Medical Tourism in Pakistan: A Huge Potential Market (2014)

Medical Tourism: Introduction

Before going to study the potential of medical tourism in Pakistan, there is need to understand the concept medical tourism. The medical tourism is distinguished from health tourism by the differences regarding the types of intervention, setting and inputs. However, medical tourism also called medical travel or health tourism.

In health economics and other literature, the medical tourism is a term that has risen from the rapid growth of an industry where people from all around the world are travelling to other countries to obtain usually “low-cost” medical, dental, and surgical care, while at the same time touring, vacationing, and fully experiencing the attractions of the countries that they are visiting. Medical or Health tourism has become a common form of vacationing and covers a broad spectrum of medical services. It mixes leisure, fun and relaxation with wellness and healthcare.

The idea of the health holiday is to offer an opportunity to get away from daily routine and come into a different relaxing surrounding.

Medical Tourism in Pakistan

The medical tourism in Pakistan is viewed as an untapped market that could be turned into a huge opportunity if the government “focuses on key issues”(As per the report of Express Tribune (dated April 17, 2012). According to this article, Pakistan has a “huge potential” for becoming a regional hub for medical tourism, comparable to many other countries in its neighbourhood. According to the claim of tourism officials, as reported by eTN Global News, Pakistan can compete with other countries in medical tourism, and could even be “less than half the price of India”.

Most of the medical patients who seek treatment in Pakistan are from neighbouring countries and mostly from Afghanistan and cannot be properly considered as a medical tourist. According to the report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, almost 90% of Afghans, who seek medical treatment abroad, travel to neighbouring Pakistan. The majority of Afghan patients are from the poorer strata of society who have access to free medical treatment in the Pakistani government or philanthropic healthcare facilities.

Potential for Medical Tourism in Pakistan

According to Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), Pakistan offer services to medical tourists in orthopaedic, optometric, ENT, urology treatments, cardiac surgery, infertility treatments, plastic surgery such as liposuction, hair transplantation and cosmetic surgery at cheap rates besides offering facilities in endoscopies, X-rays, MRI, CT scan, cardiology, and arthroscopy. Costs for treatment in Pakistan are more than 100% lower (half) of the minimum doctors, and hospitals charge abroad. The cost comparisons of different treatments as given by TDAP are:

Cost of Medical Treatment in Pakistan as Compared with Abroad

Source: TDAP, “Healthcare Export/Medical Tourism Sector of Pakistan: A new thrust area for tourism” * cost abroad for liposuction & infertility treatment refers to the average cost in Europe / developed countries calculated by TDAP (data taken in 2014 and coverted into PKR at 2014  exchange rates).

The above table shows that liposuction can cost between US$ 7080 – 8095 abroad, while the same procedure in Pakistan can be done within US$ 2085 approximately. Similarly, the cost for infertility treatment abroad can range between US$ 25300 – 30360, while the same treatment in Pakistan costs around US$ 2085 approximately. Similarly, the average cost of a mega session of Hair Transplant (strip surgery) in the USA is $5000-$10,000, and in the UK it is $4000-8000, whereas, in Pakistan, it usually ranges from $1200 to $2000.

In addition to statistics as mentioned above by TDAP, the Researchers of Consultant firm tried to get the average cost for different cosmetic treatments/ procedures but only a very few gave a response and provided following prices for different procedures:

Cost of Different Cosmetic Treatment in Pakistan

Source: Data collected by the Author through telephonic contact (PKR = Pakistani Rupees) in 2014 * Trust hospital provide FREE medical services

Key Challenges for Medical Tourism in Pakistan

Pakistan can be the destination for medical tourism, if it addresses the following challenges to the medical tourism sector:

• The continuing illegal organ transplant trade (especially kidney trade) has troubled the image of the country’s medical tourism industry.
• Despite there is a large base of doctors present in the country, the overall health infrastructure of Pakistan is not as advanced as to the international standards. Only a few numbers of modern and reputable hospitals exist.
• Security-related issues and poor law & order situation have also prevented foreigners from travelling to Pakistan exclusively for seeking medical treatment.

© 2014 Dr Ghulam Mohey-ud-din
Last Updated on November 27, 2014 (and Published on Hubpages)