Medical Tourism - what is it and why India (centred around TAVI)

Recent years have observed the emergence of India as a country that has been traveled most as a destination to get treatment. Some of the finest brains in the medical field reside in India. No matter the type of disease, every medical situation will be seen through by Indian doctors. Both traditional and modern medicines are well-practiced within India. People prefer India for the treatment of joint pains, heart surgeries, and many more medical ailments. The reasons are the specialist doctors and the best treatment facilities. Along with that extensive measures taken by the Indian government to promote medical tourism is another reason.

WHAT IS MEDICAL TOURISM?

The term refers to the travel a person makes to another country to get treatment for his ailment. Most of the time, traveling due to medical conditions is made because the particular treatment is not available in one’s country.

Each year, millions of people have successful medical tourism. The increase in medical tourism is due to various reasons including the high cost of healthcare in one’s country, absence of health insurance, lack of high-quality facilities, and non-availability of procedures conducted by specialists

Procedures for which most commonly people travel for treatment include surgery, dental care, fertility treatments, cosmetic surgery, cancer treatment, tissue, and organ transplant.

WHY TRAVEL TO INDIA FOR MEDICAL TOURISM?

The most important reason for people choosing India for medical tourism is the cost-saving and economical treatment options. Hugely, the cost of open-heart surgery is way less in India than it is in the European Nations, the US, and even in several Asian countries. If we talk about non-invasive heart procedures like Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), the cost of only the implant kit is $32,500 and the cost of the surgical valve is approximately $5,000 in the US (3) while the overall procedure can cost up to $78,542 approximately (4). However, the cost of the overall procedure in India can cost up to $ 46,772 in Mumbai city depending on the condition and the diagnosis (5). The overall cost is still half of what it will cost in the US.

People might be skeptical about the quality of care, facilities, and medical treatments offered in India. But this might be a false worry because, in the past twenty years, India has changed considerably when it comes to the medical field. India has been ranked in the top 10 countries as a destination for medical tourism by the Medical Tourism Index (6). For the latest technology and procedures for treatment such as TAVI, the quality of Indian facilities is at par with the western countries when it comes to implementation and adoption of innovative medical procedures and state-of-the-art technology.

India being a leader in healthcare providers ensures healthcare services of international standards with better outcomes and a higher rate of survival. Heart Valve Experts located in Mumbai has exceptionally trained staff and internationally trained cardiac surgeons will make sure that you get the best of the best treatment at Heart Valve Experts.

Sources

  1. CDC. Medical Tourism: Travel to Another Country for Medical Care [Internet]. 2021 [cited 2022 Mar 8]. Available from: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/medical-tourism
  2. Center for Medical Tourism Research, University of the Incarnate Word. Center for Medical Tourism Research [Internet]. [cited 2022 Mar 8]. Available from: https://my.uiw.edu/medical-tourism/index.html
  3. Manolis AS. Transcatheter aortic valve implantation economics: a grisly reality. Ann Cardiothorac Surg. 2017 Sep;6(5):516.
  4. Lim GB. TAVR is cost-effective in the USA and UK. Nat Rev Cardiol. 2012 Apr;9(4):188–188.
  5. Affordable Tavi / Tavr Treatment Top Surgeons Best Hospitals India [Internet]. [cited 2022 Mar 8]. Available from: https://www.indiacardiacsurgerysite.com/affordable-tavi-tavr-treatment-top-surgeons-best-hospitals-india/
  6.  The Medical Tourism Index 2020-21 [Internet]. [cited 2022 Mar 8]. Available from: https://www.medicaltourism.com/mti/home

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