Care Tourism

Hospitals offer EXCLUSIVE divisions

With Coimbatore now having emerged as a major destination for medical tourism, the city is attracting an increasing number of patients from other cities and even foreign countries.

With the objective of catering to such elite clientele, several city hospitals have now begun to set up exclusive divisions and facilities.

Sri Ramakrishna Hospital, run by the S.N.R. Sons Charitable Trust, recently launched a VIP Priority Lounge.

C.V. Ram Kumar, Chief Executive Officer of SNR and Sons, says Coimbatore itself has a high concentration of High Net Worth Individuals. The lounge will have separate staff to ensure there is no waiting time for such clients. The objective is to achieve full utilisation of existing capabilities of the hospital. However, he adds, care is taken so that treatment of other patients is not disturbed.

V. Ramesh, Vice-President (Marketing), Kovai Medical Center and Hospital, says the hospital has allotted an entire floor for treating such patients.

The sixth floor of the hospital has a 1,500-sq.ft king suite along with two slightly smaller queen suites besides ten deluxe suites, all of which are well-equipped to cater to this exclusive clientele.

Further, a Golden Café and health spa have also been set up on this floor. Most of the people who avail these services are businessmen and patients from abroad.

The Ganga Medical Centre and Hospitals has exclusive waiting areas for the high profile clients, where the service will include a personal touch with a dedicated team. There are several suites in the Plastic Surgeries Department and in the Orthopaedics Department also.

S. Rajasekaran, Clinical Director and Head of the Orthopaedic Department, says the hospital focuses on optimal utilisation of resources to reduce the hospitalisation time for patients with time constraints.

“As the hospital has 18 operating theatres, we can perform major, elective and emergency surgeries at almost any point of time. Hence, the waiting period for surgeries is almost zero.”

(Reporting by R. Sairam)

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Tamil Nadu / February 20th, 2015

CIMA Hospital in San Jose is often visited by medical tourists

Baltimore, MD ;

Living in a sunny, low-cost, laidback destination overseas doesn’t mean foregoing good healthcare. In many countries outside the U.S., the healthcare is excellent and affordable.

Malaysia received the top score in the healthcare category of International Living’s just- released Annual Global Retirement Index 2015, followed by Costa Rica, Uruguay, Thailand and Panama.

Malaysia offers excellent, low-cost healthcare, and some of the best-trained surgeons, dentists and specialists in the world. Medical expertise here is comparable – and sometimes better – than in most Western countries. Most of the professionals have either trained in the U.S. or the UK, or at the very least have completed their post-graduate studies there.

“Penang Island, popular with expats and medical tourists , delivers first-rate hospitals that offer excellent healthcare at reasonable prices,” reports InternationalLiving.com’s Asia correspondent Keith Hockton. “In fact, the island has two planeloads of medical tourists arriving every day, and when it only costs $20 to see a specialist, you can understand why.”

Costa Rica has a high-quality, government-run universal healthcare system for citizens and legal residents called La Caja.

Residents of the country pay into La Caja. The fee is 7% to 11% of the person’s monthly income, which provides coverage for a spouse as well as a dependent.

“After you pay your monthly fee, you receive free care,” says InternationalLiving.com Costa Rica editor Jason Holland. “Anything you need is available through a nationwide network of clinics and hospitals: doctor’s visits, medical testing, prescriptions, major surgeries, and hospitalization,” Holland says.

Medical care from private providers is also available in Costa Rica. It’s high quality, with all the latest equipment and techniques being used. Many medical tourists from the U.S. come to Costa Rica for procedures not covered by insurance in the U.S. or for procedures which cost a lot out of pocket back home, including cosmetic surgery, knee replacements, and more.

Thailand has a great reputation for affordable and easily accessible healthcare. Many expats living in Thailand say that the facilities are on a par with, and sometimes better than, what is available in their home countries.

Although the private hospitals tend to be slightly more expensive than the government institutions, both are still affordable. A consultation with a specialist will cost less than $15, and many medical tests and procedures are immediately available for a fraction of the cost they would be in other parts of the world.

As Panama is a small country, most expats don’t live more than an hour from a major facility. General consults at private hospitals and clinics range from $5 to $50. Retiree residents pay 20% less thanks to Panama’s Pensionado or pensioner program.

Public and low-income facilities are also widely available, and can charge 90% less than private facilities for everything from lab tests to hospital stays.

The full report on where to find the best health care in the world in 2015 can be read here: Where to Find the Best Healthcare in the World.

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source: http://www.news.co.cr / The Costa Rica – Star / Home / by Jaime Lopez / February 18th, 2015 ( PR Web, Feb 12, 2015 )