The answer to why India is a preferred destination is a no brainer – It costs less. So a product/service of equivalent quality at less cost propels demand. With rising healthcare costs globally, India offers a unique three dimensional offering of – culture + vacation + medical care. Currently over 2,00,000 medical tourists visit India annually. Here’s reviewing how social media can help this growing business.

1. th
ANNIVERSARY Insight & Outlook: Medical tourism
The ‘blue eyed boy’
The answer to why India is a preferred destination is a no brainer – It costs less. So a product/service of
equivalent quality at less cost propels demand. With rising healthcare costs globally, India offers a unique
three dimensional offering of – culture + vacation + medical care. Currently over 2,00,000 medical tourists
visit India annually. Here’s reviewing how social media can help this growing business.
Maintaining standard with
rising trend
With the rise of medical tourism,
patients and patient coordinators
globally look for good reputed doctors
and hospitals in India, their primary
source of information is Internet. With
a paradigm shift in the way we use
internet in the last few years’ significance
of social media has increased rapidly
and can play a pivotal role in the field of
medical tourism.
Unlike commercial relationship
between service provider and a
consumer, relationship between doctors
and patients is emotional and is shared
by patient’s family. The virtue of life
saver that is bestowed upon doctors
is reflection of the same. There’s an
emotional connect that a patient shares
with doctors. This makes the key part of
the care deliver and the trust and faith
patients have in his doctors make life
simpler for everyone. Can a medical
tourist establish an emotional connect
with a doctor, he sees for the first time in
his life? Is there a relationship that exists
between such patients and doctors?
Social media: A pivotal role
Medical tourism today operates
extensively with a network of marketing
companies that promote India’s tourism
+ medical facilities as a joint package.
With a paradigm shift in
I
ndia’s medical tourism sector technology and communication barriers. the way we use Internet
is growing at an annual rate of Hospitals now have translators/foreign in the last few years’
30 per cent and is expected to be nurses to help deliver care effectively. significance of social media
` 10000 crore industry by 2015 The cost of insurance in estimated to has increased rapidly and
and its valuation is currently at $ 2 billion. 1/10th of the cost in developed countries can play a pivotal role in the
India has overcome the basic challenges globally. A knee replacement surgery in
of complying with international India costs about $ 2500 instead on $
field of medical tourism.
quality standards, availability of latest 25000 in developed nations.
78 I December 2012

2. Medical tourism
But is patient interested in the tourism Recommendation and referral. It is everything that you need and it is
part of it – Definitely no, it is like a the foundation of healthcare system as accurate as encyclopedia, hence
rider on the main policy, which is often in India. To strengthen the fact, its trusted. So patients can check
piggy backed. here is an example. People trust and basic details about their disease,
Social media can be a key source of have faith in a doctor, even if he is gain knowledge and be informed
marketing and promotion of medical not qualified for particular speciality, on the same.
tourism facilities of India. Using social this gets magnified in rural India Twitter: Only 140 characters have
media for marketing and promotion where unqualified doctors deliver enough power to create a revolt
is a common place across industries healthcare services, just because in nation and spread messages at
ranging from fast food to airlines they are recommended by people speed that is faster than light. Such
every industry uses social media and around them. pace of communication is much
uses it in a unique way. Social media Medical tourism and transparency needed in healthcare, how about
marketing is not as simple as placing go hand in hand. If the system is your medical reports (*secured) being
ad words, it is about establishing not transparent the first business tweeted to your families and well
relationships with viewers, engaging that will be in line of fire will be wishers in your country while you
them, interacting with them and medical tourism. Social media brings are being operated in India. How
converting them to be your unpaid in transparency to the system. You about your health status being shared
brand ambassadors. Moreover, it is cannot stop a patient to share his with them regularly while you are
the personal recommendation that feedback and experiences. admitted in hospital.
always works for healthcare, unlike YouTube: Real life patient stories for
FMCG products where you can trust surgeries where immediate effect is
advertisement. Hence, social media visible – knee replacement or other
Real life stories and videos by
can play a crucial role to establish complex surgeries can be shared
relationship with patients and their real patients can be a great on YouTube and shared with the
families and caregivers. source of reference check over world. These real life stories of pre
Real life stories and videos by real social media. hospital visit, the hospital stay and
patients can be a great source of the post surgery/hospital visit is the
reference check over social media. catalyst to trigger medical tourism
A leading knee replacement surgery Platforms on offer market in India.
centre did a similar exercise and Let’s look at the platforms which can Social media as popularly understood
was surprised to see enquiry rates be leveraged to create a social media is not just about Facebook and Twitter
growing up multifold. Be cautious, it platform for medical tourism. there are enormous instances of
is not about simply sharing real life Facebook: More than 800 million closed/private social media, where
videos, social media campaign needs users, this is equivalent to third patients, doctors and caregivers can
to be build gradually its similar to a populated nation and potential to interact in a closed environment
movie, where you need to gradually reach 1 billion users. Facebook is a and can share personal health
build the excitement. These real life multifaceted platform, you can use information without the fear of
patients can share their experiences it to create hospitals company page being non HIPAA compliant owing
and advise and address queries of and upload contents from members to social media usage.
your enquires. and start conversation. Facebook Industry players will have to create
Return on Investment (ROI) on social although is not the trusted source strategic plans to leverage social
media strategy for medical tourism. as it is not verified and there is too media to reach its target consumer
This is not yet a tested model on a much of noise. base, ie patients globally and provide
larger scale, but ROI would be much LinkedIn: This is an excellent service that unmatched globally at
higher than traditional advertising, platform to share and build fraction of the cost while maintaining
owing to the simple fact social media credential for doctors, to share their highest clinical standards and
advertising creates interaction and achievements with the external transparency.
influence. So doctors and medical world. Recommendations on (manishnachnani@gmail.com)
staff directly interact with patients LinkedIn evoke confidence. LinkedIn
and past patients influence them using profiles for doctors that are part of
their real life stories, so the return is medical tourism industry is a must,
Lalit Singla, Head &
dual fold. Moreover, you need to earn a carefully created profile will evoke
Manish Nachnani, Consultant,
a social media promotion, while you confidence in patients. Healthcare Center of Practices,
can purchase traditional promotion Wikipedia: Wikipedia today has UHG India
and advertisement. evolved as a one shop stop for
80 I December 2012