Garden City gets medicare edge

IBNLive : Garden City gets medicare edge

Bangalore: Waiting in long queues to get treatment at hospitals may soon become a thing of the past.

The face of Bangalore's new hospitals - slick, suave and offering its customers a little more than just traditional medical care - is soon undergoing a change. Air-conditioned waiting lounges, wi-fi enabled kiosks, and feng shui paintings now greet patients at hospitals in the Garden City.

Manipal group has already acquired a hospital on Mysore Road and is also setting up a 300-bed unit near the new International Airport.

Wockhardt Hospitals is also setting up its largest unit so far - a 400-bed super-speciality hospital on Bannerghatta Road.

And Columbia Asia, India's first hospital to be set up with Foreign Direct Investment, is also setting up two more centres in Bangalore.

"Bangalore today is most wired to the rest of the world. That is a strategic advantage that Bangalore has, because all the time the globe is talking to Bangalore because of the outsourcing business," CEO, Wockhardt Hospitals, Vishal Bali, said.

But the Government healthcare system continues to be poor. People don't mind paying that extra 35 to 40 per cent for better facilities and the cleanliness provided by private hospitals.

"Today people are discerning. Not only are they aware of various aspects of medical care, thanks to the Internet and communications being so good, but they also look at the environment in which the healthcare is provided," Chairman, Columbia Asia Hospital, Dr Nandakumar Jairam, said.

And it's not just people from the Bangalore who keep these hospitals in the business. The significantly lower cost of surgery in India, ensures that speciality hospitals like Narayana Hrudayalaya and Wockhardt receive a steady stream of patients from across the world.

CEO, Wockhardt Hospitals, Vishal Bali, admits that there is a huge cost differential between the medical facilities in India and other countries. "But the difference is also from the perspective that there is no difference in quality today," he adds.

Many consider Bangalore as the face of emerging India - the city of IT, the city of innovations, the city of the future.

And now, with the brick and mortar hospital buildings transforming into classy glass and steel edifices, Bangalore is sure on health superhighway.
from CNN Asia reports

Arthritis Article on Arthritis and Medical Tourism

article from the DailyIndia.com

Arthritis is a debilitating disease that causes severe physical pain and emotional turmoil for millions of people who suffer with it. Many do nothing about it, simply because they feel the cost of joint replacement surgery is too high. Prices for corrective joint surgery, however has fallen dramatically in price making them more affordable than ever and surgery is available at a cost of around 70% less than surgery in the US and Europe, in India.

Joint replacement is now affordable at up to 75% less than in the US or UK! A hip or knee replacement for example, would cost around 20,000 dollars in the US, but in India costs just $4,500 - 6500. While the cost may be competitive there is no difference in the quality of treatment. Many patients from Europe and the US are now traveling to India to have joint replacement surgery done, are saving enough money to enjoy a holiday of a lifetime and still have money left over!

What is arthritis?

There are over 100 different kinds of arthritis, all of which affect one or several joints in the body. The word arthritis comes from the Greek words, arth meaning "joint" and "inflammation". Arthritis effectively means "inflammation of a joint", which is
not strictly true of the condition as in many kinds of arthritis the
joint is not actually inflamed or swollen, but the pain is still there.

The affects of arthritis can be devastating:
70% of patients with Arthritis show evidence of radiographic changes within only 3 years. 50% of patients with arthritis are disabled and unable to work within 10 years.
In the long term, the major consequences of Arthritis include:
Joint deformity, joint misalignment, disability, emotional trauma and even premature death.

The onset of cheap mass travel has opened up India to many
patients who can now travel to have their surgery done at competitive
cost. Traveling to another country for treatment is referred to as medical tourism. This is now a multi billion pound industry worldwide and India
is the world leader in medical tourism and 150,000 medical tourists
traveled to India in 2005 alone.

Here's why:

Cost of Treatment

With costs far lower than in Europe and the US for operations
such as joint replacement, India is of interest to anyone wanting this
surgery.

Cost however is not the only consideration; patients want quality care and treatment.

Quality of facilities

The quality of Indian private hospitals is on par with any in the world, as are success rates for operations.

Quality of medical experience

Indian medical doctors and nurses are known worldwide for their
expertise and professionalism, giving medical tourism in India
credibility among overseas patients.

Quick Access to surgery

One of the huge advantages of medical tourism is the quick
access to surgery and cutting out the emotional stress of long waiting
lists.

Holiday options

A byproduct, but one that is appealing, is to relax after
surgery in one of the largest, most beautiful and diverse countries in
the world.

When you look at the facts:

Low cost, quality facilities, expert care and the opportunity to
see a different country, it is no wonder more people are considering
joint replacement in India and a wide array of other treatments.

Medical tourism is growing in popularity and if you suffer
from arthritis and need joint replacement therapy, you should consider
what India has to offer.

Fiji former PM in Vadodara, Gujarat for knee surgery - another coup for medical tourism

A coup for medical tourism? Fiji former PM in Vadodara for knee surgery
Sitiveni Rabuka compares his problem to Vajpayee's: PMs carry country’s burden on shoulders, spend much of their time on their knees praying'

Vadodara, March 26: The promoters of medical tourism in Vadodara may have found an unusual mascot in former Fiji prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka, who once led a coup in his country. For Rabuka, who after the coup went on to become the country's democratically elected prime minister, is in the city for a knee replacement surgery.

As a patient to the city's leading orthopaedic doctor Dr Bharat Mody, Rabuka, on his first day at the hospital, held forth on subjects other than his knee — Fijian politics, Sonia Gandhi’s resignation and India's triumph at the Commonwealth Games.

Rabuka, accompanied by his wife, said he narrowed down his choice to Dr Mody after months of correspondence for a knee-replacement surgery after endorsements from Dr Mody;s other patients in his country. "He had good references from people I know back home and it worked out," said a genial Rabuka who is here sans any official trappings either of an ex-prime minister or even an army chief. He explained the entourage absence simply by saying it was a private visit.

For a city which has been mulling over its tourism potential at the CII conference with state politicians since Saturday, Rabuka's visit could not have come at a more appropriate time.

"The very fact that Vadodara is a smaller, comfortable city can be turned into a medical tourism advantage," said Dr Mody, who specialises in knee-replacement surgery. "The expertise here is at par with Ahmedabad or any other bigger city."

Dr Mody who said he collaborated with Australian experts said that he had a steady stream of Fijian patients, numbering 60, most of them from the close-knit but wealthy Fijian-Gujarati community. On his only visit to Fiji Islands, a radio talk helped him get more NRI patients. It is the Fiji government which will pay Rabuka's medical bills.

At ease with a smattering of Hindi and Nepalese, the former prime minister jocularly compared his knee problem with that of India's ex-PM Atal Behari Vajpayee, saying prime ministers tend to carry the burden of their country on their shoulders and spend much time "praying on their knees."