The Cyberabad Times

Medical Tourism Growing

It is a story of role reversals. Scores of Europeans, Americans, Middle Easterners and Africans have been descending on Hyderabad to make use of our state-of-theart medical facilities, even as Hyderabadis still seem to look westwards for health care, oblivious to the developments at home. Medical tourism is fast growing, and with more international flights being introduced from the city, it is likely to soar even higher. "It is a natural outcome since foreigners find that we offer similar medical facilities at a much lesser cost here," says Radhey Mohan, general manager (IM), Apollo Hospitals. "In the last couple of years, we have had tens of thousands of foreign patients, especially from Europe and the US in our hospitals across the country. Most patients choose Chennai or Delhi since there are direct flights from Europe. And recently, we have seen an increase in the number of people coming to Hyderabad as well. We get at least half a dozen foreigners every fortnight," he affirms.

The tie-ups the city hospitals have made with government agencies and hospitals abroad are working to their advantage. "Patients either come on their own or are referred by the US surgeons for bypass surgery, ENT or angioplasty," says Rajendra Kumar, general manager (CS), Care Hospital. "This is in addition to the regular inflow of patients from the Gulf and Africa," he adds. While all this happens on the domestic front, paradoxically, our politicians and cine stars make a beeline for the West seeking 'advanced' medical facilities. In fact, many people admit that they are apprehensive of our medical facilities. But actor Madala Ravi, who has an MD in Medicine from Russia, stands out from the crowd when he strikes a different note. He says, "Our hospitals are on par with those across the globe. Considering our cost effective nature, more and more European patients are likely to come here for treatment. I only wish our celebrities and politicians realise it and start making use of the facilities here."

Medical Tourism Growing

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