The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Task force accrediting hospitals for health tourism

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 09, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Task force accrediting hospitals for health tourism

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, MARCH 8. A task force comprising representatives from the Health and Tourism Ministries and the Confederation of Indian Industry is accrediting hospitals and spas, which will figure on India's health tourism map, the Union Minister of State for Tourism, Renuka Chowdhury said today.

The accredited hospitals and spas would be rated on quality to ensure that patients from other countries had a reliable system to put their money in. This was the first time India actually addressed the rich potential in medical tourism, Ms. Chowdhury told presspersons here.

Over the last four years, India had treated over 60,000 patients from other countries. Hip and knee surgeries, cardiac treatment and cosmetic surgeries attracted the largest number of patients.

"There is great respect for the education and expertise of Indian doctors working abroad. It is estimated that about 36 per cent of medical services in the U.S. and U.K. are being manned by Indians. With growing awareness, better communication systems and lower treatment costs, more people are looking towards India for medical help".

The intervention by private healthcare institutions also helped to benchmark the services available, not only in the south but wherever expertise was available.

Pat for Tamil Nadu

Appreciating Tamil Nadu's efforts at reinventing itself for the tourism market, the Minister said the State had tremendous products and a range of services on offer, especially for the culture-conscious and thinking minds. It had the potential to develop into a high-end tourism spot and the State Tourism department should focus on this, as it would contribute to the economy.

The Ministry was working on plans to promote tourism on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Indian Independence in two years.

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