India is fast becoming the world's first choice destination for healthcare services - especially cardiac surgery. With rapidly expanding infrastructure, clinical expertise and international standard implementation, India is servicing the healthcare needs, at reasonable costs, of international patients from around the world. Cardiac Surgery and other Surgery Costs are among the most affordable in the world.

In recent years many countries have experienced a shortage of speciality care providers, which has restricted their access to quality and cost effective medical care. In sharp contrast India has concentrated on increasing the availability of speciality cares thereby avoiding the shortage of medical professionals. In fact, the availability of clinical expertise, reasonable Cardiac Surgery and other Surgery Costs are among the most affordable in the world, and internationally trained and educated medical professionals is a major factor in the growth of foreign patient procedures in India.

Advantage India: Healing Passion

Among modern India 's achievements is its really significant contribution to global healthcare delivery. It is now highly regarded worldwide as a quality provider of medical talent and healthcare delivery.

India's cost advantage has made the country a leading contender in the Health Traveller's market.

• Costs are nearly 1/5^th to that of the West.
• Heart Surgery in the US costs US$30,000 - nevertheless Cardiac surgery costs in India at a top of the line healthcare facility is US$6,000 only.
• Advanced Orthopaedic Surgery at a top tertiary care hospital in India costs around US$6,000 whilst the same surgery costs US$20,000 in the West.

The combination of high quality, world class, affordable surgery costs and Healthcare Services is attracting a regular stream of foreign patients to India in 2003, as many as 150,000 medical tourists came to India. The figure is growing at 20% year on year . According to a CII-McKinsey Study, Medical Tourism alone can contribute an additional US $2.2 billion revenue to Indian Hospitals by 2012.

The competence and skills of Indian doctors is acknowledged and accepted internationally. Moreover the technological gap, between the West and India, has narrowed considerably. Many MNC Medical Equipment Companies now prefer to launch their high-end equipment in India because of the sheer size and growth potential of the Indian Healthcare market. With a large pool of highly trained doctors and low treatment costs and surgery costs , healthcare is replicating the software sector's success.

Medical Tourism, to India, started fairly recently when NRIs (non-resident Indians - those living and working in the West) coming "home" began to realize the staggering savings in costs - even factoring in airfares and excellent quality of surgery and treatment in India. The second big group of Medical Travelers comes from the Middle East and the neighboring countries. The most recent arrivals noted by the major hospital groups are Americans - lacking Health Insurance. The Canadians and British come because of lengthy waiting times and high treatments and surgery costs. A number of private hospitals offer packages, designed to attract high net-worth foreign patients. These packages often include airport pickup, hospital bed care services, in-room Internet access, and private chefs with a yoga holiday or trip to the Taj Mahal at reasonable cost.

Domestic healthcare majors besides having alliances with major Medical Institutions in the US and UK for Clinical Protocols, training and exchanges are now acquiring accreditation of their hospitals, allowing global Health Insurance Companies to send patients to their hospitals. With a $40 billion-plus Health Travelers market, growing at over 20% a year, there's no stopping India now.