Int’l summit acclaims TN as medical tourism hub

CHENNAI: Chief Minister M K Stalin inaugurated Tamil Nadu's first ever International Medical Value Travel Summit in Chennai on Saturday.

The summit aims at creating a global platform to provide healthcare services and medical facilities for international patients visiting Tamil Nadu.

This summit titled- "Tamil Nadu – Where the world comes to heal", saw the participation of several international delegates and healthcare professionals from the industry in Tamil Nadu.

More than 75 delegates from 21 foreign countries, including Bangladesh, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Maldives, Vietnam and various African countries participated in this summit. The healthcare infrastructure of Tamil Nadu has already placed it on a high pedestal for medical tourism, attracting international patients for cardiac procedures, Orthopaedic procedures, cancer treatment and transplants mainly, a press release from the state secretariat said.

Tamil Nadu Tourism Department and State health department will play an important role in making Tamil Nadu a leading medical tourism destination since Tamil Nadu is already a trusted destination for healthcare needs with skilled healthcare professionals, state-of-the-art technology and affordable medical services.

The conference also saw the participation of 350 stakeholders from 120 private hospitals of Tamil Nadu, including distinguished doctors in various fields, foreign embassy officials, tour operators, hotel managers, representatives of insurance companies, doctors from Siddha, Yoga and Ayush medicine too, the release said.

"Insurance companies, referral hospitals in abroad, treating hositals in Chennai, top CEOs, renowned surgeons and top medical experts have been roped in for the platform established through the summit. More than ten speciality hospitals in Chennai are part of the event. The state tourism department will also facilitate the arrival, visas and immigration level assistance for these patients giving TN, a huge advantage to be explored through medical tourism," said Dr B Chandramohan, secretary, Toursim and HR and CE department told DT Next.

"We are bringing in a secretariat like centre that will be address the grievances of international passengers, and explain the cost advantages of the local hospitals available in TN. The visiting delegates will also be taken to a tour to the top corporate hospitals in Chennai that are already shortlisted for the programme, Chandramohan said. The medical tourism is one of the fastest growing tourism segments in Tamil Nadu. The Multi-speciality and multi super speciality hospitals in Tamil Nadu have huge potential to grow as a destination for medical tourism, he added.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister also released a book on the National Accreditation Board Hospitals and Healthcare Providers at the summit. The summit also saw various stalls set up on behalf of various city hospitals that detail the visitors on the available infrastructure and medical services. State health minister Ma Subramanian, Tourism Minister K Ramachandran and health secretary P Senthil Kumar also attended the summit.