US, India develop healthy
ties By Priyanka Bhardwaj
NEW DELHI - The medical field is one arena
where synergies are being worked out between India
and the United States. There are several streams:
providing cheaper and quality medical treatment of
US patients in India, plugging the shortage of
qualified nurses in the US and outsourcing work
such as medical transcription.
India
expects a rising demand for nurses in the US. The
requirement for nurses in the US is estimated to
be more than 250,000. The pay packets can range
from a healthy US$45,000 to $65,000 annually,
along with eligibility for a Green Card and perks
at par with US nurses, including a three-day work
week.
The US Senate is looking at a
proposal to create a new W visa category, which
will allow temporary workers into the US to take
jobs
that cannot be filled from within the country. The
proposal is part of a larger immigration-reform
package that strengthens border enforcement. The
comprehensive immigration bill was tabled in the
US Senate on July 19 by Republican senators John
Cornyn and Jon Kyl who proposed the creation of
the W visa category.
New Delhi too is
looking at a proposal to allow 12-month visas to
patients from Europe and the US, in a bid to
encourage foreigners looking for cheaper but
quality treatment in India. The idea of even
longer-duration visas has also been mooted as it
is felt that old-age care, as well as looking
after patients who require medical attention over
a longer period of time, is a more lucrative
proposition.
Indian nurses will stand to
benefit in both instances. Unlike the H1-B visa,
which opens up American residency/citizenship, the
W-visa will require foreign workers to return to
their country of origin after two years and
re-apply. The time, however, is enough for Indian
nurses to seek the lucrative option abroad.
Organizations such as the Nurses for International
Exchange in the US have been pushing for
legislation to make visas to nurses easily
available.
In a recent interview, Dr Mark
McKenney of Jackson Memorial Medical Center in
Miami said: "We have zeroed in on India because we
need nurses who are trained, educated and have the
kind of dedication towards their job that Indians
do. They're much more motivated and mature."
Unlike call center jobs and
business-process outsourcing, which is cost-driven
and results in a physical transfer of location of
work, the demand for nurses is due to
demand-supply factors within the US. The term is
insourcing rather than outsourcing.
In
keeping with the rising demand, government-aided
as well as private Indian universities churn out
more than 20,000 doctors and 30,000 nurses a year.
Many look for jobs in Western countries. The
number of nurses graduating every year is almost
three times the pace of the 1990s.
To
qualify in the US, a nurse has to pass exams and
appear for a screening test and interview before
being recruited. When selected, the hospital or
the placement agency generally bears the cost of
processing the Green Card/visa and legal fees.
With more than 40,000 Indian doctors in the US who
are known for their efficient work, the impression
of Indians being good medical practitioners helps
in the hiring process.
India has been
trying to push gains in the medical field,
especially medical tourism. During his recent
visit to the US, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh outlined the virtues of outsourcing, given
the backlash in the West: "Outsourcing is not a
one-way beneficial string. Just as America's
outsourcing has helped Indian firms, it also is a
source of strength to American corporations. In a
competitive global economy, the fact is, that
outsourcing lowers cost of operations of American
companies and enables them to compete more
effectively against their competitors not only in
the US market but also in the global markets."
The government sees health care as a
growth industry and has been extending tax and
custom benefits, including on the importation of
medical equipment. The Indian health-care industry
is valued at $17 billion, 4% of India's gross
domestic product (GDP), and is growing at more
than 10% each year. It is expected to reach $60
billion by 2012. A joint study by the
Confederation of Indian Industry lobby and
McKinsey consulting indicates that by 2012, India
can earn more than $2 billion a year from
health-care tourism alone. "Like information
technology, this sector will create millions of
jobs and will earn huge foreign exchange," the
report said.
The cost advantage to
patients can be quite a bit, often less than 20%
of the price abroad. The average cost of cardiac
surgery at the best hospital in India is $6,000,
and the surgery boasts a success rate of 98.5%
with most doctors having practiced abroad.
Open-heart surgery in the United Kingdom can cost
more than $20,000, while it's double that in the
US.
A single tooth filling costs $10 here
against $300 in the US. Further, there is no
waiting period for major medical procedures.
Routine ailments such as cataract and heart
surgeries require a wait of almost a year in the
UK, and many patients who are critically in need
don't survive the waiting period. In addition,
treatments using alternative medicine such as
Ayurveda and Reiki are already popular in India.
According to Dr Jagmeet Singh, who runs a
dental clinic in South Delhi: "I have tied up with
travel agents with marketing offices in Europe and
UK. Now, tourists are given the option of a
stop-over at my clinic in case they want to avail
of treatment. The travel package is accordingly
customized." Needless to say, with the money
coming in, Singh has suitably upgraded his clinic
to meet international standards.
However,
in the recent past there have been several
complaints of Indian private hospitals turning
into ruthless commercial enterprises. The
management of the hospitals has been handed over
to marketing executives who set revenue targets
for doctors as well as offering handsome
commissions.
The number of dissatisfied
patients in heart treatment has been on the rise.
There have been several complaints by patients who
have had to undergo repeated angiography followed
by expensive angioplasty/bypass surgery, while it
has been discovered later that such invasive
procedures were not required. One patient recently
filed a case against a reputed hospital for having
conducted an expensive heart procedure, when the
reports from the same hospital were later read to
show no anomaly. Steel and Fertilizers Minister
Ram Vilas Paswan who had a minor heart attack in
July was not happy with the treatment by a
prominent heart hospital. Some experts advise that
foreign patients should get their diagnosis done
before they arrive for treatment.
Priyanka Bhardwaj is a New
Delhi-based writer.
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