The Hindu : New Delhi News : Task force on health tourism

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Sep 23, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Task force on health tourism

Special Correspondent

New category of `medical visa' already introduced by MEA

NEW DELHI: The Union Government has constituted a task force to assess the opportunities for promoting India as a health destination, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Anbumani Ramadoss has said. The task force will submit its recommendations soon.

And, as a first step towards giving boost to the health tourism, the Union External Affairs Ministry has agreed for a fast track clearance to the medical patients on arrival. Earlier, foreigners were granted visa by the Indian missions abroad as tourists that is non-extendable and valid only for six months.

To resolve the difficulties faced by the patients, the External Affairs Ministry has introduced a new category of `medical visa' that can be given for treatment and is valid for a year.

Constituted by the Health and Family Welfare Ministry, the task force -- headed by the Director General of Health Services -- comprises members from the Union Tourism, Civil Aviation and Railways to evolve strategies to give a push to open the Indian healthcare sector to foreign tourists, Mr. Ramadoss said at the inauguration of a conference on "Health Tourism -- The Great Indian Advantage'' organised by ASSOCHAM on Wednesday. The task force is in consultation with the Confederation of Indian Industry to formulate a policy for accreditation of hospitals both in modern and Indian systems of medicine, he said. The medicines used in the Indian systems will also be scientifically validated.

The Ministry is also considering setting up of an independent national accreditation board for hospitals, which will not only specify various standards for hospitals but also act as a linkage with other national and international boards. "We are taking a look at the policies adopted by other countries for accreditation of their hospitals and we will try to gain from their experiences," the Minister pointed out.

The task force will recommend action to be taken by the Centre and the State Governments and specifically recommend about super-speciality medical care, outsourcing of medical services to Indian IT-based institutes and gainfully utilise the expertise available in traditional medicines. It will also look at the aspect of price banding of different diagnostic and therapeutic services proposed to be offered to the foreign tourists.

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