MEDICAL TOURISM.

 

 

 

This is an era of influx of medical tourism in our country.

 

There was a time when you could run a hospital with a doctor and one nurse.

The high-end hospitals are run more like luxury hotels and offer quality treatment.

"There are four factors changing the face of medicine - corporatisation, availability of high end technology, rise of medical insurance and rigorous government initiatives in the rural India,"

India is facing a shortage of 6 lakh doctors, 10 lakh nurses and 2 lakh dental surgeons. For every 10,000 Indians there is one doctor.

Despite all the above the treatment in India is cheaper and efficient.

 

While world class treatment is becoming almost a norm in high-end hospitals, the cost of treatment is still way less than the developed countries. It costs a tenth and sometimes a sixteenth of what it does in the West. Thanks to this the medical tourism is the fastest growing segment of the tourism industry. It will attract 1.1 million patients by 2012. This means that healthcare management would become a sought after area as one needs competent professionals to deal with the marketing, operational and administrative side of the high-end hospitals.

The areas which are seeing maximum growth and ground-breaking research are reproductive medicine, plastic surgery, endocrinology, oncology and cardiology. Apart from this, newer specialisation are also in the pipeline. Emergency service has long been a recognised specialisation in the developed countries. Recently, the Medical Council of India (MCI) gave it thumbs up and colleges across India have been notified to offer it as a post graduate discipline. Geriatric medicine or the care of the elderly is another area to watch out for in the future.

"While it is already in existence in countries such as USA and UK, in India it would require more attention as life expectancy is on a rise and so are the ailments associated with the elderly," opines Dr Sripathi Rao, dean, Kasturba Medical College.

While the cities seem to be getting the best of the healthcare, the government has taken initiative to address rural areas as well. In 2005, the National Rural Health Mission was launched to provide accessible, affordable and accountable quality health services to the poor in the remotest of regions. In order to attract more doctors to the peripheral areas, incentives in terms of salaries and reservation in post graduate seats are on offer.

But there is a major roadblock which most aspirants have to deal with - the lack of postgraduate seats. "According to the official estimates one in two graduates gets to do a postgraduate in medicine. But I fear that even these are optimistic figures," says Dr Roa.

This only exacerbates the crippling shortage of specialised human resource in the industry. India is facing a shortage of 6 lakh doctors, 10 lakh nurses and 2 lakh dental surgeons. For every 10,000 Indians there is one doctor.

In contrast, USA has 548. All this only means that this field is far from saturation and the growth possibilities are tremendous. Hopefully, with policy makers looking at making dramatic changes in education and healthcare, the going will only get better for the future doctors.

A look at the job prospects

Medicine

In a government set up, MBBS resident doctors can begin at Rs 3 lakh per annum and those in private centres can expect Rs 1.2 lakh to 6 lakh per annum. After a post graduation prospects improve tremendously. Plastic surgery, cardiology, reproductive medicine and endocrinology are some of the sought after fields. Nurses start with Rs 48,000 to 96,000 per annum.

Hospital administration

With rapid corporatisation, professionals dealing with hospital management are becoming mandatory. Institutions such as AIIMS usually require those with MBBS for the course in administration, while others admit science graduates as well. Those who enter this field with experience in medicine can easily earn Rs 6 lakh to 12 lakh per annum.

Clinical engineers

They have to ensure the smooth running of all clinical equipments. Three top institutes of the country-Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, IIT Madras and Christian Medical College, Vellore - have come together to offer an M.Tech. The starting salary is Rs 7 lakh to 12 lakh per annum.

Fact sheet

- India is facing a shortage of 6 lakh doctors, 10 lakh nurses and 2 lakh dental surgeons.

- Indians with foreign MBBS must clear MCI's test in order to practice.

- Medical tourism is the fastest growing segment of the tourism industry.