The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Hosptials forge tie-ups to woo overseas patients

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Aug 01, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Hosptials forge tie-ups to woo overseas patients

By Dinesh Verma

CHENNAI, JULY. 31. Leading private hospitals in Chennai are forging strategic tie-ups with Ministries and institutions overseas to woo more `foreigner-patients' even as the city shapes up as a major hub for healthcare tourism.

High quality tertiary care and relatively lower treatment costs seem to be the attractions for overseas patients heading to Chennai, which houses a cluster of hospitals offering sophisticated speciality care. Heart surgery is the most sought-after treatment followed by neurological problems, cancer, plastic surgery and orthopaedic procedures.

Recently, Sri Devi Hospitals entered into a tie-up with the Pyramids International Business Group to bring more patients to India. The hospital will use the business activities of the Pyramids group as a springboard to bring in foreign patients to India, says K. Senthilnathan, Sri Devi Hospitals. The hospital has worked out a health care package for visiting patients from abroad. At least 15 hospitals in India will be affiliated under the package and patients can take treatment at the hospital of their choice.

The Pyramids International Business Group has business activities in U.S., Canada, Australia, South Africa, Europe, Mauritius, China, West Asia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Libya, Egypt and Singapore.

The hospital is also keen on attracting patients in the U.S. and U.K. Patients in these countries have to wait long to undergo even simple procedures. These patients can be immediately treated in India. Moreover, the costs of undergoing treatment in India would work out to be several times cheaper than what it costs in the U.S. or U.K. For instance, a knee replacement surgery, which costs around Rs. 15 to Rs. 20 lakhs in the U.S., can be performed for just Rs. 2.50 lakhs in India, points out Dr. Senthilnathan.

Pact with Tanzania

A few months ago, Madras Medical Mission, entered into a tie-up with the Government of Tanzania for treating patients for a period of three years. The patients would be treated for cardiac problems and other ailments. Already, the hospital has treated 216 adults and 232 children from Tanzania.

It also has tie-ups with Health Ministries, hospitals and doctors in Seychelles, Kenya and Uganda. For patients from these places, undergoing treatment in Chennai works out to be one-fifth of what it takes for similar treatment in South Africa or the U.K., said Varghese Mathew, Director (Administration), MMM. He says that the inflow of patients could increase significantly if major airlines commenced direct flights connecting African cities and Chennai.

More overseas patients

The MIOT Hospitals also has tie-ups with Ministries in Oman, Kuwait, Tanzania and Kenya. "There has been an increase in the number of foreign patients recently," said Jalal, Overseas Patients division at MIOT, which has opened a separate office for patients from abroad. On an annual average, the hospital gets around 600 foreign patients for cardiac problem and other ailments.

"The quality of medical expertise is the foremost reason why patients seek treatment here,"says K. M. Cherian who heads the Frontier Lifeline unit of the International Centre for Cardiothoracic and Vascular Diseases. Dr. Cherian has performed heart surgery on at least 60 patients, including children, from Pakistan alone. His patients include those from African and West Asian countries, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

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