The recent boom in medical services and the promotions by the government have helped in making India a sort after destination for medical tourism. So the numbers of citizens crossing national boundaries to avail treatments in India that are far cheaper than those in their own native countries have multiplied in the last few years. Patients are coming to India for everything from Knee replacement, Hip replacement, cancer treatments and cardio-logical procedures to holistic Ayurveda treatments. The medical tourism industry has become a multi-billion dollar industry because of a variety of reasons. The elite class travels from developing nations to developed nations to seek medical treatments that are not available in their own countries. This is the reason private hospitals in India are full of patients from the Gulf and Bangladesh. On the other hand patients form the US and UK come to get medical treatments in India cause it costs almost 10 time more in their countries in comparison to what it doesin India. Also in some countries like the UK and Canada the health insurances are publically funded, and the immense pressure because of the ever-increasing aging population makes the wait time for regular medical checkuphuge. So a lot of people from these countries come to India. Since there is no wait time in India and one can get a major procedure like a Hip replacement done with 3-4 days of a request.

A knee replacement in UK would cost around $17,000 and in India only around $8,000. In India an open-heart surgery will cost between $3,000 – $10,000, but in the US it will cost up to $150,000 and in the UK around $70,000. So the difference is mindboggling. The medical services in India have high quality facilities, highly skilled medical professionals, English speaking personnel and pocket friendly price tags. These make India an attractive place for foreign patients to come and get major medical procedures done along with staying longer post-operative care. To help the travelers there are medical concierge services set up that take care of everything from visa applications, international flight bookings, selecting doctors and hospitals, language interpretation, coordinating with hospitals, accommodations and even keeping a record of medical documents. The government is also helping a lot to promote this sector by streaming the visa application process and setting up a website that will be give comprehensive information for anyone visiting India for medical purpose.