Healthcare tourism opportunities for India

Seminar paper from the year 2013 in the subject Health - Miscellaneous, grade: B-, University of Bedfordshire, course: MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION IN HEALTHCARE & HOSPITAL MANAGEMENT, language: English, abstract: This report is written on the topic of 'Healthcare Tourism Opportunities for India'. The scope of this report is broad as it incorporates the case studies of five major players in Indian healthcare tourism sector. It has been observed that Healthcare Tourism and Medical Tourism are interchangeable terms. In general, there are two main causes (developed countries' increasing cost of healthcare services and their overburdened healthcare infrastructure) that have resulted in enhancing the demand for healthcare tourism. Medical Malpractices Insurance is the major for increasing the healthcare cost in developed countries. Commonly, medical malpractice insurance is considered as major aspect for increasing the cost of medical treatment, widening the delay in the waitlist and also enhancing the movement of medical professionals from one region to another. India has competitive edge in the healthcare tourism because of certain characteristics: healthcare professional availability, low-cost medical treatment, enhancing popularity of its traditional wellness systems and country's existing reputation for treat of relatively advance healthcare segments (such as organ transplant, cardio-vascular surgery and eye surgery/ By reviewing all the case studies, it has been analysed that there are certain general practices that are being pursued by major healthcare service providers in India. It includes updation and utilisation of advanced technology & medical facilities, consistent healthcare education, research in medical sciences and the approach of skill development. It has been discovered that there are certain opportunities (Increasing cost of healthcare in developed countries, language proficiency of Indians, Indian healthcare institutions' success rate, delay in waiting time, Indian healthcare institutions' success rate and spillover effects) that could be exploited by the Indian medical institutions that are intended on providing medical services to foreign medical tourists. However, it has been determined that Indian medical tourism sector has been some of the challenges (Indian government's low spending on Healthcare sector, lack of International Accreditation, transplantation law, shortage of hotel accommodation and inadequate malpractices law) that could have negative impact on the growth rate of this sector. It has been recommended that the strategies currently adopted by major players of Indian medical tourism sector have helped its country to emerge as favouri