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India Woos Medical Tourists

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the globalization dept.

aspelling writes "It's not only quality hardware and software that can be done in India for a fraction of the cost. BBC reports that India has a generation of world class doctors capable of doing joint replacement, heart, neuro and cancer surgery at their state-of-the-art facilities. Don't be surprised when your physician prescribes you a trip to Bombay. Indian officials are working hard with HMOs around the world to make this dream come true."

12 of 479 comments (clear)

  1. it would definetly lower costs. by epicstruggle · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I hate to admit it, but they do have a point. Savings can be had by lower paying doctors, nurses, facility costs, you also get to eliminate malpractice suits. Real savings with the last one. Your real cost will be to ship the patient back and forth (around $800 to $1200).

    Hmm, Im torn between feeling bad for doctors/nurses, and happy that there will be less need for lawyers.

    later,
    epic

    --
    "Im drowning here, and you're describing the water!"
    1. Re:it would definetly lower costs. by user+no.+590291 · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Less need for lawyers? The first time someone is maimed or dies under the knife when he was in India at the insistence of his/her HMO rather than in a stateside medical facility, there will be a lawsuit of SCO proportions against the HMO. Except the patient (or his/her heirs) have a good chance of winning.

      (While I'm sure HMO's will require signing of a waiver, I doubt the waiver will hold up when push comes to shove. IANAL, IANAD, and all that.)

  2. had an experience with this by viniosity · · Score: 5, Interesting
    After seeing a number of doctors in SF regarding a kidney stone that just would not pass (over 1 month with the damn thing!), I had the fortune of being in Bombay. On a particularly hard day our local rep took me to see a doctor. While I wouldn't want to expose anyone to the conditions of this particular 'hospital', the doctor was very nice and actually took the time to explain what he was going to prescribe and what it would do. Within 24 hours my stone passed.

    This is in stark contrast to the jerk who 'helped' me in SF. "Yeah, drink a lot of water. That'll be $400"

    1. Re:had an experience with this by rsidd · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I'm an Indian, so I know how good medical care is. Right now I'm in the US, but believe me, if I had a medical problem, I'd get it treated in India, and not just for cost reasons. They know their stuff and they don't treat their patients like idiots. (It's also true that I know who the good doctors are in India, and I don't know any here.) My relatives in Europe do the same: the alternative is go through the public-healthcare lottery in Europe (get assigned a doctor who may be good or may be awful), or pay through your nose for private healthcare.

  3. what about malpractice? by cabazorro · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So you go to Bombay to get a kidney
    removed and they remove the healthy one.
    Can you sue them for malpractice a-la US?
    I'm afraid not.
    I read that some HMO's are sending xrays
    and cat-scans to india for diagnosis via
    internet.

    --
    - these are not the droids you are looking for -
  4. In the West... by gustgr · · Score: 4, Interesting

    all parents tell they children that when they'll grow up they'll be doctors. Of course they say that thinking about how a doctor can make and not on how important and honorable (at least it was) to be a doctor.

    Several Med. freshman are not worried about saving lives and helping people, just to get out of the hospital with a Mercedez in the way to their house in the beach. Sometime they say that it is expensive because they had to study for 10 years to be a doctor ... give me a break ... Some people study during all their lifes and don't make the money some surgeons make in a couple of days.

    Some concepts must be reviwed.

    1. Re:In the West... by niko9 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Not everyone who goes to medical school is in it for the money. Are there misguided fools who only dream of making quick cash? Sure there are, but you'll find that in any field.

      I have been researching a few medical schools as of late, because I wan't to get my DO (doctor of osteopathy) which is the same as an MD.

      I hear there has been a shift in the last 10 to 20 years as far as what medical schools are looking for from applicants. They want people who know exactly why they want to be physicians.

      I know several fellow paramedics who have just been accepted into medical school with average MCAT scores and are over the of 25.

      They understand that these individuals (not just medics, but nurses, EMT's, physican assistants, and people with MBA's who have something to do with medicine) know why they are going to saccrifice their time and effort.

      And there are plenty of doctors that I know that don't make that much money. A few general practitioners who work poor urban areas. They do see some patients for free; the equivalent of pro bono work I guess.

      As far as medicine being expensive in the West, there are alot more factors contributing to the expenses than a physician's salary.

    2. Re:In the West... by Cipster · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I don't think this is a uniquely western problem. I have several Indian and Asian friends and the pressure to become a doctor is even higher there.
      Heck a friend of mine has a PhD and works as a clinical psychologist yet his Indian parents still lament about how he should have become a "Real Doctor".

  5. Overpaid doctors by otter42 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I personally welcome this. Maybe it's because of the bad taste left in my mouth by seeing the local orthodontist brag about how he only worked a couple hours a week, right before he jumped into his multi-million dollar Mitsubishi turbo-prop. My mom just paid several thousand dollars to have a root canal/tooth cap.

    Perhaps it's not the best bet for open heart, but for some of the more insanely priced operations like that I think it make senses.

    --
    www.eissq.com/BandP.html Ball and Plate System. Amuse your friends. Crush your enemies.
  6. Better solution by bigattichouse · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This is more a problem of OUR system, than anything better about theirs. I've got a cheaper solution: Build a Cruise-Ship/Hospital and park it 4+ miles offshore, offer first class medical help without all the US bullshit... you could cruise up and down the shore and hit more locations.

    --
    meh
  7. Central America by jwjcmw · · Score: 4, Interesting

    My mom goes down to Nicaragua pretty regularly with a civic group...the last trip she had a filling replaced by a dentist down there. She said it was the most pleasant dental visit of her life, and it cost $25...so it's not just India where things are going to be exported to.

  8. Re:fraction of cost... by occamboy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The US spends roughly 15% of GDP on healthcare, while the rest of the first world spends roughly 10%. Docs in the US get paid roughly twice what their counterparts are paid in the rest of the first world. The average doc in the US makes $150k+ per year - after malpractice premiums. In general, malpractice is not a big expense, except for OBs and neurosurgeons.

    For this, we get medical outcomes that are not demonstrably better than those in other first world countries. In fact, our outcomes are probably worse: in terms of life expectancy, we're 48th in the world, roughly the same as Cuba. That's sad, considering that our per capita healthcare spending is greater than Cuba's entire per-capita GDP.