Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Nov 14, 2003
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Nov 14, 2003 |
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Announcements Marketing - Strategy Industry & Economy - Medical Institutions & Hospitals Apollo's low-cost treatment draws patients from West Our Bureau
Chennai , Nov. 13 LOW cost of treatment for a standard that matches that of the West has drawn a group of patients from developed countries to Apollo Hospitals. Two British nationals and a Canadian undergoing treatment at Apollo, Chennai, were introduced to the media on Thursday by the hospital authorities to showcase the hospital's calibre. On the occasion, Apollo's Chairman, Dr Prathap C. Reddy, said the hospital's cost worked out to 10 per cent of the cost in the West. For example, Apollo carries out a liver transplant for about $ 40,000, as against about $ 400,000 in the US. An Apollo press release said that currently over 80,000 foreign nationals and non-resident Indians visit India every year to get medical treatment. The number is growing at 30 per cent annually. Mr Cyril Parry from Britain said that he had to go overseas to undergo a hip replacement surgery because a huge backlog with Britain's National Health Service (NHS) meant a long wait. Having narrowed down the choice to hospitals in Australia, Italy and India, Apollo's low price for the surgery brought him here. Dr Reddy added that Apollo's success rate with surgeries was on par with the same in developed countries. Ms Preetha Reddy, Apollo's Managing Director, told the media that overseas patients use the Internet to source information on critical hospital benchmarks such as clinical outcomes. Once they are satisfied, they approach Apollo for treatment. Dr Vijay Bose, who treated Mr Parry, said that the only barrier to developed world patients visiting India was a psychological one. He forecast, "Once the barrier is broken, the floodgate would be opened." Poor airline links between most Indian cities and the world is an obstacle faced by the Indian health care industry in attracting more "medical tourists," felt Dr Reddy. Apollo is in touch with the Civil Aviation Ministry to improve air connectivity of cities such as Chennai and Hyderabad to improve the environment for medical tourists.
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