Monday, August 07, 2006

Just Curious - Medical Tourism

Every page you turn in the papers there are articles, ads, accolades, success stories by benefited foreigners about medical tourism in India. Well, I was initially very proud that people from "so-called" first world countries are taking treatments from again "so-called" third world countries and how great this wud be to point out when some perky colleague of mine points to me about rat/elephant worship in India. But when you continue the chain of thought some thing seems to be not right. For an American, 1 lakh or 2 lakh is roughly 3000-4000$ the cost of 5 months rent max. Considering their health care cost and cost of living in general, it is actually peanut expense. But for an average India this is a LOT. I can’t stress enough LOT. Not until recent past even my parents had taken loan for 5 lakh and such and I am will be taking a loan for a little more than that. The reason I might take a loan cud be different, but nevertheless that is a lot of amount. If my dear respected Indian doctors and hospitals, make the hospitals air conditioned and serve cucumber sandwiches to patients and appoint swell girl who think talking in India language is shame to service the foreign clientele cheap, then who will serve my other 90% of the country men cheap? They need to be getting liver transplantation, heart bypass and brain aneurysm surgery for about 5 months rent - lets say 25,000 rupees. Till now, I always boast that if I need to consult a doctor I can do so the same day I have the symptoms and not 3 weeks later needing only 20-50 rupees for consultation and 50-100 rupees for medicines and that if not as effective as Canadian health care system, India is best. But what will I have to say when they counter point that our medical facilities are occupied by sick foreigner with money and our country men need to take appointment and pay the same fat fee that some can pay?

Too many thoughts are coming across, but I live in a household with a kid, so cant focus as of yet. But I just hope and pray that the government, NGO's,and other organizations and the hospitals and doctors themselves take notice of this and set measures/rules in place so that while facilitating the other sick people to get easy treatment (which I have absolutely no issues with) that they make it easy for Indians to.