(MENAFN- Trend News Agency)
The government has drawn up a plan to augment the medical
infrastructures of 17 cities, which see an inflow of a lot of
overseas patients for treatment and wellness therapies, in a bid to
boost medical travel as part of its 'Heal in India' initiative,
Trend reports citing
money
control .
Besides, the health ministry is working on easing medical visa
norms and other requirements for patients and their companions from
44 countries identified based on the number of patients visiting
India, and the quality and cost of medical treatment there,
official sources told PTI. These are predominantly African, Latin
American countries and also members of the SAARC and Gulf
Cooperation Council groupings, they said.
Through 'Heal In India', the government aims at positioning the
country as a global hub for medical and wellness tourism, and a
destination of choice for quality healthcare services. The Union
Health Ministry is collaborating with Tourism, Ayush, Civil
Aviation ministries, hospitals, and other stakeholders to build a
roadmap to connect overseas patients with healthcare facilities in
India to boost medical travel.
As part of executing the initiative, a nodal agency - Medical
Value Travel Council - co-chaired by the health and tourism
ministries has been formed to create an institutional framework for
streamlined integration of all stakeholders, official sources said.
According to estimates, the medical tourism market which was valued
at $6 billion in the 2020 fiscal is expected to more than double
and reach $13 billion by 2026.
Thirty-seven hospitals including 30 in the private sector across
17 cities in 12 states have been identified for promoting medical
value travel, a source said. The cities that will be targeted in
phase one of the initiative are New Delhi, Pune, Ahmedabad,
Gurugram, Bangaluru, Amritsar, Kochi, Coimbatore, Mumbai, Kolkata,
Guntur, Alappuzha, Guwahati, Chennai, Chandigarh, Vellore, and
Hyderabad
'Based on target countries, more language interpreters can be
provided at airports and hospitals. One-stop centres may be set up
at the identified airports for queries related to medical travel,
transport, boarding and lodging among others,' the official source
said. The health ministry, in collaboration with the National
Health Authority, is also working on developing a portal as a
one-stop-shop for services provided by medical travel facilitators
and hospitals with an interface for foreign patients.
The portal will display standardised package rates based on the
classification of hospitals and different systems of medicines
including modern and traditional systems.
It will also have a grievance redressal section as well as an
option to submit patient feedback and testimonials. There will also
be a mechanism to track patient journey by creating a unique health
ID under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission framework and monitor
service delivery in identified health facilities in India, the
source explained.
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