Please introduce yourself, your company and your background.
I am a medical practitioner by profession and have practiced in Kenya as a family
physician for more than 32 years. I used to refer patients for specialised treatment
abroad due to lack of facilities for certain treatments in Kenya. This is how I
was involved in medical tourism long before it became a global phenomenon. When
I migrated to the UK in 2005, there was a lot of publicity about NHS waiting lists
and patients wanting to go abroad for affordable treatment. I wanted to do something
different so I thought let me start a company to help these patients to go to reliable
facilities abroad for treatment. I already had established contacts with top hospitals
and doctors in India and this is how The Medical Tourist Company was formed.
Where is medical tourism today? How is the industry performing when you consider
the estimates made by some individuals, in 2009, of large volumes of patients migrating
for healthcare abroad?
Medical tourism has always been there but it was rare for the patients from developed
nations to go to countries like India, Thailand, etc. for treatment. It was mostly
patients from developing countries who would travel to Europe or America for treatment
due to lack of facilities in their own countries. Now that there is reversal in
this trend a lot of awareness has been created about medical tourism today. Many
new companies are coming in as medical tourism facilitators. More patients may be
travelling for cosmetic and dental treatments which many times they can combine
with a holiday but as far as elective surgeries are concerned I feel the volume
may not be that high from the UK and USA. Majority of the patients for elective
surgery are from neighbouring and developing countries.
Which geographic locations are proving most popular today, for the medical tourist
and why?
We have been mostly sending our patients to India which is a popular destination.
The main reasons are:
- English is spoken and understood by most people
- Most of the doctors would have experience of working in Europe or the USA
- Doctors are experienced in treating international patients
- Many patients are used to Indian doctors as almost 25 – 30% of doctors in the USA
and the UK are from Indian subcontinent
- The hospitals are of high international standard; many with international accreditations.
- The nursing care is marvellous
- The hospitality is second to none
Besides India, countries like Thailand, Singapore, Turkey, Philippines, South Korea,
Costa Rica, etc. are also becoming popular due to high standard of hospitals and
medical care available at affordable price.
Some argued that recession and the global economic downturn would lead more patients
to consider and travel for healthcare abroad. What do you think of this statement?
Recession and global economic downturn has not led to increase in the number of
patients.
Describe where the Medical Tourist Company fits in to the industry? What are your
core products and services?
Medical Tourist Company complies with the Treatment Abroad code of practice for
medical tourism and fits in as a trustworthy and reliable medical facilitator. The
Company will do all it can to make the process of going abroad for treatment a pleasant
experience with the motto “helping you get better…….”
Our core products are all types of elective surgeries like hip/knee replacement,
spine, heart, weight loss, etc. Our service includes providing all the details to
the patients so that they can make an inform decision. We will provide them all
the information about things like visas, flights, hotels/apartments for recovery
period, methods of payment, climatic conditions, etc. We also have dedicated international
patients coordinators in the hospitals who will be just a phone call away should
the patients need anything. We obtain regular updates of the patients and pass them
on to the relatives or friends by e mail or telephone if the patients request us
to do so.
What does the typical medical tourist expect from a medical tourism agent?
A typical medical tourist expects honesty from the medical tourism agent. This service
is on mutual trust and it is important that the facilitator understands the requirements
of the patients properly and give very clear guidance. The patients also expect
that all the arrangements for the treatment are done as promised so that they have
a hassle free process.
If you may wave a magic wand and fix five issues in the medical tourism industry
what may they be?
- Patients desiring to go abroad for treatment should be able to get their medical
records easily so that they receive proper information about their treatment.
- Medical facilitators should be careful not to offer cheap substandard treatment
and patients end up with problems after returning home
- Honesty and personal touch with the patients should be the key factors for all the
medical tourist facilitators and hospitals
- Absolute transparency about costs involved so that patients are not exposed to a
rude shock of hidden charges
- After return home from surgery abroad, some patients may have been advised follow
up treatment like physiotherapy, blood tests, x – rays etc. The local doctors should
help them out
In your experience where are the best standards in healthcare to be found abroad
and why?
The best healthcare standards abroad are found in many hospitals in many countries.
It is difficult to say any one particular country has the best healthcare standard.
From our experience many corporate hospitals in India have best healthcare standards
due to highly experienced professionals, excellent nursing care, and availability
of latest technology, low infection and mortality rate in comparison to similar
hospitals in Western countries. The hospital rooms are clean and comfortable.
We have also seen hospitals in Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Philippines
which offer excellent treatment and similarly many other countries must also be
having good facilities.
The Medical Tourism Company caters for many needs of the health tourist – what has
been the most popular treatment that patients migrate for?
We offer all types of treatment but the most popular have been hip and knee replacement,
cardiac surgeries, dental treatment and executive health check ups.
What has been your experience dealing with insurance companies?
We have no experience with insurance companies.
How will the industry develop in the next 24 months and will supply outweigh demand?
The industry may not develop as predicted in the next 24 months due to recession,
threats of terrorism, natural disasters and political disturbances in some of the
countries which are favourites for medical tourism. Many new hospitals are coming
up in several countries trying to cater for medical tourism so it is very likely
that the supply will outweigh the demand.
Thank you for taking the time to speak with us Premhar.