KOCHI:
Experts from tourism and health industry shared their experience at the Kerala Health Tourism conclave organized by Confederation of Indian industry (CII) in association with Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) will deliberate on the theme Kerala – an emerging Global Hotspot for MVT.
The panel discussion on Clinical Excellence in Kerala : The Value Proposition, saw practitioners from various fields such as Cardiac Sciences, Gastroenterology, Oncology, Neurosciences, and Multi Organ Transplants share their experiences. Dr Harish Pillai, Chief Executive Officer, Aster Hospitals & Clinics, India in his opening remarks said that the patients have a plethora of choices, both in public and private sectors, when it comes to choosing treatment facilities. The facilities are available across the state.
Dr Subramanya Iyer, Clinical Professor and Head, Centre for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, spoke on the strides made by the state in organ transplants. He said that there is a lot of complexity involved in procedure such as hand transplants, but the medical teams in Kerala have the capability for doing the same. Dr Pradeep Kumar, Chairman, Kinder Medical Group, Singapore shared his experience about the Medical Tourism sector in Singapore, the leader in the MVT space in Asia.
Dr Moni Abraham Kuriakose, Director, Cochin Cancer Research Centre elaborated on the cancer care facilities available in Kerala. The state today has 24 cancer care centres. The volume of cases handled in Kerala is high, due to the higher life expectancy and affluence. This helps the medical fraternity develop expertise in cancer care. Dr Dilip Panikar, Senior Consultant in Neurosurgery, Aster Medcity said that neurosciences in Kerala
has risen to a level to offer services anywhere in the world at a much lesser cost.
Dr Sundaramoorthy SK, Chairman & MD, Lotus Eyecare Hospital elaborated on the latest technologies that are available in the state for eye-care. He added that Kerala has good infrastructure and doctors but is lacking in facilitation centres. Dr Roy J Mukkada, Senior Consultant & HoD – Medical Gastroenterology, VPS Lakeshore said that there are around 25 gastroenterology centres in Kerala with 7 in Kochi alone. The state has a large concentration of Gastroenterologists who have the expertise to serve patients from around the world.
Dr Shiv K Nair, Head of the Department and Senior Consultant, Department of Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery, Rajagiri Hospital said that India is recognised the world over as a leader in Reverse Innovation in Healthcare. India is the cheapest provider of high-end medical care, providing 65-90% reduction costs compared to other medical tourism destinations. The cost of treatment in Kerala is 40% less than that in metros. 48 out of the 250 cardiac centres in the country are in Kerala.
Dr Shabeer Ali, KIMS Healthcare Management Limited dealt on the liver transplant services offered in the state. Hospitals with successful liver transplant programmes are considered quaternary care facilities. Kerala has 5 such facilities. More than 1000 liver transplants have been done in the state. Living donor transplant is more complex and the state’s hospitals have been able to do it with highly successful outcomes.
