The medical tourism opportunity

There was a sense of déjà vu when the setting up of L.H. Hiranandani Hospital was announced by the builders at Powai. 'Not another corporate hospital' was the common refrain. After all, healthcare seems to be the emerging opportunity and alternate investment for the builders. The Raheja's already have a multispecialty hospital in central Mumbai. And here was another one that was attempting to tap the same opportunity.Interestingly, even before the hospital was launched, it had received pre-approval from the UK-based National Health Services (NHS) for treatment of over seven disease categories. There is emphasis on ambulatory care and the 130-bedded multispecialty hospital, spread over 210,000 sq. ft, is headed by Sujit Chatterjee."Our infrastructure and services are amongst the best in the world, and we hope to tap into the medical tourism market." Says Niranjan Hiranandani, managing director, Hiranandani Constructions. Even the Maharashtra government has identified the opportunity in medical tourism, after it became the first state government in June 2003 to form a committee on these lines. The committee comprises members of the tourism ministry and the health ministry, along with major hospitals and pathology service providers.With corporate hospitals aggressively going for NHS-like accreditation and tie-ups, they are looking to tap the lucrative medical tourism market faster than older hospitals seeking similar tie ups.