The Indian medical realm is currently witnessing an unprecedented growth in terms of facilities as well as research talent. In the past few years, the number of hospitals, medical infrastructure and skill development has touched new heights. This phenomenal success can be attributed to the rising global demand from developed countries regarding world-class healthcare facilities. Today, India has enormous talent in terms of talented doctors and also boasts of the latest healthcare technologies.
Indian Medical Research: A Rising Star
There are more than 100 pharmaceutical companies present in India including major players like Merck, Novartis, J&J and AstraZeneca. Besides these, multi-national medical giants such as Dr. Reddy’s, Ranbaxy and Glen mark have set their research bases in India to take leverage of the comprehensive healthcare facilities. Being the 4th largest drug manufacturer on earth, India boasts of 85+ FDA approved research facilities. Also, India will soon have the offices of world-renowned healthcare organizations such as FDA, DIA and CDISC.
Considering the current developments, the Indian medical success story can be befittingly called a ‘star’. There are quality diagnoses, prescription and treatment services scattered throughout the country. Furthermore, healthcare services in India are highly affordable when compared to those in the developed countries. Major Fields of research include:
- Oncology
- Neurology and Neuro-surgery
- Dermatology
- Cardiology
- HIV/Aids
- Endocrinology
- Pulmonology
- Psychiatry
- Pharmacognosy research
- Opthalmology
- Gastroentrology
Besides these, medical infrastructure management, data management, genetics research, telemedicine, bio-technology research, Telepharmacy, toxicology and other healthcare related niches are being developed simultaneously. This shows that an all round effort is being made by the Indian medical sector. Due to the availability of high-quality medical facilities at low cost, India attracts a lot of medical tourists every year.
Medical Tourism in India
There are many factors behind India emerging as a medical tourism hub. Patients come from across the world to seek medical facilities. In fact, after seeing the attractive Indian medical tourism packages, some other Asian countries have also started offering similar services. However, India holds certain advantages such as:
- Attractive pricing of major surgeries and medical procedures.
- Quality of medical facilities is far better in India as compared to other Asian countries.
- Some of the tourism packages are government-backed which adds to the security.
- Language advantage: English is widely spoken throughout India.
In India, the medical tourism industry is worth $1 billion and more than 1, 50, 000 medical tourists visit India every year. Consequently, big players in the market offer the best of the medical services. This has also raised the requirement of medical professionals and therefore increased the training and jobs of this field. According to a recent survey, more than 50,000 jobs are available in the medical sector ranging from MDs to nurses. These figures are making healthcare an alluring career for many young Indians.
Training and Research Institutes
Many prestigious institutes are involved in clinical research and also impart professional training. Indian government sponsored AIIMS institute is the leading institute carrying out research and development, especially in stem cell field. Various governmental bodies such as the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical research) and DCGI continuously draft guidelines to encourage healthcare research in India. ICMR conducts its main research programs through the various Research Centers located throughout the country. Karnataka and Chennai are the two leading states that receive maximum number of medical tourists in India.
Big Medical Research Players
The numbers of clinical research projects being performed outside of the U.S. are seeing a 60% increase. India being a strategic global healthcare source, many Bio-tech and pharma firms will be vying for these projects. International clinical and laboratory research is increasing rapidly in India. The bio-pharmaceutical industry holds a major support behind this ever increasing medical research potential.
Indian healthcare industry consists of various hospitals, pharmaceutical firms and research labs. These institutes consistently strive to research and develop innovative technologies. Add to this the immense potential of medical professionals and India has a win-win situation. Companies like Dr. Reddy’s, Ranbaxy, Hindustan Unilever, PRA International, Emcure, i3 Research, etc are always recruiting fresh talent to undertake research projects. Medical professionals are being hired consistently to develop innovative technologies to expand medical facilities to the poor.
Today, interest in developing clinical research strategies in India is increasing due to the country’s genetic diversity, billion-plus population, highly skilled talent pool of medical professionals, an upbeat community an access to high-quality medical institutions /facilities. Despite being at the helm of medical research, India has been able to offer cost-effective medical facilities to its indigenous population as well as foreigners.
