Healthcare-IT Business Strategy

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Changing Drivers for Indian Healthcare

Drivers promoting the organized private healthcare model are—
1. Public-private partnership model due to lack of resource with the Govt
2. Medical Tourism
3. Clinical Trials
4. Opening of FDI in Insurance

Medical tourism is a term attached to the concept of people from western countries visiting India for good-quality but cheaper Healthcare treatments. This trend is because of long-waiting in the UK model and very high co-pay and out-of-pocket expenses in the US model. Private Indian healthcare coming of age and providing treatment at international standards is supporting and fueling this trend. The difference in price between India and US for the same healthcare procedure and almost the same-quality is estimated to be in the ratio 1:10.

Large organized private sector hospitals in India are now looking at JCI certification to attract more and more of Medical tourism business. Govt of India has also laid down the NABH standard to regulate this developing market.

Clinical trials of new drugs is also growing in India due to availability of preserved gene-pools, lack of Govt regulations and trusting gullible population. If remaining unchecked, it’s an unhealthy trend for the Indian population. On the other hand it can give the necessary boost to Drug R&D in India. However hospitals (trial sites) need to be GcP process compliant.

Indian Govt is committed to removing tariff, quantity and currency barriers in trade as per WTO. In this spirit Govt of India has decided to open up the Insurance sector (including Health Insurance). The FDI in Insurance is on the upswing from current 26% to 49%. NY Life, Lombard, Prudential and Allianz are the early movers. Other large insurance companies of the world are waiting for the FDI to go up to 49% before they enter Indian Healthcare market.