Walking into the waiting room of a multi-specialty hospital in Coimbatore and encountering an array of travel-worn, hopeful-faced foreigners clutching their medical files and murmuring in unfamiliar accents is a scene that is becoming increasingly common in the city.
According to Mr. M. Subramanayan, the health minister of our state, 25% of all medical tourists who visit India choose Tamil Nadu as their destination of choice. And Coimbatore is emerging as a strong contender for medical tourists in Tamil Nadu.
But before that, what exactly is medical tourism?
To put it simply, it is the process of crossing international borders to receive medical care. It is usually motivated by a combination of factors such as access to procedures unavailable in their home countries, lower cost, or higher quality of care. The most common procedures people travel for include cosmetic treatments, dental procedures, fertility treatment, and so on.
And over the last few years, India has emerged as one of the leading hubs for medical tourism in the world. Each year, around 2 million people from around the world visit India seeking popular treatments such as bone marrow transplant, cardiac bypass, and ophthalmic surgeries. And Tamil Nadu has established itself as the top Indian state for medical tourism, receiving around 15 lakh people every year for medical diagnosis and treatment.
In Tamil Nadu, 4 districts rise above the rest in terms of attracting medical tourists and providing medical care. Namely, Chennai, Vellore, Coimbatore, and Madurai are the leading districts in Tamil Nadu, hosting a number of multi-specialty hospitals equipped with state-of-the-art technologies and skilled medical professionals.
As of 2010, the estimated value of the healthcare industry in Coimbatore was ₹1500 crore. That number has experienced a steady surge through the years. As of 2017, the number of registered hospitals in the city was 750, with a capacity of 5000 beds. But many of the major hospitals in the city have gone through renovations and expansions since then, so the capacity of these hospitals is estimated to be much higher right now.
Economic impact
The city is home to a wide range of large multi-specialty hospitals, such as PSG Hospitals, Kovai Medical Center and Hospital (KMCH), Sri Ramakrishna Hospital, G. Kuppuswamy Naidu Memorial Hospital, KG Hospital, Kongunad Hospital, Ganga Hospital, Gem Hospital, and Aravind Eye Hospital, among many notable others. These hospitals are equipped to provide state-of-the-art care, conforming to international standards, at a fraction of the treatment prices in first-world countries such as the USA and the UK.
This is the USP (Unique Selling Point) of the healthcare industry in Coimbatore that attracts people across nations. A 2017 article by Mr. Gowrishankkar V – Assistant Professor, Department of Management, Karpagam University establishes that the treatment costs, in India, particularly Coimbatore, are even less than those in the Philippines, another renowned medical tourist destination, known for providing low-cost care.
Beyond the quality and cost advantages, Coimbatore is also a less crowded, more climatically balanced destination in comparison to Chennai, which is dubbed the “health capital of India”. This situates Coimbatore as a strong destination for post-surgery rehabilitation.
Its strong private hospital ecosystem and proximity to Kerala also draw in cross-border patient flow. In addition to local Kerala-based patient flow, Kerala’s status as a major gateway for foreign tourists indirectly contributes to increased medical tourism in Coimbatore.
While Chennai may dominate as India’s healthcare capital, Coimbatore is carving its own place in India’s Medical Industry. As global healthcare prices are steeply rising and access remains uneven, the number of foreign accents in Coimbatore’s waiting rooms continues to grow.
