BS RAWAT
NEW DELHI : Commerce Secretary Dr. Anup Wadhawan has said that there is a need to introspect and see the qualitative aspects need to improve healthcare.

inaugurating the 5th International Summit on Medical Value Travel-Advantage Healthcare India-2019 organized by FICCI, Mr Wadhawan said that there has been significant achievement in the sector and there is robust infrastructure on the ground. However, he said, more needs to be done.

He said, ideally, patients should have door-to-door facilitation and there is a need for a portal that guarantees fair treatment of patients. He also stressed the need to have a system of periodic testing of professionals. On the occasion, Mr Wadhawan released a Knowledge Paper on Medical Tourism in India.

Ms Sangeeta Godbole, Director General, Services Export Promotion Council, Government of India, said, “India has a very strong traditional healthcare system that will help in furthering the cause of healthcare not only in our country but also in the rest of the world.”

Dr Sangita Reddy, President-elect, FICCI, and Joint Managing Director Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited, said that India is unparalleled in delivering quality medical care at one-tenth of the global cost and aims to transform this sector so that India becomes the epicenter of medical value travel. “Concepts of telemedicine and online consultations are growing tremendously,” she added.

Dr Harish Pillai, Chair, FICCI MVT Committee, and Chief Executive Officer, Aster India, Aster DM Healthcare Ltd, said that the Indian medical and wellness market is growing, and medical value travel is also adding to this growth.

“India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing markets in medical value travel and the National Medical Value Travel Committee at FICCI has been giving recommendations to the government, advocating policy change in the sector,” added Dr Pillai.