Medical Tourism

Integrated System of Medicine

" Supramental Vision is integral vision, global vision. Irreconcilable contrariety is the nature of the mental reason. To the Overmental, they are coexistent correlatives & to the Supramental, they are an integral Whole " - Sri Aurobindo, Founder, Integral Yoga ( http://www.sriaurobindosociety.org.in/ )

Translated into ordinary terms, the above quotation means that the four major systems of Medicine - Allopathy, Naturopathy, Ayurveda & Homeopathy - are partial truths and if integrated, they can be a formidable system. Did He not integrate the four systems of Yoga - Jnana, Bhakthi, Karma & Raja ?

When Allopathy is integrated with other systems of Alternative Medicine, we have a perfected & integrated system.

' What we need is a good integrated system', said Dr P C Reddy, CEO of Apollo Hospitals. Patients should have access to all kinds of facilities. Our Hospital's USP is that we have integrated the Indian traditional forms of Medicine with the clinical '. Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital has set up Homeopathy & Acupuncture wings. " The hospital is soon starting Yoga, Naturopathy & Herbal Medicine" said Dr S K Sama, CEO. "I consider them complementary, not alternative. Integrated System would soon catch on"


As India's world class hospitals lure foreign tourists, India has become a major destination for Health Tourism.
44 year old June Profitt had her knee replaced at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai. When she went to Nottingham Hospital, it had a six year waiting list. Her Indian Doctor told her to go to India for treatment. She looked up the Net and spotted Apollo Chennai. They corresponded with the Hospital. ' I paid $ 4000, which included a 10 day stay at Sterling Beach Resort. Back home it would have cost $ 10000. Now I am not scared that I would scream in pain when I put my foot down. And what better place to recuperate than a Beach Resort".

Another British national, Gregory Bates suffered a heart attack while holidaying in Goa.' I had the choice to go back home for the bypass", he said "But I chose to stay on. My family was concerned but having heard about Indian medical expertise, I was confident that I was in safe hands. The pre-operative support of Wockhardt Heart Institute in Bangalore while I was in Goa proved that I would get uncompromised care." . " His successful surgery is an indicator that heart surgery in India is on par with the world", said Dr Vivek Jawali, chief cardiovascular surgeon at Wockhardt who operated on Bates.


Bates and Profitt experienced Indian medical efficiencey. Indian health care made headlines when Dr D Shetty closed a hole in the heart of Noor Fatima, a child from Pakistan last year. The father of Noor Fatima, A I Ramadhan, had requested the help of the Indian cricket team which was then touring Pakistan last year. The Indian cricket team relayed the message back home. The Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospital at Bangalore offered to help, to give free surgery to the child. She was successfully operated. After that, the number of patients coming to Indian hospitals from West Asia & the West increased considerably. Last year saw 150,000 foreing patients visting India for treatment.
"At this juncture we cannot sit back", said Dr P C Reddy. " We have everything to move ahead." The private sector has already offered to help. The makeover is striking, hospital floors are squeaky clean and interiors complete with those of Five Star Hotels. Many hospitals have prayer rooms, translators, visa extension and currency exchange services. The Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospital in Bangalore had 8000 patients from Bangladesh last year. Apollo Chennai is referring many a patient for alternative therapy to Soukya, a holistic health center in Bangalore.

Quality medical care is the mantra and Dr S K Sama sees tremendous potential for Indian medical expertise, holistic and otherwise. ' Professional expertise in the country is as good as in the best hospitals abroad", remarks he . " We give personalised attention at much lower costs but provide top of the line services. In five years, things would be totally different. Europeans will be seeking health care here. "
Robert Peter Mutton was another Briton who got treated at economical rates. He was holidaying in Kochi when his gall bladder started acting up. "I just spent Rs 64000, which is amazing" said Robert Peter Mutton. They went to Lakeshore Hospital, Kochi. " I would have spent $ 10000 in London" said Mutton after treatment. "There is no difference between doctors here and back home"




It was the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences in Kochi, founded by a spiritual giant, Her Holiness Mata Amritanandamayi ( http://www.amritapuri.org/ ), which cured Yan Zheng, a receptionist from China. Cancer struck Yan when she was working in Beijing. She got treated at Shanghai but she lost her left eye, the upper jaw, half the lower jaw & facial nerves as a bye-product.

When she met the CEO of AIMS, Dr Kuriakose, he recommended India. The doctors at AIMS did four surgeries on her and now she is all right. The four reconstructive surgeries cost her Rs 3 lakh. It would have cost her 18 lakhs in the US.
Integrated Medicine is just common sense. The diseases which are not cured by Allopathy can be cured by other alternative therapies. For surgeries and immediate relief, one can rely on Allopathy. Ayurveda will take care of the diseases which need long cure, as it no side effects. .
Medical Training in India

Now professionals, particularly Asian, are happy about being trained in India, despite the West's formidable reputation as the last word in higher education in Medicine.


Dr Amit Shrestha and his wife, Dr Shrishti, found it convenient to do their MD in Bangalore at Manipal Hospital. They had come from Nepal. While Amit is training to be a cardiologist, his wife wants to be a dermatologist. " Indian Doctors are world renowned. If we train in India, our respect back home would grow tenfold", said Amit.

"It was a great experience ", says Clara Perinchery , a German-born MD student, who came to Lakeshore Hospital & Research Center in Kochi, to learn about tropical countries. Dr M Abdul Hannan said " I enjoy working here. Where else would I have learnt so much ? ". He is training at Escorts Heart Institute & Research Center, Delhi & he admitted that he was inspired by the Chief Cardiologist, Dr Naresh Trehan.

Ayurveda
The motto of Ayurveda is " Progress Through Research " ( Anusandanena Abhyudayam ).