As of now, reports pouring in from the US suggest that it's the mid-sized companies (those with 2,000 to 5,000 employees) that are really looking hard at this option. "The small companies don't have the critical mass to offer this. Mid-sized firms feel the most pain and also they don't have too much bureaucracy, unlike the large ones, so they are the ones that are going in now for it," explains Rao. (Graphic By Puja Rai) Deloitte figures that medical travellers will deprive US providers of $373 billion in annual spending within a decade. In 2007, an estimated 750,000 Americans travelled abroad for medical care. The consulting firm projects that this number will increase to six million by 2010. The Key Will Be Marketing So, now that the opportunity size in the US has exploded so much, the question is what are Indian hospitals doing to capitalise on it? Corporate hospitals in India have certainly upped their pitching in the US, feels Anas Wajid, a former healthcare marketer, who has had stints at Artemis, Apollo Hospitals and Max Healthcare and today writes a blog on trends in healthcare marketing. He points out how advertisements of Indian hospitals are now seen regularly on the webspace, specifically on American internet channels. Indian hospitals are also talking to US healthcare providers trying to work out partnership arrangements where they can take some part of the treatment in India. (For instance, for high-end expensive cancer treatment, arrangements may be made for some chemo cycles to take place in India, where costs of medicines are cheaper.) Hospitals like Apollo are also now organising large events in cities like New York targeting benefit managers of large corporates, outlining to them the cost advantages of signing up their employees for a programme with an Indian hospital. With rising healthcare costs, the US managers are listening. And tie-ups with specialised medical travel agencies such as IndUSHealth (Escorts, Max, Apollo and Wockhardt have all got tie ups with the company) and Medjourney also helps. Marketing spends definitely are going up to tap this opportunity, says Dr Kushagra Katariya, CEO of Artemis. But he warns that the action is also getting tougher because other countries are also pitching furiously. Costa Rica, Venezuela, Peru, Mexico are all vying for a share. Meanwhile, he also points out that US healthcare providers are also trying to fight back by cutting their rates, and announcing competitive packages. On this front, though Wockhardt's Bali and Apollo's Thukral feel they have nothing to fear as given the high cost of medicines and services in the US, the American providers really cannot cut too much without going bust. "Much however also depends on how the new president in the US charts the healthcare sector," says Thukral. (Graphic By Puja Rai) Although reports do point out that president-elect Barack Obama has begun laying the groundwork for overhauling the troubled US healthcare system (he has invited people to submit ideas for changing the costly and inefficient system), observers say it will take a while to do this. Looking at the Deloitte report, Brazil which offers treatment at 50 per cent of US rates, and which has 12 JCI accredited hospitals besides its proximity, does look to be a bigger threat. As does Mexico, which scores on proximity and costs. Compared to that, India has only 10 JCI accreditations and costs are 20 per cent of US (See 'The Hubs'). However, on the flip side, Brazil and Mexico primarily attract patients seeking cosmetic procedures while Indian hospitals get patients for high end procedures in cardiac, orthopaedics and bariatrics. Rajesh Rao feels that Indian companies are far too conservative in their marketing approach, compared to some of the other countries making pitches, with glitzy brochures of sun, sand and beaches. "But it's not a bad idea to be conservative," he says as he says in his experience, very few patients really get swayed by the externals. "Tourism and medicine is a fundamentally flawed approach," he says pointing out that hospitality, service and care are the real diferentiators. The real advertisements for India, at the end of the day, are the 40,000 odd Indian doctors working in the US. "Doctors of Indian origin are well respected here and that is a crucial factor," says Rao, saying how many South American doctors are seen in practice in the US. Meanwhile, back home, Indian hospitals are also now trying their best to address areas of concern for international patients. Airport infrastructure, for instance. So, almost all the hospitals now have concierge facilities at airports and try and help foreign patients with fast immigration clearance, and comfortable transport to the treatment centres. Wockhardt Hospitals for whom international patients — primarily from the US — contribute about 10 per cent of their revenues says it saw 35 per cent growth in this part of the business last year. Bali says that with all the drivers in place — JCI accreditation, strong focus on cardiac, orthoapaedics and spinal care specialities (the maximum interest area for foreign patients), there is no reason why they cannot capitalise on the increased opportunity. He also feels that looking at trends ($350 million earned in 2007 and a year on year increase of 35 per cent), India is on target to meet the projected figure of a billion dollars from medical tourism by 2011-12. Last week at the height of the terrorist activity in Mumbai, 52-year-old Debra Price from Tennesse, US and 32-year-old Heather Krisby from North Carolina were faced with a difficult choice — whether to cancel their trip to India for a medical procedure or to go ahead. Both chose to continue their journey and arrived on 29 November for spinal procedures at Wockhardt hospitals. Hospitals in India for whom international patients are a significant part of revenues (at least 10 per cent for Apollo and Wockhardt and 15 per cent for Artemis), say they will certainly see a short-term impact of Mumbai terror. "There is certainly an expression of apprehension," says Dr Kushagra Kataria, CEO, Artemis Health Institute. We saw a short term impact in mid 2007 when the train blasts in Mumbai occurred says Pradeep Thukral, head international marketing at Apollo. However, he says, as the previous experience showed, it's only a matter of time — at most four weeks — before the fundamentals of cost and quality take over and it's business as usual. Indian hospitals also say that, in any case, from Thanksgiving to Christmas usually, it's a lean period for foreign patients from western nations, so there should not be much impact felt. None of the hospitals spoken to — Artemis, Wockhardt or Apollo — reported any cancellations, although there have been several e-mails from patients due to visit, expressing concern and worry. "Ultimately, it all depends on our response to the situation and restore confidence," says Vishal Bali, CEO, Wockhardt Hospitals. << Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >>   Articles Blogs Conversations Placements Events