Medical and Tourism are the two important aspects of human beings. Medical treatment helps us for the management and care of ourselves to combat any disease or disorder that has occurred in our body and tourism helps us to rejuvenate ourselves from the daily hustle and bustle of city life.
Medical tourism is the act of travelling to other states or countries to obtain medical, dental, and surgical care. Nowadays the fast and busy city life has made our bodies more prone to many different diseases. Many factors like unreasonably high costs of healthcare in developed nations, pocket friendly international travel, zero waiting time, favorable currency exchange rates in the global economy, rapidly improving technology have lead to the recent increase in popularity of medical tourism. People with rare genetic disorders are travelling to another countries where treatment of these conditions is better understood and specialized. The first noted incidence of people travelling to obtain medical treatment in the history dates back to when Greek pilgrims travelled all over the Mediterranean Sea to Epidauria in the Saronic Gulf which was the dwelling of the healing god Asklepios.
Medical Tourism in India has experienced a phenomenal growth in recent years. It has emerged as the most promising and fast growing sector in Gujarat. Ahmedabad has earned the unique distinction of being the most prominent place for medical treatments in the country. The world class facilities, super specialty hospitals, excellent doctors, affordable price and other infrastructures are the reasons for this accreditation. The highlight of the medical facilities in the state of Gujarat is the 108 Ambulance Service with the slogan “Medical at doorstep”. The patients are having the dual advantage of receiving world-class treatment and excellent tourism in the state of Gujarat. Gujarat has excellent tourist destinations and abundant scope for entertainment and fun.
According to the Medical Tourism Policy of Gujarat that was released in 2006, the government is devoted to provide world class facilities to the visiting medical tourists. The government has plannings in pipeline to implement the policy in true sense and spirit to make Gujarat the most favored destination for people seeking medical treatments across the world. The statistics available with government claims a growth of 33 percent medical tourists as against the 20 percent growth in the country. It aims at bringing a favorable atmosphere for the medical tourist, the medical agencies, hospitals and the staffs. The other aspects of the policy include safe and convenient travelling of all the patients in the most affordable manner that are possible.
It is rightly said by the Father of our Nation Mahatma Gandhi:
It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of Gold and Silver.
The Gujarat government visualizes to provide excellent facilities and encourage public participation to enhance the condition of medical industry. Among all the tourists that come to the state for treatment purposes most of them comprise of the Non Resident Gujaratis(NRGs) who come for treatment and also meeting their extended families.
Not just modern allopathy but various age old therapy techniques like Yoga, Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Naturopathy, Aromatherapy, and Reiki are quite famous and practiced in Gujarat. Gujarat is the home for Ayurvedic treatment which is an ancient medical science which was developed in India thousands of years ago. Ayurvedic practices include the use of natural herbal medicines, minerals, surgical techniques, opium, and application of oil by massages. It also has a dedicated chain of hospitals at district and sub-district levels which specializes in Cardiology, Knee Replacement or Arthroplasty, Neuro-Surgery, Infertility treatment, Orthopedics, Eye Surgery, Dental treatment and Cosmetic Surgery. The medical hub is concentrated mostly in Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat.
Ahmedabad is the biggest business center of Gujarat, which is now transforming into a health care providing city not only for the state or nation but also for the world. This all can be attributed to the ambitious “Vibrant Gujarat” project. This project has made the hospitals in Ahmedabad to bring about radical change in the facilities and medical aids to be at par with the other foreign nations. Ahmedabad also has the distinction of housing the biggest civil hospital in Asia. It is also home to the one of the best Ayurvedic Hospitals in India specializing in Panchkarma and natural cures to heal the diseases.
Dental Tourism also plays a vital role in field of Medical tourism. Dental treatment in foreign countries is more expensive than other medical treatments. Dental Insurance coverage is also not available in many places. In that case it becomes a very costly affair. So people prefer coming down to our country for getting themselves treated. Nowadays people are also more inclined towards natural remedies like Aromatherapy and Naturo therapy which is specialized in India.
The round the year moderate climate is also one of the aspects in the increasing Medical Tourism in the state. This feature and the high technology speciality hospitals have together developed the state into the most promising medical hub in the country in the near future. The government along with the initiative of our Honourable Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi is emphasizing in developing the hospitals with all the World Class technologies of Medical treatment and that too at affordable prices in the state.
With the current advances in the Medical Industry, India is surely going to become one of the promising countries which would develop as the Best Medical Hub in the Asia Pacific region and Gujarat is surely going to play a major role in this in the near future.
Wanted to organizing a meet with all health personnels of ahmedabad at 16th of june
By medilink hospital