The Healthcare industry in India is made up of hospitals, medical apparatus, clinical trials, outsourcing, telemedicine, medical tourism, health insurance, and medical equipment. The industry is rising at a remarkable pace owing to its reinforced coverage, services and additional expenditure by the public as well as private investors.

Healthcare Scenario of India

India’s constitution promises free healthcare for all its citizens, but in practice, the private healthcare sector is in charge for the majority of healthcare in India, and most healthcare costs are paid out of pocket by patients and their families, rather than by insurance. All government hospitals are obligatory to provide healthcare free of cost.

India, a country with an ancient established system of medical science, first became familiar with the recent systems of medicine in the 17th century. India’s practical advantage lies in its large reservoir of skilled medical professionals. India is also cost-efficient compared to its peers in Asia and Western countries. The price of surgery in India is about one-tenth of that in the US or Western Europe.

Healthcare infrastructure

The delivery of the health system in India is divided into two major components – public and private.

a) Public Hospitals
 The Government, i.e. public healthcare system encompasses limited secondary and tertiary care establishments in key cities and concentrates on providing basic healthcare facilities in the form of primary healthcare centers (PHCs) in rural areas. Public healthcare is free for those below the poverty line (BPL). The public health sector incorporates 18% of total outpatient care and 44% of total inpatient care. Middle and upper-class individuals have a tendency to use public healthcare less than those with a lower standard of living. Furthermore, females and elderly use the public health delivery system more frequently. The public health care system was originally established in order to provide a means to healthcare access irrespective of socioeconomic status.

b) Private Hospitals
The private sector offers a majority of secondary, tertiary and quaternary care institutions with a major focus in metropolitan cities as well as, tier 1 and tier 2 cities. With the help of many government subsidies in the 1980s, private health providers entered the market. In the 1990s, the growth of the market gave further incentive to the development of the private health sector in India. After 2005, most of the healthcare capacity added has been in the private sector, or in harmony with the private sector. The private sector entails 58% of the hospitals in the country, 29% of beds in hospitals, and 81% of doctors. According to National Family Health Survey-3, the private medical sector is the primary basis of health care for 70% of families in urban areas and 63% of families in rural areas.

Healthcare facilities particularly have developed so much that even people from other countries are looking at Indian hospitals and doctors for their treatment.

The hospital industry is emerging very rapidly due to progression in technology and growth in various diseases across the country. Earlier people use to trust on Government Doctors and Hospital but due to globalization and accessibility of better facilities and treatment in Private Hospitals, they have become quite common too. Across the country, there are various Private Hospitals which treats the patients not only from the country but are also famous for their experienced Doctors and treatment facilities all around the world.

Medical Tourism in India

India’s medical industry is an idyllic place to measure the shifting trends in medical tourism and also serves as an opening into what could drive this unique contributor into the much greater tourism ecosystem. Medical tourism (also called medical travel, health tourism or global healthcare) is a term used to label the rapidly-growing practice of travelling through international borders to look for better healthcare services. Healthcare facilities typically sought by travellers include optional procedures as well as intricate surgeries, etc.

A number of factors give an advantage to the growth of Indian Medical Tourism in India:

  • Facilities: India provides best in class medical health facilities duly accredited to NABH, etc.
  • Frontier Technology: India offers cutting-edge technology to provide medical diagnostics and medical procedures. Difficult heart surgeries, cancer care, and surgeries, neuro and even general surgeries necessitate high-end expertise to carry out procedures, minimalize complications, enable quick recovery and reduce length of hospital stay. The recent innovations in form of robotic support for surgeries, radiation surgery or radiotherapies with cyber-knife stereotactic possibilities, IMRT / IGRT, transplant support systems, advanced neuro and spinal options are all offered in India.
  • Doctors: The country has the largest reservoir of doctors and paramedics in South Asia (1.2 million Allopathic, 0.17 million dental surgeons, 2 million nurses). Many of them have established their identity as thorough professionals in their field and the best in the world.
  • Financial Saving: Quality of care is what appeals to people. However, quality services should not be beyond the financial capability of the patient who requires it. If quality comes at an affordable cost it is an indomitable advantage. This joining together of top quality and cost benefit is exclusive for India.
  • Language: Among the best medical destinations of the world, India has a high percentage of English speakers. If other language options are important, there are skilled interpreters who will be arranged by the hospitals.

Benefits of Medical Tourism for India:

  • Foreign Exchange: Every patient spends around 3500-6000 USD in India which brings significant foreign exchange.
  • Goodwill: Medical tourism is responsible for the establishment of goodwill for India in foreign nations. This has helped create friendliness between India and African countries and this goodwill helps in securing Indian investments overseas and progress in bilateral relations.
  • Boosting Economy: States like Andhra Pradesh are improving their economy due to the influx of large of tourists seeking medical help.
  • Employment Generation: Inflow of patients and money into healthcare system leads to the creation of jobs and opportunities which help in solving the unemployment crisis of
  • Promotion of alternative healthcare systems: It helps the promotion of healthcare systems of India such as AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy).
  • Start-up India: With many new Start Up’s like Practo, Portea, Advancells, Lybrate etc. emergent in the field of the health sector, Medical tourism can motivate setting up a number of new start-ups.

Facts & Figures:

Growing occurrence of lifestyle diseases, rising demand for reasonably priced healthcare delivery systems due to the growing healthcare costs, technological advancements, the emergence of telemedicine, rapid health insurance penetration and government initiatives like e-health together with tax benefits and incentives are influencing healthcare market in India.

  • By 2020, India is expected to rank amongst the top 3 healthcare markets in accordance with incremental growth
  • By 2020, the healthcare information technology market is predicted to grow 1.5 times from current $1 billion
  • By 2022, the diagnostics market is anticipated to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 20.4% to reach $32 billion from $5 billion in 2012
  • During 2015-20, the in-patient market is likely to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13%
  • By 2020, the Indian telemedicine market is expected to develop at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 20% to reach $32 million from $15 million

The industry is estimated to reach $372 billion by 2022.

The hospital industry in India, making up 80% of the total healthcare market, is observing a huge investor demand from both global as well as domestic investors. The hospital industry is expected to reach $132 billion by 2023 from $ 61.8 billion in 2017; growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 16-17%.

The Indian Medical Tourism market is anticipated to grow from its current size of $3 billion to $7-8 billion by 2020

The diagnostics industry in India is presently estimated at a value of $4 billion. The share of organized sector is almost 25% in this section (15% in labs and 10% in radiology).

The primary care industry is currently estimated to be at value of $13 billion.

Conclusion

India has made prominent progress in health standards in the post-independence era. Still, many feel that the financial resources for the health sector should be increased. International developments in information technology need to be applied at the national level in an attempt for health data documentation. The continued efforts to control the country’s population and the political determination to march towards the millennium development goals in health will help India to make a noteworthy impact on the international health scene.

Taking into account this particular growth of Indian healthcare, it is estimated that there will be an inherent need for more healthcare and hospital administrators to properly supply the manpower needed to supplement the growth of the industry. Hence there will be an increase in the need for education in this particular field. Keeping in mind this particular need, there will be a fresh wave for the education courses imparting knowledge about hospital administration, healthcare management as well as public health.

In contrast to this growth of healthcare industry, all of the calculation has been disrupted due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Although the importance of the need for an established healthcare industry and the presence of skilled healthcare workers and administrators is more evident now. We urge our readers to stay safe at homes and also salute those workers who are working in various health-setups, risking their life every-day to control the pandemic.