With a collaborative campaign from health professionals and health systems, payers, legislators, employers, and consumers, the COVID-19 pandemic’s disruption of the delivery of routine medical care presents a unique potential to cut low-value treatment drastically. The worldwide population is in great demand for wellness and alternative treatments due to their pursuit of a fast-paced modern lifestyle. People are turning eastward because of the high service prices and lengthy waiting times. India is a source of affordable medical care and wellness services for nations lacking appropriate medical infrastructure (Amiri & Safariolyaei, 2017). The sizable Indian diaspora dispersed around the globe is not only the most valuable tourist demographic but also one of the most visible ambassadors of Indian hospitality internationally. Furthermore, in the post-COVID era, there will undoubtedly be a growing healthcare market, especially in healthcare, as more and more people seek options for high-quality medical and a wide range of therapeutic options. Medical value tourism may be India’s leading industry with significant economic potential for this worldwide population, which desperately needs adequate health and wellbeing solutions.
Several aspects of the Indian healthcare industry’s development influence individuals’ decision-making to visit the country for medical purposes. For instance, the American healthcare system’s high insurance and operations costs push its inhabitants to seek less expensive services for dental, cosmetic, orthopedic, and cardiovascular disease treatment (Bhaidkar & Goswami, 2017). Moreover, health-related legislation in the countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom may prioritize specific categories of citizens to receive comprehensive services, making others wait despite the urgency. As a result, individuals travel abroad to the clinics where the treatment for foreigners is allowed to timely address their health problems and save insurance costs.
India is an attractive country for medical tourism not only because of its historical and cultural perception as a place where many treatment practices were born but also due to current economic factors. The starting cost of therapy in India is around one-tenth of the cost of the following characteristics in the United States; such price difference pulls foreigners to receive the necessary healthcare services (Bhaidkar & Goswami, 2017). International visitors often request complementary therapies, bone marrow transplants, heart bypass, cataract surgery, and total hip transplants in India.
The government has eliminated the requirement that visitors from Gulf nations wait two months between visits, which is expected to increase medical tourism. Differences in in-laws between nations are significant difficulties with international care. There are no universal regulations, and most countries have lax legislation against medical malpractice, giving patients fewer opportunities to defend their rights if they are taken advantage of or if something goes horribly wrong during the whole course of their treatment. The majority of people in India speak English, which is the country’s official language. Furthermore, many hospitals in Noida have employed language interpreters to enable patients from the Balkans and Africa to feel more at ease while facilitating their medical care. Proper communication and understanding are essential for treatment; thus, the Indian English-speaking advantage pulls people worldwide to visit the country as medical tourists.
Since private hospitals and medical tourism are significant development areas for India, the government is pushing their growth by establishing policies that make the industry attractive for private and public investors. As healthcare organizations offer better services and pull more foreigners to receive treatment, new facilities are opened, and more jobs are provided to Indian citizens (Bhaidkar & Goswami, 2017). This economic outcome decreases unemployment and positively impacts the population’s quality of life. Another benefit of medical tourism development in India is that foreigners pay for traveling, food, and accommodation and combine their travel with leisure, boosting the country’s economy by helping local businesses earn.
The cities are suitable as evolving healthcare destinations due to their excellent facilities, environment, entertainment options, positive customer service, quality of health care staff, affordable lodging, transport, and medical expenses. According to the consumer buying process, patients identify their needs and select Indian clinics where they might be treated efficiently (Shukla et al., 2019). To make a choice, they research different organizations, cities, travel costs, and the best options to stay. When visiting India as a medical tourist, consumers might consider Israel an alternative destination with a high level of services (Shukla et al., 2019). The final decision will depend on the urgency, price of operations, language barriers, and travel costs. Foreign patients who receive treatment in India will re-evaluate their buying decision in accordance with their expectations from the hospital and details such as food quality and leisure options.
The definition of perceived risk is the likelihood that a person would believe that taking a specific activity will put them in danger beyond what is reasonable and that this impression will affect their choice to go. Consequently, Indian healthcare organizations should attract their clients in the buying process information stage to ensure potential tourists receive sufficient knowledge about the benefits of selecting their clinic (Kazakov & Oyner, 2020). Furthermore, clients may choose a hospital during the alternatives evaluation if medical tourism companies timely deliver support, answer questions, and demonstrate readiness to assist throughout the travel.
Over the past few decades, different healthcare service manufacturing and utilization patterns have emerged due to the expansion of international trade in medical technology, capital finance, and regulatory frameworks. It draws attention to the various organizations such as NABH hospitals and people active in the sector and the variety of intermediates and auxiliary services that have developed to support the industry. The Fortis La Femme, Greater Kailash, Delhi, is an example of a leading medical tourism provider as the clinic includes diverse practices of female health treatment, as well as labor-related services.
India has developed a distinctive ecosystem for overall healing that blends the finest of contemporary healthcare, complementary therapy, and wellness in the wake of its liberation as the country has advanced dramatically in modern healthcare. Fortis La Femme’s strength is the ideal location for treatment value tourism because of the harmony of this holistic health and wellness ecosystem and its many opportunities for female health improvement (Fortis La Femme, n. d.). Another crucial advantage is that clinical outcomes at the Fortis La Femme are on par with those at hospitals with a global reputation.
The weakness of Fortis La Femme is the continuously growing quality requirements and expectations which enable to hire of only top-notch talent. Best gynecologists and surgeons tend to leave India due to the low quality of life, poverty, and ineffective combatting of COVID-19 outcomes; thus, companies might face a lack of appropriate employees (Shukla et al., 2019). Another weakness is that Fortis La Femme and other organizations that provide medical tourism services are mostly privately funded; thus, they lack economic guarantees from the government (Fortis La Femme, n. d.). In the case of crises such as the pandemic, commercial clinics might not survive or face massive workforce and services cuts.
Telemedicine provides medical care using electronic technologies such as computers and cellphones. Fortis La Femme utilizes telemedicine to optimize the hospital stay period and offer the early discharge option supported by online assistance (Fortis La Femme, n. d.). The approach typically uses videoconference; thus, the advantage is that users spend fewer nights in the hospital, reducing costs. Additionally, reduced traveling time could result in lower secondary costs like child care and petrol (Waller & Stotler, 2018). A massive disadvantage is that medical information about a person may be accessible to cyber criminals and other thieves, mainly if the consumers utilize wireless internet or an unprotected route to receive telemedicine.
Post-surgery patients might use medical tourism options to enhance their recovery and receive additional treatment. For example, visiting holistic health centers to combine light physical activity with exploring mental practices and work on embracing the changes caused by operations they had recently received. Moreover, massage, nutrition programs, health assessments, and retreats might be appropriate for post-surgical recovery. Due to specific age, health, and the surgical intervention they underwent, some people have it harder than others, but with time and the proper treatment, the majority may regain their strength and sound levels (Kazakov & Oyner, 2020). Consequently, wellness tourism should include post-surgery recovery practices adjustable to personal needs and conditions.
The COVID-19 pandemic became a massive stress factor for humanity: alongside the respiratory system diseases, anxiety and mental health problems occurred as populations addressed the challenge. Consequently, various wellness tourism options are offered in the post-pandemic period to provide people with sufficient rest and recovery. For instance, the Spanish Shanti-Som wellbeing retreat center launched the Reboost Body & Soul program dedicated to physical and spiritual healing (Healing Holidays, 2021). The resort invests in the COVID-19 recovery options to attract tourists and justify their buying decision as they purchase the treatment from the severest stress of recent times.
COVID-19 recovery programs and retreats are appropriate for broad populations; thus, companies need market segmentation to reach target customers and provide them with the best services. The global growth of wellness services compels businesses to implement changes continually, and the wellness sector should be client-focused (Ebrahim & Ganguli, 2019). For instance, the Shanti-Som wellbeing retreat center should aim to reach two market segments: people who live in Europe, especially in Spain, and middle-to-high socioeconomic status representatives who can afford the programs. To compete effectively in such a dynamic tourist market, proactive improvements must be made with a strong focus on customer requirements, wellness quality of products, and technology interfaces.
Product is essential as providing high-quality health and wellness services is a fundamental aspect of treatment centers and wellness programs. The place is a critical detail for treatment resorts’ marketing mix because it should develop strong associations with peace and tranquility. The Shanti-Som is located in Southern Spain to make the experience calm and close to nature (Healing Holidays, 2021). People are also crucial for selling wellness programs because professional staff determines the quality of treatment and customer satisfaction. These factors are interconnected, and if they are observed, the client will remain with a reasonable opinion about the visited institution.
References
Amiri, M., & Safariolyaei, N. (2017). Medical tourism in India: Current scenario. International Journal in Management & Social Science, 5(3), 106-111. Web.
Bhaidkar, A., & Goswami, A. (2017). Medical tourism in India and the Health policy of the NDA government: An overview. Aweshkar Research Journal, 22(1). Web.
Ebrahim, A. H., & Ganguli, S. (2019). A comparative analysis of medical tourism competitiveness of India, Thailand, and Singapore. Tourism: An International Interdisciplinary Journal, 67(2), 102-115. Web.
Fortis La Femme. (n. d.). About us. Web.
Healing Holidays. (2021). Shanti-Som wellbeing retreat. Web.
Kazakov, S., & Oyner, O. (2020). Wellness tourism: A perspective article. Tourism Review. Web.
Shukla, R., Singh, M., & Saxena, S. (2019). Consumer perception of hospitality services in JCI accredited hospitals at Delhi–NCR: An exploratory research on growth of medical tourism. Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews eISSN, 2395-6518. Web.
Waller, M., & Stotler, C. (2018). Telemedicine: A primer. Current Allergy and Asthma Reports, 18(10), 1-9. Web.