India - A wellness card for the medical tourist

If you live abroad but want to come to India for treatment when you fall ill, then, all you need is an international wellness card. It offers not just treatment but also assures the holder a reasonable deal in a hospital here.

On Wednesday, Prime India, a company specialising in medical tourism for the last 20 years, launched the concept. “Now, we are also looking at people who are healthy. We want to issue a membership card for a family of say, five. The card can be purchased for a two digit dollar figure and any family member who falls sick can benefit. We will do the handholding from airport to airport. We will get them a good deal in the hospital also,” explained R. Ayappan, group advisor.

If, however, the card is not used in a year, bonus points would be added to the card when it is renewed, Mr. Ayappan said.

Prime India has 12 partners in Asia and Africa, who will enrol members and hospitals that would like to tie up with Indian hospitals. “During the period of membership, a member will receive e-mail updates on the changes in Indian medical field, like someone using a new technique in a hospital,” Mr. Ayappan said.

Prime India is also hoping to get hospitals abroad to be part of the group so that doctors can also fly out and visit their patients admitted to hospitals there.

Another benefit of possessing a health card is having access to a database to store medical files. When a cardholder is being treated in India, the family can access the details of the treatment through a unique password, specific to the cardholder, thus maintaining patient confidentiality. The cardholder would also get add-on benefits such as cell phones and special rates during hospitalisation.

Prime India has registered with most large private hospitals in the city. On Wednesday, representatives of several of the large hospitals were present at the launch of the international wellness card. The company is also launching a medicos360, a health recruitment portal.

The Hindu

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