Bengaluru’s medical tourism rebounds to pre-Covid levels

The number of patients from foreign countries coming to Bengaluru for treatment has bounced back to pre-Covid levels, according to major hospital chains.

The industry, which had been growing steadily over the past decade, took a hit due to flight restrictions during the pandemic.

Akshay Oleti, Business Head at Fortis Hospitals, said the hospital’s international patient numbers grew 10-15% year-on-year before Covid-19. But with the pandemic, they came down to nearly zero.

“From March to April 2022, we started seeing a huge influx of patients as there was a backlog of those who couldn’t come during Covid. The trend has been normalising in the last three months. Patient numbers have come up to pre-Covid levels,” he said.

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Fortis now gets 200 to 250 new international patients per month in Bengaluru.

Kartik Rajagopal, Group COO at Manipal Hospitals, said the chain’s 10 centres in Bengaluru together get 700 to 800 cases monthly now, close to the pre-Covid numbers.

Other major chains such as Narayana and Aster report a similar trend.

Africa, West Asia

International patients mostly come from African countries like Kenya and Uganda, which have relatively low medical infrastructure and specialist doctors. Patients also come from West Asian countries like Oman and Iraq, along with some Asian countries like Bangladesh and Cambodia.

“Bengaluru is a preferred location because it’s more accessible and cheaper compared to Delhi and Mumbai,” said Dr Prasanna H M, President of the Federation of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association-India.

Patients mainly come to the city for complex surgeries for the brain, heart, cancer, organ transplants, joint replacements, etc. A small proportion also seeks fertility treatments and cosmetic surgeries.

Outreach centres

Big hospital chains often have outreach centres in target countries.

Sherin George, International Patient Service Head for Bengaluru, Aster RV Hospital, said, “Our medical information centres in those countries publicise their contact numbers. If a person reaches out, we arrange a teleconsultation for them with our doctors and create a treatment plan.”

Aster is getting 1,500-2,000 foreign patients per month, on a par with pre-Covid times.

Fortis has its own centres in only a couple of countries but has tie-ups with clinics in other countries where its Bengaluru doctors travel to conduct medical camps. Patients who need complex procedures then come to Bengaluru.

Once the treatment plan is finalised, hospitals offer the patient a package that includes airfare, and sometimes even sightseeing.

Smaller hospitals, meanwhile, have individual representatives to reach out to locals.

Dr Prasanna, who is also the chairman of Pristine Hospital, estimates that only about 10% of international patients coming to Bengaluru opt for mid-sized, standalone hospitals like his. The hospital gets seven to eight foreign patients per month.

Ashish Bajaj, Chief Marketing Officer of Narayana Health Group, said the hospital treats its foreign patients — nearly 36,000 a year — at domestic tariffs. Some other hospitals fix a higher tariff considering the cost of language translation, hospital pick-up and drop for patients, etc.