It’s no secret that medical care in the United States can be quite expensive if you aren’t covered by insurance. One solution that is gaining popularity is medical tourism, which involves  going overseas for treatment.

Since the cost of advanced medical care is often much lower in other countries,  medical tourism can offer tremendous savings for certain procedures, even when you factor in the cost of airfare and lodging .

India is one of the fastest-growing centers of medical tourism. Wikipedia outlines the advantages:

Most estimates claim treatment costs in India start at around a tenth of the price of comparable treatment in America or Britain.[7][76] The most popular treatments sought in India by medical tourists are alternative medicine, bone-marrow transplant, cardiac bypass surgery, eye surgery and orthopedic surgery. India is known in particular for heart surgery, hip resurfacing and other areas of advanced medicine.

Due to these advantages, the medical tourism market in India is projected to grow at a rate of approximately 30% per year.

What are the cons of medical tourism?  First of all, international flights are long and international travel can be stressful, which may be detrimental to patients who have certain conditions. Also, patients traveling to other countries may be afflicted with illnesses, particularly intestinal illnesses, that the have no immunity to.

Finally, quality of care can vary.  India has some excellent doctors and hospitals, but it’s important to research the facility and the doctors before you go. Also, understand what your options are if something goes wrong with the treatment-patients traveling overseas for care tend to have fewer legal remedies at their disposal if something goes awry.

One way to help decrease the chances of problems is to look for a facility that has been certified by one of the following organizations:

• Accreditation Canada
• Joint Commission International (JCI)
• Trent International Accreditation Scheme

If you are planning to travel to India specifically for the purpose of getting medical care, you need a medical visa.  Indian visa requirements for patients seeking care are different than the standard Indian visa requirements for tourists.  Here’s what you will need:

• 1 completed Indian visa application form
• 2 passport photos
• Proof of address, such as a clear copy of your driver’s license
• A  medical certificate, a certificate of preliminary advice from a US doctor advising what type of treatment you will need while in India.
• A copy of your birth certificate. If you were not born in the US or India and your birth certificate is not in English, you  need an English translation of your birth certificate OR another government document that has your parents’ names, your name, your birthdate and your nationality. If you are sending in a translation of an original document, the translation must be notarized.

Of course, you don’t want to travel alone overseas when you are sick. If you are traveling on an Indian medical visa, up to 2 attendants who are blood relatives can accompany you.

An medical visa for India is valid for either  1 year or the duration of your treatment, whichever is shorter.

RushmyTravelVisa.com makes it easy to apply for an Indian visa. We provide assistance with the application to help prevent common mistakes that can slow down the issuance of your visa. Then, we deliver your application to the correct embassy or consulate for the fastest processing available.

Apply for your Indian visa with us today!

Tags: India, India visa, Indian visa, medical tourism

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 11th, 2010 at 10:47 pm and is filed under Destinations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.