IHF lists 50 hospitals as India's medical tourism destinations

The Indian Healthcare Federation (IHF), a grouping of private hospitals, diagnostic centres, medical equipment manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies, is to hand over a list of 50 hospitals, spread across 15 cities, to the Central Government as potential centres for medical tourism. The details are meant to be publicized internationally by the government to boost health tourism in the country.

IHF and the CII National Committee on Healthcare have jointly prepared the list on the request from the task force on health tourism formed by the ministry of tourism and ministry of health.

According to Dr. Naresh Tehran, president IHF and executive director, Escorts Heart Institute, a sub-committee of the federation compiled the list. " The list is not final and would be upgraded every six months so as to incorporate others as well," he said.

The hospitals that have entered the first list of IHF include the Apollo Group institutions, Escorts Hospital Group, Wockhardt Hospitals, Fortis Hospitals, Max Healthcare, Mallya Hospital, Manipal Education and Medical Group, Narayana Hrudayalaya, Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre, Shankara Netralaya, Sri Ramachandra Medical College, G Kuppuswamy Naidu Memorial Hospital, Kovai Medical Centre, K G Hospital, Care Foundation, L V Prasad Eye Institute, B M Birla Heart Research Centre, Ravindranath Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences, Ruby General Hospital, Westbank Hospital, Woodlands Hospital, Asian Heart Institute, Bombay Hospital Medical Research Centre, Breach Candy Hospital Trust, Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre, Lilavati Hospital & Research Centre, P D Hinduja National Hospital & Medical Research Centre, Batra Hospital & Medica Research Centre, Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre, Rockland Hospital, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, VIMHANS, Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences, Ruby Hall Clinic and GNRC Heart Institute. The only two hospitals dealing with alternative system of medicines that have been in the list are Arya Vaidya Sala, Kottakal and Soukya International.

(Ref : CHRONICLE PHARMABIZ Dated November 25, 2004)