimes
registered practitioners catering to the needs of
even less. A heart-valve replacement that
traditional Indian healthcare. Indian hotels are also
would cost $200,000 or more in the US, for
entering the wellness services market by tying
example, goes for $10,000 in India—and that
up with professional organizations in a range of
includes round-trip airfare and a brief vacation
wellness fields and offering spas and Ayurvedic
package. Similarly there are other such surgical
massages.
procedures that cost less in India.
Our comprehensive report also provides a
• Chennai (formerly known as Madras), the
deep insight into the Indian medical tourism
capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu,
market and evaluates the past, present and future
has been declared India’s Health Capital, as it
scenario of the medical tourism market. It
nets in 48% of health tourists from abroad and
discusses the key factors which are making India
37-41% of domestic health tourists.
an attractive medical tourism destination. Both
BOOMING MEDICAL TOURISM statistics and trends about market size, tourist
IN INDIA arrivals, infrastructure, accreditations, drivers and
restraints have been thoroughly discussed in the
Medical tourism in India has emerged as the
report.
fastest growing segment of tourism industry
despite the global economic downturn. High cost EMERGING TRENDS OF
of treatments in the developed countries,
MEDICAL TOURISM IN
particularly the USA and UK, has been forcing
INDIA
patients from such regions to look for alternative
and cost-effective destinations to get their Medical tourism was a silver lining for those
treatments done. The Indian medical tourism millions of Uninsured, underinsured and those
industry is presently at a nascent stage, but has who were forced to postpone treatments due to

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Int. J. Mgmt Res. & Bus. Strat. 2014
long waiting lists. What seemed like a boon to
patients from Western countries like US, UK and
Canada is now a twilight of hope for those
countries who are deemed as Medical Tourism
hubs. In popular medical tourism destinations like
India, Singapore and Thailand, Medical Tourism
is a fast growing industry where millions of dollars
are being pumped in rigorously.
In order to cope with the growing demand for
medical care, hospitals, medical practitioners and
even governments have taken measures to
promote health care in India.
When it comes to health care, safety is the
foremost concern. The hospitals in India are well
equipped with the latest technology and houses
highly qualified and experienced staff who can
provide timely and quality medical treatment to
patients. As a move in promoting medical tourism,
many hospitals are deemed as “corporate
hospitals” that specially cater to the needs of
medical tourists in India. Apart from offering world
class treatments, they offer various services that
make medical tourists’ stay in India hassle free.
Many hospitals in India have international
accreditations that certify the quality of health care
service.
Indian Government has acknowledged the
growth of medical tourism in India and is now
offering Medical Visas. The initial period for a
medical visa may be up to a period of one year or
the period of treatment whichever less, which can
be extended for a further period up to one year be
the State Government/FRROs on the production
of medical certificate/ advice from the reputed/
recognized/ specialized hospitals in the country.
Any further extension will be granted by the
Ministry of Home Affairs only on the
recommendations of the State Government/
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Jasmin Padiya and Snehal Goradara, 2014
FRROs supported by appropriate Medical
documents. Such visa will be valid for maximum
three entries during one year.
India is a big player in the medical tourism
industry. In fact, it has been ranked the most
popular medical tourism destination by many.
Apart from the contribution of government and
hospitals in improving the health care service in
India, what truly gives that edge to India over other
medical tourism destinations is the innumerable
rejuvenation options it offers and the easiness of
stay in India.
India is the birth place of Yoga, which is one of
the most popular forms of exercise and
rejuvenation today. There are almost an infinite
number of Spa and rejuvenation centers in India
that could uplift the mood and enhance health of
medical tourists. India is a tourist’s paradise and
when in India for medical treatment, tourism
comes as a co-benefit of medical tourism. Unlike
other exotic destinations in the world, it is
surprisingly easy to commute, stay and converse
in India. People in India are extremely warm and
have a sound command over English. All these
factors make India the sought after destinations
for medical tourism and India is now equipped to
cater to the fast growing demand for health care
in India.
A new report, “Booming Medical Tourism in
India”, provides an insight into the Indian medical
tourism market. It evaluates the past, present and
future scenario of the Indian medical tourism
market and discusses the key factors that are
making India a favorable medical tourism
destination. Both statistics and trends regarding
market size, tourist arrivals, infrastructure,
accreditations, drivers and restraints have been
thoroughly discussed in the report.
Int. J. Mgmt Res. & Bus. Strat. 2014
The research suggests that India represents
the most potential medical tourism market in the
world. Factors such as low cost, scale and range
of treatments provided by India differentiate it from
other medical tourism destinations. The growth
in India’s medical tourism market is expected to
serve as a boon for several associated industries
including hotels, medical equipment and
pharmaceuticals.
GOVERNMENT PLANS FOR
ATTRACTING MEDICAL
TOURISM TO INDIA
To promote growth in the Indian medical travel
industry, the Indian government has plans to
improve health infrastructure. The government
is currently in the process of increasing the
number of hospitals, clinics, and clinical
laboratories in urban as well as rural parts of the
country. Incentives and tax holidays are being
offered to hospitals and dispensaries providing
health travel facilities. The Indian medical travel
and health care sector offers plenty of
opportunities for businessmen, medical
equipment manufacturers, healthcare service
providers, and tourist agencies, and the
government is encouraging them to invest in
therapeutic and preventive health services so as
to increase medical travel to India. The
government has published analytical reports on
the available opportunities in the Indian health care
industry so corporate houses can make informed
decisions regarding the Indian medical tourism
sector.
EXPANSION OF MEDICAL
TOURISM IN INDIA
There are several characteristics that make
India an appealing destination for visitors seeking
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Jasmin Padiya and Snehal Goradara, 2014
health services. These include its well-trained
health practitioners; a large populace of good
English speaking doctors, guides and medical
staff; availability of super-specialty centres that
excel in cardiology and cardio-thoracic surgery,
joint replacements, transplants, cosmetic
treatments, dental care, orthopaedic surgery and
more; hospitals that provide the full gamut of
health services which include full body pathology,
comprehensive physical and gynecological
examinations, echo Doppler, high strength MRI,
etc., using latest, technologically advanced
diagnostic equipments; and finally, and more
importantly the availability of these premium
services at prices that are extremely reasonable
for the foreign tourist.
In fact, the competitive cost of medical
treatment in India has been the main catalyst for
the growth of medical tourism in the country. The
costs of comparable treatment in India are on
average one eighth to one fifth of those in the
West. For instance, a cardiac procedure costs
anywhere between US$ 40,000 - 60,000 in the
United States, US$ 30,000 in Singapore, US$
12,000 - 15,000 in Thailand and only US$ 3,000 -
6,000 in India. Likewise, the associated costs of
surgery are also low.
India also has the potential to emerge as a hub
for preventive health screening in view of the
availability of low-cost diagnostic tests. At a private
clinic in London a health check-up for men that
includes blood tests, electro-cardiogram tests,
chest X-Rays, lung tests and abdominal ultrasound
costs around £350. In comparison, a comparable
check-up at a clinic operated by Delhi-based
healthcare company Max Healthcare costs US$
84. A Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan
costs US$ 60 at Escorts Hospital in Delhi,
compared with roughly US$ 700 in New York.
Int. J. Mgmt Res. & Bus. Strat. 2014
A study done by the India Brand Equity
Foundation (IBEF) in 2004 showed that India is
more cost-competitive as compared to other
leading medical tourism destination like Thailand.
Thailand has a cost advantage over India in only
two categories: plastic surgery and breast
augmentation. India is cheaper than Thailand
across a whole range of other—and more
serious—surgery categories as the following chart
indicates.
The health services in India have the additional
advantage of providing a good mix of allopathic
and alternative systems of medicine. For instance,
while New Delhi has emerged as a prime
destination for cardiac care; Chennai has
established a niche for quality eye care; Kerala
and Karnataka have emerged as hubs for state-
of-the-art ayurvedic healing.
The scope for profit in this sector has
encouraged several large corporations, such as
pharmaceuticals and industrial companies, and
several non-resident Indians (NRIs) to invest
money in setting up super-specialty hospitals
such as Apollo, Medinova, CDR, Mediciti in
Hyderabad; Hindujas and Wockhardt in Mumbai;
Max, Escorts, Apollo in Delhi etc. These facilities
now dominate the upper end of the private sector
and cater predominantly to medical tourists and
affluent sections of the society. These
establishments have created a niche job market
for health professionals predominantly trained in
public sector institutes.
Even the Government of India has responded
promptly to tap the potential of this sector. In its
effort to capitalize on this opportunity the
Government has untaken measures to promote
India as a “global health destination”. The National
Health Policy 2002 strongly encourages medical
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Jasmin Padiya and Snehal Goradara, 2014
facilities to provide services to users from
overseas. It states that “providers of such
services to patients from overseas will be
encouraged by extending to their foreign
exchange, all fiscal incentives, including the
status of “deemed exports”, which are available
to other exporters of goods and services”.
The Indian Ministry of Tourism has started a
new category of visas for the medical tourists.
These visas called the “M” or medical-visas are
valid for one year but can be extended up to three
years and are issued for a patient along with a
companion. Efforts have also been undertaken
to improve the airport infrastructure to ensure
smooth arrival and departure of the health tourists.
A brochure of the ministry predicts a “phenomenal
expansion” of the Indian health-care industry in
the coming years.
These factors have favored the recent spurt
of growth of medical tourism in India. Official
figures indicate that medical tourists from 55
different countries come to India for treatment.
While most of these patients are from developed
countries, India is also seeing a surge of patients
from countries in Africa and South and West Asia
that lack adequate healthcare infrastructure.
Among others, foreign health travelers to India
comprise of a large number of non-resident
Indians (NRIs). If the present trend continues
trade in health and health-services will become
one of the biggest sectors in India. However, there
are several challenges that could impede the
growth of medical tourism in India, more
importantly the growth of this sector poses a
threat to the already crippled public health system
in India.
Kerala Medical Tourism
Kerala is not only a beautiful destination in
Int. J. Mgmt Res. & Bus. Strat. 2014
Southern India known for its scenic beaches and
serene backwaters. Of late Kerala has gained
international attention for Medical Tourism and is
becoming a popular international medical tourism
destination.
Kerala is famous for its alternative medical
therapies such as Ayurveda, which help to
rejuvenate and revitalize the body. What many
tourists have now discovered is that Kerala has
a pool of trained doctors and nurses and an
excellent network of hospitals that offer
international standard treatments at very
affordable prices. Previously Indians working
abroad, such as residents of Kerala working in
the Persian Gulf countries, would return to India
for medical treatment. Now International patients
too have realized the advantages of traveling to
Kerala and the medical tourism industry has
begun to take off in a big way.
Faced with exorbitant fees for procedures
such as cardiac surgery, dentistry and cosmetic
surgery in their home countries, patients from the
West and the Middle East have begun looking at
India and Kerala in particular.
Indian doctors have established themselves
as highly skilled and conscientious care givers
worldwide. Many doctors who have trained or
worked abroad have returned to India to work here.
Their reputation has led to the growth of the
Medical Tourism industry in Kerala. Kerala Travel
Tourism offers tour packages that combine
medical treatment with a restful holiday in Kerala
India. The world-class hospital facilities, pre and
post-operative care and pleasant climate make
your medical treatment and recovery in Kerala a
positive experience. Some Medical Tourism
options in Kerala are given below.
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Jasmin Padiya and Snehal Goradara, 2014
Indicure
Indicure is a limited company in New Delhi, India
founded by a group of medical and management
professionals with an objective to provide
customized patient care management services
in India for medical tourism, health care tourism
and home health care services.
web site url : http://www.indicure.com/
Medical Tourism in Gujarat
During the last decade, the State of Gujarat has
witnessed enormous growth of high quality health
care delivery facilities in the State. Gujarat’s
Healthcare sector has made impressive strides
in recent years and is surging ahead with new
facilities and technology. Gujarat has the State-of
-the- art technology and the skilled super
specialists. This, coupled with excellent
infrastructure and professional management,
nurses and paramedical staff, can take on
international competition for providing a range of
services and treatments at a fraction of prevailing
costs in international markets with comparable
success rates and services levels directly in
proportion to the high value system and natural
caring that comes with its unique cultural
heritage. Exploiting the religious, cultural and wild
life tourism potential of the State and collaboration
with the tourism industry can complement the
growth of medical tourism.
LITERATURE REVIEW
(Indu Grewal, 2012)
Since ages people have been travelling to distant
places for getting medical help. This was more
common in a selected group of society. The
uppersocial classes who sought spas, mineral
baths, innovative therapies, and the fair climate,
used to go for the Mediterranean as destinations
Int. J. Mgmt Res. & Bus. Strat. 2014
to improve their health. In the early nineteenth
century, when there were no restriction son travel
within Europe, people were travelling to the Swiss
lakes, the Alps and special tuberculosis
sanatoriums, where professional and often-
specialized medical care was offered 1-2. Most
recently, even the middle class started travelling
from developed countries to those nations which
have developed relatively better healthcare
facilities, particularly to avoid treatment delays,
prohibitive cost for life saving procedures, and
high cost for elective surgeries. 3 This is due to
the fact that in last two decades globalization and
advancement in technologies throughout the
world including India brought many reforms in
management of medical conditions. Technological
advancement improved the quality but at a very
high cost, which resulted in many fold increase
in the cost of medical treatment throughout the
world 4-6. Whereas in comparison to the Western
world the cost of these services was still lower in
the developing countries. These countries could
provide health services at cheaper rates because
of availability of cheaper skilled professionals,
resources and infrastructure 7-9. Asian countries
like Thailand, Singapore, India, South Korea and
Malaysia are attracting 1.3 million medical tourists
per year from all over the world, and this number
is further increasing annually. The estimated
worth of medical tourism in Asia alone would be
“at least $4 billion” by 2012. India attracted an
estimated 100,000 medical tourists in 200510-
11).
GROWTH, OPPORTUNITIES
AND PROCESS OF MEDICAL
TOURISM IN INDIA
(Dr. Suman Kumar Dawn, 2011)
The commitment to provide comprehensive
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Jasmin Padiya and Snehal Goradara, 2014
healthcare to all citizens, irrespective of their
paying capacity, was given up by the Indian
government after 30 years of Indian
independence. After the globalization and
liberalization of Indian economy on 1991, the
government of India has opened up medical
service to the voluntary and private sectors for
foreign tourists and other citizens who can pay
to get the high-tech medical services. The rapid
growth of the private sector over the 1980s and
the emergence of a corporate health sector in
the 1990s was a part of the comprehensive policy
that chooses to promote these segments. This
was done through shifting subsidies in terms of
cheap land, concessions from equipment and
drug import, placing these institutions on
government panels and making them a part of
government insurance schemes in addition to
providing trained personnel and expert physicians
through state –supported medical education. As
a part of medical tourism, India is recognized as
the cradle for test tube babies and is popular for
surrogacy services (Qaders and John, 2009).
Over than these, India offers high-tech cardiac,
paediatric, dental, cosmetic and orthopaedic
surgical services as well as the traditional healing
systems. The medical tourism definitely does not
cater to emergency services. The services
provided are largely knee joint replacement, hip
replacement (mostly orthopaedic), bone marrow
transplant, bypass surgery and cosmetic surgery
etc. Hospitals also advertise for preventive health
check ups for family members accompanying the
patients in addition to alternative medicine
services (Peacock, 2009).
QUALITY AND RANGE OF
SERVICES WITH BETTER
MANPOWER
(Ms Jaspreet Kaur, 8-10 April, 2007) For medical
Int. J. Mgmt Res. & Bus. Strat. 2014
treatment, India has number of hospitals available
for world class treatments in nearby every
medical sector such as orthopaedic surgery,
cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery,
gastroenterology, transplants, ophthalmology,
joint replacement, and urology to name a few. For
speciality division treatments which covered are
Oncology, Neurology, Neurosurgery,
Rheumatology, Ophthalmology, ENT,
Endocrinology, Paediatrics, Paediatric Neurology,
Paediatric Surgery, Urology, Dermatology,
Nephrology, Plastic Surgery, Dentistry,
Pulmonology, Gynaecology, Psychiatry, General
Surgery &General Medicine. For Indian hospitals
quality of services and its infrastructure well
established and available, India is attracting a
huge number of tourists from the other countries
like Africa, USA etc. For better Manpower India
has a large numbers of doctors (around 600000),
paramedics with specialization, nurses and
expertise people with better language advantage
with English speaking skills. To deliver best
Quality health services all over the country,
demand of medical education system caters to
increased day by day. As Indian corporate
hospitals like Max HealthCare, Apollo, Fortis etc.
Which are the best hospitals with compare on
par with the hospitals in Malaysia, Malaysia and
Singapore in which scope for improvement is
better, and the country is becoming a most
preferred destination for medical Tourism.
INTERMEDIARIES AND
AGENTS ROLE IN MEDICAL
SERVICE – FOREIGN
PATIENTS
(Dr. S. P. Rath, 2012)
If the bases abroad of Indian hospitals build
brands, there is a thriving population of service
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Jasmin Padiya and Snehal Goradara, 2014
providers of every kind that has cropped up to
help patients negotiate India and Indian health care
system. For Afghan patients Max New Delhi has
full time translators for the last three years. There
are plenty of translators floating around, doubling
as facilitation agents. A random Google search
for medical travel assistants will throw up plenty
of suggestions. A bulk of clients for treatment in
New Delhi comes through referrals, which
account at large from Iran, Iraq and other Middle
East countries. Freelance agents make good
money in Delhi which count to a tune of 10% of
the surgery costs in the local private hospitals.
Translator services for Afghan patients are large
in Delhi due to the 40,000 strong refugee
populations from Afghanistan. Delhi caters to
Nigerians and other African nations, while still
others are hangouts for people from the CIS
countries. Of course, as all these are unregulated,
there is plenty of scope of for unscrupulous touts
to thrive as well. They often prey on the numerous
unsuspecting patients who have now come
through a hospital facilitation center in their
country, and whisk them to private hospitals and
nursing homes for bigger commission. Big
hospitals such as Apollo and Fortis are aware of
these people but helpless to do anything about
them (TNN, 2011).
FACTORS PROMOTING
MEDICAL TOURISM IN
INDIA
(Kumar, 2009)
Factors which encourage patients from abroad
to seek healthcare in India can be classified on
the basis of the facilities/healthcare set-up in their
home countries. These factors include: i) non-
residential Indians (NRIs), ii) patients from other
developing countries, iii) patients from developed
Int. J. Mgmt Res. & Bus. Strat. 2014
countries with state-owned healthcare system,
and iv) patients from developed countries with
private healthcare system. A large number of NRIs
prefer to come back to the country for their
healthcare needs as they are not only guaranteed
excellent treatment at far lower costs but also a
trip to their home country. The patients from
countries with underdeveloped facilities such as
Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, etc. come to India
for lack of quality healthcare services in their home
countries, whereas patients from developed
countries with state-owned healthcare system
such as Britain with NHS prefer India for less
waiting times and patients from developed
countries with private healthcare system such as
the US come here for lower costs.
COST ADVANTAGE IN INDIA
(Shikha Rastogi Garg, 2012)
First world treatment at third world costs is being
promoted by Indian medical tourism with long
promoted for its cultural and scenic beauty.
People who are seeking quality and healthcare
with affordable price, india is a heaven for them
on international map. Some problems regarding
treatment that other country face is like approx
50 million Americans who are without health
insurance and too much waitinf for state-run
facilities that faced by people of Canada, Europe
and UK. At the end foreigners are looking to india
because of best quality treatment with fifth of cost
than abroad to be charged. For speciality surgical
procedures which are compocated even charged
at 1/10th cost as compared to the other developed
countries charged. In india, hospitals are well
equipped to handle the information and data
through computerised hospital information
systems. For example, liver transplant cost is
charged in the range of 137,867 USD - 160,845
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Jasmin Padiya and Snehal Goradara, 2014
USD in Europe and US charge almost double than
that. With compare to that, Indian hospital charged
in a range of 34,466 USD - 45,955 USD.
THE ANTI-MEDICAL TOURISM
TIRADE (Babu P George)
Globalisation of healthcare through medical
tourism or through the conformation to the ADPIC/
TRIPS agreements puts the existing healthcare
system under pressure, according to the leaders
of civil society that lead the anti-medical tourism
advocacy. Sections of the civil society have raised
serious reservations about the stated benefits of
promoting medical tourism. According to some,
promoting medical tourism will be inviting
diseases including deadly and contagious ones
that have had no presence in the destination so
far. The chances for these diseases to spread
are more since many of these patients would be
sharing touristic and other public utility services
with the residents and other visitors to the
destination. One way to overcome this problem
is to classify diseases as admissible and
otherwise and permit entry based on this criterion.
Issuing medical tourist visa may be made
contingent upon an initial diagnostic report issued
by the host hospital through tele-medicine, or a
similar report issued by the public health authority
of the tourist’s home country. In any case, this is
not a problem for the vast majority of disease
types. Also, it could be noted that a significant
number of medical tourists to countries like India
visit for preventive treatments. Many NGOs
advocate against the promotion of medical
tourism to the third world countries because the
available medical infrastructure in these countries
falls far short of meeting the extant domestic
demand itself. However, the economics of
medical tourism dictates that this need not be
Int. J. Mgmt Res. & Bus. Strat. 2014
the case. The surplus generated by promoting
the medical tourism business may be pumped
back into the system to enhance the provision
for medicinal facilities available for the locals. A
relatively unbounded market has superior
efficiencies: it can improve the service quality and
at the same time minimize price. Another potential
consequence is that the wealthier domestic
segments too will begin to seek the help of these
new-breed medical tourist establishments for
their medical care thus easing the pressure upon
the public health system, which can then begin
to better serve the poor segments.
PATIENTS SATISFACTION
(Navid Fatehi Rad, 2010)
There are three general components which
describe satisfaction are i) Satisfaction is a
response, which can be cognitive or emotional;
ii) The response of satisfaction pertains to a
exacting focus, such as product, consumption
experience and expectation iii) The response
occurs at particular time, for example after
Purchase, after Consumption or after
accumulated experience. Two important facts or
dimensions which perceived by customer’s
attitudes are: the emotional or affective aspect,
the cognitive or behavioral aspect which are
recognized by literature of social psychology.
Satisfaction is somehow related to attitude and
both the models of cognitive and affective which
may be the alternative for satisfaction description.
Measurement Between patient satisfaction and
healthcare quality of services, These models
proved that a patient’s overview regarding
treatment and its perspective for perceived
service in healthcare centre or hospitals which
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Jasmin Padiya and Snehal Goradara, 2014
plays a major role in the service quality
improvement. Some findings and surveys were
conducted in clinical care environments to gain
the real and actual needs and its determinants of
patients’ satisfaction level.
RESEARCH DESIGN
A descriptive study was carried out in Ahmedabad
city with following objectives.
1. To find out the satisfaction level of foreign
patients in the multi-specialty hospitals.
2. To identify the factors responsible for Non
Resident Indians’ choice of India for medical
treatments.
3. To identify preferred medical treatment in India
by Non Resident Indians
Sampling Design
Population: Non residents Indians who have
visited India for treatments.
Sample Unit: Foreign Patients who have used
health care facilities at Ahmedabad
Sample Size: 100
Method: Convenient Judgement sampling
Chart 1: Country Wise Share
of Foreign Patients in India
No. of Patients
Data Collection: from various major
multispeciality hospitals, super specialty
hospitals, medical centres and polyclinics of
Ahmedabad.
Int. J. Mgmt Res. & Bus. Strat. 2014
Chart 2 : Purpose of Visit to India
Purpose
Here, one can observe that NRI Americans are
more attracted towards India because they find
their relatives and friends in India. We also find
that number of Gujarati people who settled abroad
is more to come in India for the medical treatment.
Chart 3: Type of Treatment Undergone
by Foreign Patient in India
Type of Treatment
As mention in the above charts, the question
is regarding purpose to come India, 60% of the
patients mention the purpose of treatment with
tourism in India. By doing survey of 100 patients,
Chart 4: Base for Selecting the Health Care
Service Provider
Bases for Selecting the Hospital/Doctor
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281
Jasmin Padiya and Snehal Goradara, 2014
34% patients came for treatment along with
social gatherings. There are only 6% of the
patients who came for the purpose of treatment
with shopping.
As mention in the chart, most of the patients
came to India for the treatment of Cardiac
diseases. Another very common disease is of
Gastro Intestinal and of Orthopaedic. The
diseases of Respiratory System and Dental
diseases are also can be seen among the
patients.
Chart 5: Factors for Selection
of Medical Facility
Factors for Selection of Medical Facility
There were many patients who took treatment
for diseases of multiple system. 19 patients were
taking orthopaedic treatments which include
majorly knee and hip replacement surgery. There
were 22 Cardiac patients majorly came for
Bypass surgery and Angioplasty. Gastro intestinal
diseases also can be seen in more number of
Chart 6: Priority Factors in Selection
of a Hospital
Priority Factors in Selection of a Hospital
Int. J. Mgmt Res. & Bus. Strat. 2014 Jasmin Padiya and Snehal Goradara, 2014

patients. There were 21 patients who were Chart 8: Patient Satisfaction Level
suffering from Gastro Intestinal disorders which with Facilities

majorly include Laparoscopic Surgery. Satisfaction with Facilities

Respiratory diseases also can be seen in 15
patients. In India Dental surgery is also
appreciated by the NRIs. Here we can see there
are 12 patients who came for the Dental surgery.
As mention above in the charts, very few patients
of other system related treatment.
Here as mention in the above charts, we can
As mention in the above charts, there are many see the majority of the patients gave first priority
bases to get information regarding particular to Treatment followed by Financial Expenses,
hospital or doctor. 75% patients get information Hospitality and Accommodation.
from their relatives or friends. Patients who don’t
have any relatives or friends in India could get Chart 9: Intention of Repeat Patronage

information from web sites. There are 17% of the Intention of Repeat Patronage
patients who get information from the web sites.
There are very few patients who got information
from various magazines, news papers and
television which are 3%, 4% and 2% respectively.
One can conclude that positive word of mouth
plays a vital role in attracting foreign patients.

Chart 7: Satisfaction with Treatment

Satisfaction with Treatment

RECOMMENDATIONS
1.
2.
Majority of the patients considers doctor’s
specialization and treatment charges are the most
important factors in choice of medical facility.
There are 46% of the patients who considers
specialization of the doctors and 35% are
attracted towards the low cost of treatment. 11%
3.
considers infrastructure of hospital and only 3%
accommodation facilities of the hospital Patients
seem to be least bothered about hospitality of
hospitals.
Here majority of the patients are from US,
UK and Africa. So hospital should try to
capture the number of patients from other
than these country.
The majority of the patients are coming for
the Cardiac, Orthopaedic and Gastro
Enterological diseases, so our hospitals
should develop super specialty ward and
department to capture more number of
patients.
Our hospitals should develop alternative
therapy ward or department like Ayurveda,
Yunani, Spa and Yoga along with the
rehabilitation centres.

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282
Int. J. Mgmt Res. & Bus. Strat. 2014
4. To increase the Advertisement of the
Hospitals by using different media.
5. As most of the patients are satisfied with the
Treatment and Facilities provided by the
hospitals, so hospitals should maintain them.
6. For patients who are dissatisfied with the
treatment and facilities, hospitals should try
to know the reasons behind the
dissatisfaction.
7. Hospital should reduced the Professional
Attitude towards the NRIs patients.
8. Increase travel facility for the foreign tourists
9. visa-on-arrival facility for tourists from
selected countries.
10. Improve and modernize airport infrastructure
and services.
11. Make more and more advertisement by using
different medias to capture more market
shares.
12. Create public awareness about economic
and social benefits of tourism.
OPPORTUNITIES
1. India offers vast range of medical treatments
from simple dental procedures to the complex
cardiac surgeries.
2. Patients can save 60%-95% of their treatment
costs by undergoing treatment in India.
3. Wellness tourism, spa, yoga and Ayurveda,
has a very bright future in India as foreigners
are increasingly flocking to India to seek
physical and mental healing.
4. In 2007, around 272,000 medical tourists
visited India for medical tourism and brought
US$ 656 Million in revenues.
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283
Jasmin Padiya and Snehal Goradara, 2014
5. Lack of proper hospital accreditation system
and inefficient laws against malpractice will be
the biggest factor limiting the growth of India’s
medical tourism Industry.
6. India enjoys a considerable superiority over
both Singapore and Thailand as preferred
medical destination.
7. The Indian economy’s steady growth rate is
also being reflected in the Indian healthcare
and medical travel industry. Healthcare and
medical health travel are priority areas for India,
and the government has increased its
budgetary outlay for medical travel and foreign
investment. Customs duties on the import of
medical equipment have been slashed, and
special incentives are being offered for future
private healthcare facilities.
CONCLUSION
Patients who visited India for medical treatment
were mostly from the United States of America,
Africa and United Kingdom. The major reasons
cited by respondents for visiting India were social
gathering, treatment and tourism. The findings
suggest that patients are coming majorly for the
cardiac diseases, orthopedic diseases and for
gastro intestinal diseases. Most of the patients
select the Hospital or Doctors on the bases of
the advice of their relatives or friends and from
web sites. The major attractions for the patients
are doctor’s specialization and low treatment
charges. Patients gave their first priority to the
treatment, followed by financial expenses,
hospitality and accommodation. Most of the
patients are satisfied with the treatment and
facilities available in the hospital. Majority of the
patients show their eagerness to visit the same
hospital again in the future if there will be any need
arise.
Int. J. Mgmt Res. & Bus. Strat. 2014
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