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A Report on MEDICAL TOURISM A Services Marketing Assignment The Task: We, Group no. 2, had been allotted “HEALTH” as our sector to be worked upon. We for ease of understanding and division and allocation of work, sat down together as a team, and identified certain areas which we needed to cover and hence, each sub sector that was decided to be covered was allocated to each member of the group. My sub-Sector: I was allotted “MEDICAL TOURISM” as my sub sector, which I needed to research about, and know just how the evolution of the health sector has been, in India, and how it has slowly emerged as the No. preferred destination in the world, as far as MEDICAL TOURISM is concerned. Medical Tourism: As health care costs skyrocket, patients in the developed world are looking overseas for medical treatment. India is capitalizing on its low costs and highly trained doctors to appeal to these “medical tourists. ” Even with airfare, the cost of going to India for surgery can be markedly cheaper, and the quality of services is often better than that found in the United States and UK. |
Medical Tourism India (a. k. a. Health Tourism India) is a developing concept whereby people from world over visit India for their medical and relaxation needs. Most common treatments are heart surgery, knee transplant, cosmetic surgery and dental care. The reason India is a favourable destination is because of it’s infrastructure and technology in which is in par with those in USA, UK and Europe. India has some of the best hospitals and treatment centers in the world with the best facilities.
Since it is also one of the most favourable tourist destinations in the world, Medication combines with tourism has come into effect, from which the concept of Medical Tourism is derived. Indeed, many patients are pleased at the prospect of combining their tummy tucks with a trip to the Taj Mahal. – YaleGlobalMany countries have developed links for speedy treatments in India for their nationals on account of the fact that in these countries one has to wait for extended periods of time to undergo operations.
In India, medical treatment is not only fast but also costs a fraction of what it costs in USA or Europe. Even tele-consultancy is available for expert opinion and transmission facilities. Some of the states have already established themselves as destinations for health care and medical tourism. The growing need is for high level specialised treatments like transplantation of vital organs, cancer treatment, neuro-surgery, cardiac surgery and many more.
Edge, that India has in this service sector: * Low cost medical treatment * High quality medical care * Low wait time for critical treatments * Fluent English speaking staffA Growing Significance placed on customer Satisfaction:More and more significance is now placed on customer satisfaction, because this health industry along with the tourism industry has evolved gradually in to a service industry which is very customer satisfaction sensitive, much like any other service industry.
Earlier the medical facilities and treatments were forced upon the customer who had no choice but to avail what was available, hence it was a seller’s market; whereas, now, customers are much more aware of their rights, much more demanding, and are satisfied with nothing but the very best, hence, they exercise their right of choice and only go that SERVICE PROVIDER, that offers exactly what they want, how they want, and when they want it! Also, now the major shift in trend that has come about, is that customers of the Health industry , instead of being REACTIVE, are now PROACTIVE, i. . they now take health seriously and take precautionary measures to be healthy and maintain it, rather than waiting to fall ill, and then go find a remedy/ treatment. MEDICAL TOURISM AS A SERVICE INDUSTRY:All the 3 P’s of services marketing are applicable to the growth of this industry. They are as follows: * PEOPLE: The doctors, nurses, and other medical staff performing and delivering the surgery, along with the tourism industry staff form a part of the PEOPLE.
In India, these people are highly qualified, rather one of the very best, and their repute in this field is unquestionable. Hence, patients from all over the world are attracted to India. * PROCESS: The process is pretty much the same just that the technology has obviously evolved, and is only bettering day by day. This has helped enable operations with better precision and that is a major cause of patients from across the borders, flocking to India. * PHYSICAL EVIDENCE: With change in technology, there has been a tremendous change in the physical evidence.
The patient’s rooms are more welcoming, have a pleasant ambience, everything is done to make the environ germ free and maintain the patient’s health , while they are in the premises of the hospital, more training is given to the cleaning staff, all this is a part of physical evidence which shows and proves to the world just why India should be their preferred choice, for medical tourism. All these factors have made India the most preferred destination as far as medical tourism is concerned, as it offers FIRST CLASS TREATMENT, AT THIRD WORLD COSTS! |