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The price of intra-ocular lenses that were once imported at $75 a piece has now come down to a fraction after local manufacture of the lenses began.

Coimbatore , March 3

There is an imperative need for manufacture of sophisticated medical equipment in the country so as to bring down the cost of medicare, according to Dr P. Namperumalsamy, Vice-Chairman, Aravind Eye Hospitals, Madurai.

Inaugurating MedEquip 2006, a two-day exposition on medical equipment and conference on excellence in hospital management organised by the CII on Friday, he said that since a large percentage of medical equipment was being imported, the cost of treatment remained high.

There is an urgent need to manufacture them within the country and in view of the high manufacturing capability and engineering skill available in India, particularly in Coimbatore, this could be achieved.

For instance, he said, the price of intra-ocular lenses that were once imported at $75 a piece has now come down to a fraction after local manufacture of the lenses began.

With the increase in disposable income, people are willing to pay a premium for quality health care, he added.

Mr B. Santhanam, Chairman of CII, Tamil Nadu said that the private healthcare sector had played a crucial role in attracting patients from the Asian region to India to receive medical treatment since the country provided international quality health care at a very competitive cost.

Ms Nandini Rangaswamy, Chairperson of CII, Coimbatore Zone said that in the last five years, the number of overseas patients visiting India for medical treatment has gone up from 10,000 to one lakh.

Employing over four million, health care has become one of the largest service sectors in the country.

Dr Ramkumar Raghupathy, Convenor of Healthcare Panel, CII, Coimbatore Zone said that hospitals in the Coimbatore region have been in expansion mode in order to cater to the increasing number of patients coming from within and outside the country.

The session was attended by a large number of doctors and healthcare professionals from the region, according to a CII release.

More Stories on : Medical & Surgical Equipments | Tamil Nadu | Health

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