ગુજરાતી
English
DILIP PATEL
Gandhinagar, 26 June 2023
The Gujarat branch of the Indian Medical Association has started a program – Chalo Gaon Mein. In which Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel once again claimed that Gujarat is going to become a leader in medical tourism. There is a claim of the Chief Minister, but the situation is different. Ever since Modi became the Chief Minister till today, Gujarat has not been able to move forward in medical tourism in 22 years. The Medical Travel Policy of Gujarat was formulated in December 2006. A 33 per cent increase in medical tourists was claimed against the country’s 20 per cent growth. That policy has failed miserably. Gujarat is not a medical hub, Gujarat’s own 25 lakh patients want treatment. Compared to Eon, it is estimated that 10,000 people are coming from abroad. On an average, out of 10 lakh foreign tourists, barely 1 per cent come for treatment. Most of these are natives of Gujarat who are foreigners.
Statistics of top 5 hospitals in Ahmedabad
1- Zydus Hospital treated 418 foreign patients in 2019-20. It was 193 in 2021-22. In 2022-23, 359 patients were treated. The number of international patients seeking treatment in the OPD is almost double that of indoor patients.
2 – Before covid at Stirling Hospital, there were 300-350 patients per year. There were 250 patients in 2022-23.
3 – Apollo Hospitals received 265 international patients for indoor treatment and 785 patients for OPD in 2019-20. During 2021-22, 192 foreign patients came in Indore and 553 in OPD. This number has increased to 326 indoor patients and 1002 OPD patients in 2022-23.
4 – HCG Hospitals to treat around 500 patients in 2022-23. 200 in 2021-22. Before Corona, 600 patients were coming.
5 – KD Hospital had 90 foreign patients in 2021, 280 in 2022-2023.
It can be inferred from this that international patients would visit 50 hospitals in Gujarat including Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Rajkot. If an average of 200 patients per year is considered in a hospital, then not more than 10,000 patients will come to Gujarat.
Where come from
Foreign patients usually come from African countries such as Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Madagascar. Patients from USA, UK (mostly NRIs and NRGs), Middle East, Nepal, Bangladesh and SAARC countries also come to Ahmedabad for treatment.
Vadodara
Wellcare Hospital Vadodara provides treatment for all orthopedic related diseases like hip, spine surgery, fracture surgery, arthroscopy, general surgery, neuro surgery, urology, plastic surgery, gastrology, ENT and physiotherapy. The patients who have come here for specialized orthopedic treatment so far are from Gulf countries including UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Dubai, UAE and African countries like Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Tanzania . , Zambia.
Hearing the name of Fiji’s former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rambuka, Dr. Bharat Modi came to Wellcare Hospital to undergo surgery on both his knees. He has been playing an active role in Fijian politics as the Leader of the Opposition. Dr. met foreign patients as well as patients from all over India. Bharat Modi has done a total of 40 thousand surgeries till now.
Appearance – Heart Special
The government has approved heart and lung transplants from 2021 at Mahavir Hospital, Athwagate. This is the first hospital in the state to perform both the surgeries simultaneously. This work was to be done in Surat in collaboration with Reliance Foundation of Mumbai. The team, including Dr. Mule, who has done hundreds of heart transplants in Mumbai, had to come to Surat to do the transplant. This simply means that since Gujarat does not have such expert and experienced medical staff, the help of Mumbai’s medical tourism had to be taken.
After successful heart transplant, 10 lungs will be transplanted. Maximum organ donations are happening in Surat, so it is quite possible that medical tourism will increase in Surat in the coming days. Lung and heart related diseases are now more common in Surat. In Surat, angioplasty was performed by passing a stent directly to the heart through a vein near the thumb.
Bhavnagar Panchakarma
An elderly couple from Kenya came to Bhavnagar for Ayurvedic Panchakarma treatment. Mr. Kevin Gunn, 60 years old, M.C. Yonsen was treated at Panchakarma Hospital in Shastri Nagar.
Medical tourism in Gujarat was in its infancy in 2015. It was expected to make up 25–31% of the drug industry’s revenue. This could not happen.
According to a CII report, the cost of medical treatment in India is less than a third of the European and American costs.
The visa process also needs to be streamlined.
The government has been claiming for 22 years that Gujarat has a unique approach to the development of health tourism. Ahmedabad, the main city of Gujarat, is one of the best cities in India for medical tourism. Ahmedabad can compete with all the health tourism around the world. Ahmedabad continues to be the best medical tourism destination in India with world-class healthcare services, no waiting time treatment services and reasonable prices.
It has world class facilities, super specialty hospitals, excellent doctors, affordable prices and other infrastructure.
The Medical Travel Policy of Gujarat, released in December 2006, was formulated. 33 percent growth in medical tourists as against country’s 20 percent growth
But Narendra Modi is failing to do so.
No alternative treatment
Not only modern allopathy but various age-old healing techniques like Yoga, Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Naturopathy, Aromatherapy and Reiki are also popular and practiced in Gujarat. Gujarat is home to Ayurvedic treatment which is an ancient medical science that was developed thousands of years ago in India. Ayurvedic methods include the use of natural herbal medicines, minerals, surgical techniques, oils through massage. There are a total of 178 types of treatment methods in different countries of the world. Gujarat is not dominant in any of them. The first significant event in the history of people traveling in search of medical treatment was the crossing of the Mediterranean Sea by Greek pilgrims to Epidauria on the Saronic Gulf, home of Asklepios, the god of healing.
Jamnagar near Gujarat has one of the best Ayurvedic hospitals in India that specializes in Panchakarma and Naturopathy for the treatment of ailments. But Kerala is at the forefront of Ayurvedic tourism, patients from Gujarat go there. Nowadays people are more inclined towards natural remedies like aromatherapy and naturopathy which are exclusive to India.
Which patients come
International patients mostly for kidney transplant, liver transplant, spine, cancer, cardiac problems, knee and hip replacement, spine surgery and cosmetic and plastic surgery treatment and health check-up, cardiology, knee replacement or arthroplasty, neuro-surgery, infertility treatment Hospitals specializing in orthopedics, eye surgery, dental treatment and cosmetic surgery are medical centers mostly concentrated in Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat. ,
Demand for Super-Speciality:
This includes cardiology, neuro-surgery, infertility treatment, orthopedics, eye surgery, dental treatment and cosmetic surgery.
Medical facilities include cardiac surgery, pediatric surgery, brain and spine surgery, gastrointestinal surgery, surgery to remove cancerous tumors and elective surgeries like knee and hip replacement.
Ahmedabad also boasts of having the largest civil hospital in Asia. There is also a good dental hospital and college here.
Dental tourism also plays an important role in the field of medical tourism. Dental treatment abroad is more expensive than other medical treatments. Dental insurance coverage is also not available in many places. becomes a very costly affair. That’s why people prefer to come to our country for their treatment.
There are some reputed doctors in Ahmedabad. Gujarat has recently emerged as one of the most emerging healthcare destination of India. These doctors have expertise in performing complex surgeries. The longer the travel distance, the lower the cost of accommodation. Hospitals in Gujarat have the best facilities which makes it a very popular destination for patients from neighboring cities of Gujarat and neighboring states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Some notable names include Apollo Hospitals, Zydus Hospital, HCG Hospital which is renowned for cancer care, Apex Heart Institute, Epic Hospitals and many more semi-specialty and single-specialty hospitals. There are many low cost affordable hospitals with good infrastructure.
Many patients are now choosing Gujarat for comprehensive cancer care. State-of-the-art facilities are available for a variety of treatments including chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery.
2006 policy failed
In 2006, when Gujarat formulated its own policy, the Gujarat Medical Tourism Council was to be constituted for implementation. The Medicity in Gujarat was to be developed into a 2000 bedded hospital and school of medicine. It did not happen
No further details about the drug were released. It didn’t help that the medical facilities in Gujarat are of international standards.
International travel planning was to be made convenient and cost-effective. There is no plan. The government was supposed to help insurance companies develop international standard packages but nothing happened. World class medical facilities were to be made available through public participation. Standards were also to be laid down for accreditation of hospitals and entrepreneurs in the field of medical tourism.
A combination of factors such as state-of-the-art infrastructure, corporate setup, mediclaim and cashless facilities, well trained and educated staff, latest and most modern technological link-ups and easy and fast way of communication with the link-ups. Had to add Multi-specialty hospitals with modern infrastructure were to be set up.
Medical tourism is being discussed in Gujarat for the last several years. Instead of being in Gujarat, Ahmedabad is becoming medical tourism to some extent. That too is being done without the help of the government.
Medical tourism now temple tourism
In Gujarat Assembly Elections 2022, BJP in its Sankalp Patra – Election Manifesto announced to make Garvi Gujarat Tourism University for Medical Tourism. A global marketing campaign was to be launched for Gujarat tourism with a budget of 100 crores.
This did not happen, but Rs 1,000 crore has been given to develop the tourism corridor of the temples.
The Modi government had prepared a draft of this policy in 2022. which has not been implemented. This includes 11 countries in Europe, 8 countries in Africa, 8 countries in the Gulf and 19 countries in Latin America, countries in Southeast Asia and East West Asia, America, Australia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia.
Less cost
The cost of surgeries like bone marrow transplant, bypass surgery, knee surgery and liver transplant in India is very less as compared to western countries. E-Medical Visa is provided to citizens of 156 countries.
The cost of infertility treatment in India is about one-fourth that of developed countries. Modern reproductive technologies such as In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) services have made India the first choice for infertility treatment.
Rs 25 lakh is given to State Governments/Chambers of Commerce/National Wellness and Medical Association for publicity.
Treatment is much cheaper than abroad
A July 2013 study on Ahmedabad found an increase in the number of NRI patients availing medical tourism facilities in the Gujarat region. Most of the patients in Gujarat come from America and UK. According to available data, Gujarat receives more than 1200 patients every year. There is an increase of about 2% in this. Average cost of living in Ahmedabad is 60% lower than in other countries. skilled and unskilled and low infrastructure cost. This cost advantage results in a difference of up to 90% between the cost in the US and developing countries for the same health care treatment. Because here the employees have to pay the lowest salary. The infrastructure cost is low.
Spending in America
Better medical treatment and cheaper accommodation after surgery as compared to Mumbai and Delhi. Food and travel expenses are also reasonable. Still behind.
Americans spent 19.3% of their income on education in 2019. The number of individuals without health insurance coverage increased from 45.7 million in 2007 to 46.3 million in 2008. 120 million people do not have dental insurance.
Medical tourists from the African continent are choosing Gujarat and especially Ahmedabad. These patients are usually from Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Uganda and Ethiopia. Patients from the Middle East and other CIS countries are also turning to Gujarat for their medical needs.
Gujarat is considered as the pharmacy capital of India. Therefore, the drugs get distributed easily. Companies headquartered in Gujarat include Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, India’s largest pharmaceutical company, Zydus Cadila Healthcare Limited, Intas Pharmaceuticals, Cadila Pharmaceuticals, Amnil Pharmaceuticals, Alembic Pharmaceuticals, etc.
Government hospital
Gujarat has built renowned hospitals such as the United Nations Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre, Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre, Gujarat Cancer Research Institute and M&J Institute of Ophthalmology, through which the state and other states in the country Citizens are getting world class healthcare. facilities. Now a state-of-the-art hospital like AIIMS is being built in Rajkot, Gujarat, where citizens will get the benefit of state-of-the-art health facilities with 750 beds.
2770 MBBS seats and 590 PG seats have been increased in the state. In the last 8 years, 12 new medical colleges have been sanctioned in the state.
In addition, medical education in the state includes 6 Government Medical Colleges, 6 Teaching Hospitals, 2 Government Dental Colleges and affiliated hospitals, 1 M&J Institute of Ophthalmology, 1 Government Spine Institute, 5 Government Physiotherapy Colleges, 8 GMERS Medical Colleges, 8 GMERS Hospitals included. , 3 Grant-in-aid – Superspeciality Hospitals (Kidney Disease Institute and Research Centre, UN Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute) and 8 Government Nursing Colleges are functioning.
Thus there are total 48 government institutions in the state. Today, the percentage of hospital deliveries has reached 99.5 percent, which has resulted in a drastic reduction in the maternal-infant mortality rate. There are 270 free dialysis centers.
How many patients in Gujarat
in Gujarat in 2018
72,169 patients of common cancer
10,107 Heart disease
10,601 Chikungunya
7,579 Dengue
7,29,132 diarrhea
56,390 typhoid
22,10,656 respiration
7,325 of hepatitis
5,159 pneumonia
1,15,802 TB
21,327 Malaria
In this way, there are 25 lakh patients in Gujarat.
The Gujarat government itself has failed to provide medical facilities.
GOVERNMENT
There are no government blood banks in 13 districts of Gujarat. The districts are Amreli, Anand, Botad, Aravali, Chhota Udepur, Dahod, Dang, Gir, Kheda, Mahisagar, Narmada, Navsari, Tapi. There is a private blood bank. The Model Institute of Ayurvedic Science Health Care Center in Kolvada built with a budget of Rs 500 crore has 400 beds.
Government’s low health budget, less and vacant medical posts, unfilled PG seats, exorbitantly expensive medical education, unhealthy competition, fearful work environment, violence against doctors, inadequate laws and legal protection.
India produces 67000 MBBS graduates every year. 20 thousand Indian medical students return to India after completing their medical education abroad from Russia, China, Philippines and other countries. Although only 15% of foreign medical graduates pass the exam, 70,000 doctors qualify as MBBS doctors annually and licenses are obtained.
According to a Brookings India analysis, most people in Gujarat seek private health care, not government. As per the analysis, 84.9% of the total patients in outpatient cases avail private health services. While in inpatient cases, 73.8% of the total patients seek private health services.
According to World Health Organisation’s guidelines, 1 doctor per thousand population is desirable in the healthcare sector, Gujarat has 1 government allopathic doctor per 11,475 people, according to Down To Earth magazine data. Gujarat is at 28th position in this list. Significantly, the national average rate in this regard is 1 government allopathic doctor per 11,097 people. Gujarat has only 5.77% of the total number of doctors in the country. According to this report, a total of 11 lakh registered doctors are practicing in the country. Out of which only Gujarat has 66,994 doctors. Gujarat ranks 7th in the list of 20 states with per capita expenditure of Rs 1239. Not only is there a shortage of doctors in Gujarat, but the number of health workers and health assistants in the state is also very less.
Since the Gujarat government itself failed, the Medical Association had to start the work of taking the doctors to the villages. 23% of the country’s deaths from Corona occurred in Gujarat. At the start of the second phase, 75% of Gujarat took place in Ahmedabad, Saurashtra and Surat.
The Gujarat branch of the Indian Medical Association restarted the “Aao Gaon Chale” project on 25 June 2023 for the health and well-being of citizens of more than 90 villages in the state from Revabai Hospital in Saradhavathi Saradhav village of Gandhinagar district. Due to the complaint of doctors not going to the villages, the association has implemented the ‘Chalo Gaon Chale’ programme.
Former President of IMA R.D. Ketan Desai said that doctors do not go to villages and 90 percent of medical colleges are in cities. 300 medical colleges are in rural areas.
Minister of the Indian Medical Association, R.D.A. Anil Nayak said that there are 4 lakh 50 thousand doctors in the association from all over the country.
Then the government said that Gujarat is becoming the hub of the country in medical tourism. In the field of health, Gujarat is considered as the model state of the country. This is often said. that is very true.
Today, 6350 doctors are being prepared every year in Gujarat. With the construction of new medical colleges in the near future, this figure will reach 7 thousand per year.
From the year 2003 to 2022, the number of foreign tourists is in lakhs.
foreign tourist of the year
2003-04 – 0.65
2004-05 – 0.60
2005–06 – 1.74
2006-07 – 2.07
2007-08 – 2.29
2008-09 – 2.95
2009-10 – 3.10
2010-11 – 3.95
2011-12 – 4.60
2012–13 – 5.17
2013–14 – 5.66
2014–15 – 6.33
2015-16 – 7.33
2016-17 – 9.24
2017-18 – 10.61
2018-19 – 12.35
2019-20 – 13.19
2020-21 – 0.05
2021-22 – 2.17
Total 16.35 Lakh
World and india
India ranks 10th in the world in terms of medical tourism. Patients from backward countries also come to India for cheap and quality treatment. The cost of treatment in India is about 30 percent less than in western countries. According to Indian government data, Thailand, Mexico, the US, Singapore, India, Brazil, Turkey and Taiwan are the first-choice countries in terms of the number of patients seeking medical treatment. The cost of heart surgery in India is around Rs 4 lakh. Whereas in Thailand it is about 15 lakh rupees. In America it is about 80 lakh rupees. Between 2017 and 2020, maximum number of patients from Bangladesh came to India for treatment. According to the latest government data, Iraq, Afghanistan and Maldives are in second place. The number of patients coming from Oman, Kenya, Myanmar and Sri Lanka is also very high.
10 largest medical tourism companies in the world
Aditya Birla Health Services Limited
Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Limited
Asian Heart Institute & Research Center Pvt. Ltd
Barbados Fertility Center
BB Healthcare Solutions Limited
Fortis Healthcare Limited.
HealthBase.
KPJ Healthcare Berhad Hospital. In which there is not even one from Gujarat.
Which country is number 1 in medical tourism?
Canada ranks first out of 46 countries in the 2020-2021 Global Tourism Rankings with an index score of 76.47.
Only 14 million of whom are US citizens. Canada has gained fame in terms of medical and health facilities because of its modern technology and quality and having a huge country like America next to Canada also gives a boost to medical tourism.
Country at the forefront
Canada, Singapore, Japan, Spain, UK, Dubai, Costa Rica, Israel, Abu Dhabi, India are ahead.
10 Famous Medical Tourism Destinations in India
Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi, Goa, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Vellore, Alleppey, Hyderabad. (The original report in Gujarati language has been translated from Google. See allgujaratnews.in/gj.)
