Now, medical tourism to cut wait-times?

Wednesday November 4 2009

Medical tourism is set to occupy centre-stage at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre Nov 20-22, under an initiative put together by the Indian consulate and India's Ministry of Tourism, Preeti Saran, consul-general, told the media last week.

Hundreds of participants - among them representatives from 20 leading super-specialty hospitals, including Apollo, Max, Wockhardt and Fortis - as well as related Indian and Canadian healthcare professionals, academics, researchers, market and industry analysts and policy makers are expected to attend India Medical Tourism Destination 2009, the IMTD2009 - Healthcare without Borders conference and exhibition.

Interestingly - and despite the free healthcare we enjoy - Canadians already spends big bucks on foreign healthcare: worth fully $60 billion in 2006, set to double to $120 billion by 2011-12, as per industry estimates.

"Independent reports indicate much of this is spent south of the border, in the United States - where, of course, doctors of Indian origin make up a sizeable proportion of the total (one in 20 doctors is of Indian origin)," Saran said. "This event aims to highlight the potential for expert, affordable healthcare that exists in India."

Participants will be able to get information about alternative medical and surgical services outside Canada, she said.

"Take knee or hip replacements, where patients here currently face long wait-times; or take dental surgery, which is not currently covered by Ontario healthcare; or even take alternative medicine and the wellness sector, such as Ayurveda or Unani or Yoga - India already has demonstrated expertise and is a preferred medical tourism destination," Saran added.

Interestingly, Ontario has already some baby steps towards engaging Indian expertise in its considerable healthcare requirements, with India having signalled it is a willing partner in joint endeavours.

Saran disclaimed knowledge about any formal agreement - such as Ohip (Ontario Health Insurance Plan) paying for out-of-province services, including for those outside the country - but noted round-table talks have been scheduled with the Ontario Ministry of Health Nov 19, where the possibility of Indian service providers relieving some of Canada's burden could be discussed.

"When governments are willing, there's a lot that can happen," she noted. "And both the officials as well as private sector organizations have expressed interest in such directions."

While most medical procedures are covered by Canada's healthcare system, patients frustrated with long wait times or those seeking alternative treatments are increasingly travelling abroad for medical care.

Canadians account for about 7 per cent of the global medical tourism market, the bulk travelling to the US.

While many patients seeking new hips, knees and cardiac care hope to avoid long waiting times, some, including spinal or gastric-bypass (bariatric) surgery patients, head to India for operations that are not widely available in Canada and are much cheaper than in the US.

For example, a hip resurfacing operation that would cost between $35,000 and $40,000 in the US costs just C$14,000 in India, including air fare, taxes, and a post-op stay at a five-star beach resort.

Saran pointed out there are other avenues that can be explored. "India is today with back-office for medical research. We also have considerable strengths in pharmaceutical production, as well as biomedical and bio-technological research and development. So the international community would benefit from Indian expertise."

She agreed there can be challenges - such as the kidney transplant controversy - but noted IMTD2009 can provide the platform to discuss joint two-way collaborations on a range of issues.

Increasing engagement

It would appear that behind-the-scenes moves in Canada-India healthcare collaboration have already started.

As Indian consul-general Preeti Saran herself noted, "The Government of India has a small collaboration with Sick Kids Hospital, whereby Indian doctors are attached to the hospital here for periods of one or two years."

Further, provincial health care systems such as Ohip in Ontario generally don't cover the costs of medical tourism, but some patients have appealed and won the cost of treatment overseas.

Healthcare professionals add the provinces are starting to cover more and more treatments outside of Canada.

"There have been several precedents of people legally getting their rights, and now Ohip is also very quietly paying for some of the cases," one professional said, as quoted by a section of the media.

The statement could not be independently verified at the time of going to press.