The growing dearth of specialist medical care services in the country and a corresponding growing middle class have resulted to more Nigerians seeking treatment abroad, with India and Turkey being major destinations.
The shift in destination from countries like the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States to India and Turkey is mainly being driven by cost considerations and comparable quality of service.
BusinessDay learnt that a heart bypass treatment in Turkey goes for between $11,000 and $15,000, as against $129,750 in the US. In India, similar surgery goes for $8,666, which is far less than the $27,770 a patient will pay in the UK.
In the US, hip replacement costs over $45,000, while in Turkey it is just $10,750, India $7,000, and Ireland $19,500-$21,000. For knee replacement, it costs $40,000 in the US, $11,200 in Turkey, $7,833 in India, $11,781 in Germany, and $20,600 in the UK.
According to Osahon Enabulele, president, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), annual spend on medical tourism by Nigerians is now well above N120 billion, with an estimated 5,000 patients travelling to destinations like India and Turkey on a monthly basis, a development he describes as a huge foreign exchange drain to the nation.
Adedayo Sobamowo, managing consultant, Hermes Consulting, told BusinessDay that in terms of pricing, the US is the most expensive medical tourism destination due primarily to the high cost of healthcare in the country.
“We currently send patients from Nigeria to the US, UK, Jordan, Turkey and India,” he said. “Medical professionals in the US, including doctors, nurses and allied medical personnel, earn significantly higher salaries when compared to their counterparts in Europe and Asia. Hospitals in the UK charge between 60 percent and 70 percent of what US hospitals charge, also due to their advanced health systems and high labour costs. Turkish and Jordanian hospitals, on the other hand, charge between 40 percent and 50 percent of US pricing as a result of lower labour and operating costs.”
Sobamowo said, however, that India is the market leader in outbound medical tourism from Nigeria as it offers the lowest pricing for medical services, typically between 10 percent and 30 percent of US prices. “Most Indian tariffs are also cheaper than those offered here in Nigeria. Indian hospitals are able to offer cheaper prices than available in Nigeria due to economies of scale from high patient volumes, low operating costs as well as labour.”
Other stakeholders and practitioners attribute the trend to dearth of manpower and lack of adequate infrastructure, which led to many capable hands leaving the country to seek greener pastures abroad.
“The prices of medical tourism, health and wellness services are directly proportional to the availability of resources, infrastructure, skilled workforce, and so on,” Omar Siddiqui, managing director, Medicure Medical Travels, New Delhi, India, told BusinessDay in an exclusive chat.
India, he said, has highly skilled workforce, world-class local manufactured drugs, implants, consumables, and medical equipment as well as accredited hospitals with world-class infrastructure and research facilities. “This directly impacts the pricing of medical services as well. Now, the same services too are available in other countries but with higher prices. Besides this, the environment for business is very conducive and private participation with foreign collaboration is actively encouraged,” he added.
Nigeria, according to Omar, is the second-biggest economy in Africa, after South Africa, and has immense potential to emerge as medical tourism hub, but there is need for active participation by the government, and policy formulation that takes place should be implemented as well. “Besides this, Nigerian Diaspora can be asked to contribute towards its success. We live in a globalised world where a lot can be achieved by working together, sharing our ideas to improve the lives of people around us,” he said.
Mohamed Ali Degirmenci, supervisor of international operations, ROMOY International Health, Tourism and Consulting, told BusinessDay that they were very particular about giving adequate healthcare services because “life is very important and must not be toyed with”.
“We guarantee the lowest price for similar surgical operations and treatment in Turkey, and the prices we offer to patients are lower than the prices offered by the hospital itself. We ensure that the patient gets the same services at better prices and provide the treatment alternatives with more affordable prices than European countries, especially England and France, without long waiting periods. These and many more are reasons different people from all over the world visit Turkey for medical tourism,” he said.
ROMOY International Health Tourism and Consulting is a model health tourism assistant company approved by the Ministry of Health which has professional and highly experienced team and infrastructure. There are more than 60 specially selected wide hospital networks under the roof of ROMOY.
By: KEMI AJUMOBI
source: http://www.businessdayonline.com / Business Day / Home> Main Story / by Kemi Ajumobi / October 11th, 2013
