What is Medical Consultation?

A medical consultant is a doctor or surgeon who doesn`t take care of the patient directly but works as an advisor to the primary doctor of the patient. The term medical consultant is also used to refer to a senior doctor who has expertise in any of the medical specialties. However, it is noteworthy that after completing relevant training in medical specialties, physicians can apply for the post of medical consultants.

Further, there are also other associations of the term “medical consultant.” Medical consultants may also be part of a medical board to monitor the standard of healthcare services offered by a medical firm. In this context, it is the role of a medical consultant to find out whether a hospital or clinic is offering standard healthcare facilities or not.  Moreover, at times, nurses or healthcare providers also work as medical consultants by providing precious medical advice or information relating to medical facts and statistics.

Medical consultants, especially doctors or specialist doctors, are useful for availing medical advice for the treatment of a disease. Now patients mostly seek out an online doctor to get answers for their medical queries and to obtain recommendations on what medicines to take or treatment therapies to opt for. This is because with the emergence of healthcare service providers such as iClinic, now it has become immensely easier to get online medical consultation from a specialist anytime and from any corner of the world. 

India: A Popular Destination for Medical Tourism

Medical Tourism or health and wellness tourism refers to the travel of people from a particular country to any other country in the world for the purpose of availing cost-effective medical treatments. In this regard, it is notable that with the number of foreigners travelling to India for availing treatments and healthcare facilities increasing every year, the country has emerged as one of the topmost medical tourism destinations in Asia. 

 

The medical tourism industry in India is experiencing tremendous growth at an annual rate of 30%. Further, a report titled “Medical Value Travel in India” by Ficci and KPMG strikingly reveals that within Asia, India, Singapore and Thailand are the three countries where maximum numbers of tourists flock to every year for getting themselves treated. The ultimate result is that India medical tourism is mushrooming like never before. 

Over the years, various factors such as superior quality healthcare facilities, low treatment expenditure and availability of specialized as well as skilled doctors have led to the extraordinary growth of India medical tourism. Medical expenses in the United States as well as other developed nations are rising exponentially and with that, patients in those countries are finding it very lucrative to avail low-cost treatments in India. 

For patients from English speaking countries, it is very comfortable and convenient to come to India for medical treatments. This is because the doctors, medical specialists and the patient care staff in Indian hospitals and medical centers are capable of fluently communicating in English. Apart from that, there are other factors responsible for the ever-growing popularity of India medical tourism. These include availability of a variety of treatment options for a particular ailment as well as fascinating locations for recuperating or spending time after undergoing treatment.

The Social and Economic Effects of Medical Tourism in India

Medical tourism is having a positive impact in this country. Here are some of the reasons.

In recent times, medical tourism has gained traction in a lot of developing countries and India has made a mark for itself in the global platform in offering quality healthcare, online medical consultation to patients from all over the world. The country is being appreciated and is in much demand for its modern infrastructure, excellent modern medical treatments, helpful staff and affordability drawing more and more medical tourists from the western world. But although India has carved out a niche for itself in this medical tourism industry, it needs to put in some extra effort to promote medical tourism and various advanced medical treatments properly to garner more patients. 

The thing is medical tourism has slowly started to have a great impact on the social and economic dimension in India. And slowly industry experts are starting to take notice of this potential industry and looking for ways to promote and help it grow in this competitive market. Experts are especially concerned about the past, present and future position of medical tourism in India. With new medical advancements and stiff competition from various other Asian countries, Medical tourism faces immense challenges specially since the Indian medical sector is still evolving and trying to establish itself.

Benefits of Medical Treatment in India

 The only factor that attracts patients to India is the quality of its medical services, affordability, immediate medical attention and advanced medical treatments. With every passing day, more and more patients are coming to India to seek medical assistance and the number is only increasing. India has innumerable trained and experienced doctors, skilled staff and modern facilities that have gained popularity in the western world. One of the biggest impacts of the economic growth in India is the steady rise in the building of state-of-the-art healthcare facilities all over the country. The future of medical tourism promises to bring in a lot of money in this country.

According to a recent report, the medical tourism industry in the country is growing at 30% every year. The biggest factor that has contributed to this is the random development of modern medical procedures and scientific advancements. All over India there are various multi-speciality hospitals offering alternative medical facilities to patients and helping them to recover fast and return to their home country. To sum up, here are the benefits of modern healthcare system in India:

• Patients do not have to wait to receive medical attention. 
•  Patients receiving chemotherapy or other treatments that drains them physically, emotionally and mentally can easily opt for alternative therapies to combine with their medical treatment.
• Patients can choose from a wide range of medical treatments and also opt for the age-old Ayurveda and homeopathic treatments.

Medical Tourism Is Growing Steadily In Asian Countries. So The Question Arises – Is Medical Tourism The Future of India In the Healthcare Sector?

Here Are Some Factors That Indicate Medical Tourism In India Is The Next “Big Thing.”

Patients are always on the lookout for affordable healthcare solutions be it any work associated with dentistry, hip replacement or plastic surgery. Healthcare around the world is becoming expensive with every passing day and so patients are now compelled to travel to other countries where they can access modern healthcare facilities at affordable rates. This has now become a trend and has led to the rise in Medical Tourism in various Asian countries, mainly India. 

But it is worthy of mentioning that this trend to travel abroad and seek medical assistance is not new. Earlier patients seeking modern healthcare facilities would travel to western countries for treatment. At present, this has been reversed and people are travelling to Asian countries specially India and Korea for affordable healthcare facilities. 

But this does not mean that patients are giving up quality for cheap medical procedures. Most hospitals and doctors are internationally recognised and trained to handle complex procedures. Doctors and hospitals in India not only offer advanced infrastructure and treatment facilities, but also easy access to complex medical procedures, caring staff who can easily communicate in English, variety of hospitals and medical procedures to choose from and high success rates that attract foreign patients.

Although patients are warned about the various malpractice laws in some countries, the basic factor that compels them is medical costs for a medical procedure that they require. In India, the rise in online healthcare consultation enables patients to connect with their doctors online and seek medical consultation. This is particularly helpful for patients who seek medical attention in India, return to their home country and continue to be in touch with their doctor to seek consultation whenever required. For instance, iClinic Healthcare is an online medical healthcare service provider assisting patients to plan their travel to India, choose the top hospital and doctor for their treatment, seek online consultation before planning their medical trip and return to their home country in good health and still stay connected with their respective doctor for future consultations. 

Medical tourism in India has not only helped the healthcare sector but also has a remarkable impact on the tourism industry. Most of the time patients head for a vacation post their treatment in India with their companions and family. Although many countries promote medical tourism, Singapore, Thailand and India are the leaders in the medical tourism industry. All the three countries have internationally recognized hospitals and designated doctors. The supporting staff can communicate in English and treatment costs are way affordable than western countries. Additionally, patients can easily get a medical VISA for these countries and plan a trip easily. So, we can conclude by saying that medical tourism has a good future in the Indian healthcare sector with more and more hospitals and medical partners trying to tap the international market for patients.