Jaipur:
Rajasthan will soon attract patients from neighbouring countries as it is set to announce better healthcare packages for foreign nationals as part of its medical tourism package.
For the purpose, the state government has started working on formulating a separate policy on medical tourism. The idea of the policy, in its initial stage now, has been conceived by the state medical health and family welfare department recently.
“Provisions will be made in the policy to offer health packages for patients coming from neighbouring countries. Obviously, we are not targeting to attract patients from the West and other developed countries. But through this policy, we will offer better healthcare services to the patients coming from the neighboring countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan and other neighbouring countries. The policy is in the initial stage, it will take some time to implement the policy,” minister of state for health Rajkumar Sharma said.
Besides, the state government has plans to tap growing the tourist activities in religious places, including Ajmer dargah. Since a lot of tourists from neighbouring countries come to the Ajmer dargah every year, the department has an aim to offer lucrative treatment packages to the foreign tourists.
The department officials claimed that because of the free-medicine scheme, patients from neighbouring states have increased. Now the state government is targeting patients, who require ‘terminal care’ from the neighbouring states. But it remains to be seen how the state government takes it up or it will take help of private hospitals in the policy, which have spawned in the city in large numbers.
The state government is also helping private hospitals by allotting land on concessional rates or by allowing them set-up on public private partnership (PPP) basis. Manas Arogya Sadan Heartcare & Multi-specialty Hospital, which will run on a PPP basis with Metro Institute of Medical Sciences Private Limited for a period of 30 years, is expected to become operational from September 2012.
Besides, state government confirmed that Bombay Hospital would also come up in Jaipur as its land allotment process by the Jaipur Development Authority is in the final stages.
Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes’ Society president in Jaipur, Dr Sanjay Arya, said, “The government is allowing big private hospitals to enter Jaipur by offering land on concessional rates. These hospitals are mainly terminal care hospitals. But the government should also make better rules to boost the hospitals which are small and catering general patients in large numbers.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Jaipur / by Syed Intishab Ali, TNN / July 04th, 2012
