Why consider India for medical tourism?

India offers some of the best medical treatment in the world. Its private hospitals have an excellent reputation and India’s health care sector has sustained an enormous boom in recent years. The country is now a global health destination, with medical tourism growing by 30 per cent each year. 

Despite any prejudices about healthcare in developing countries, rest assured that the private hospitals and cosmetic surgery clinics in India are at the forefront of medical technology and equipped with modern state-of-the-art technology and highly skilled medical personnel.  Indian doctors are considered to be among the best in the world and their high level of surgical expertise evolves from many years of training.

Hygiene in the private hospitals is excellent, surgical patients are screened for HIV and Hbs Ag antibodies to prevent transmission of communicable diseases and the incidence of MRSA is minimal.  It is normal for the operation theatres to have laminar air flow installed and gaining ISO9001 standardisation (a voluntary standardisation run by a nongovernmental body where hospitals must pass rigorous tests to be certified) is becoming increasingly popular in clinics and hospitals.

Low cost treatment

Healthcare facilities in India are among the most cost-effective in the world with private hospitals offering treatment at a fraction of the price of those in more affluent nations. Breast augmentation costs around €2,200; a facelift will cost around €3,000.

As a medical tourist to India you can book package deals which include flights, transfers, hotels, treatment and often a post-operative vacation. This enables you to take advantage of the ancient Ayurvedic stream of medicines and alternative rejuvenating retreats involving yoga, meditation or naturopathy.

Main centres

The medical hot spots are Bangalore, New Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta), Ludhiana, Chennai and Hyderabad. International flights come into the 17 major airports, which are spread across this vast country.

India has a tropical climate with high temperatures and dry winters and the best time to visit is between October and March as the monsoon is apparent throughout the country between May to September.

So, with private facilities equal to European counterparts, efficient, multilingual doctors and dentists, coupled with massive savings on surgery, India is worth considering for medical tourism.