Coimbatore’s potential to maximise medical tourism hinges on vital interventions, say specialists

Coimbatore's healthcare sector booms, driven by factors such as air connectivity, Smart City initiatives, efficient waste disposal, and patient-friendly culture. Reviews online, doctor-patient ratio, and health awareness are key drivers of growth.

Amidst the prevailing robustness of the healthcare sector, Coimbatore’s potential to maximise utility of the medical tourism sector hinges on factors such as improving air connectivity with wide-bodied aircraft, implementation of ‘Smart City’ initiatives in all seriousness, and efficient disposal of medical waste and keeping the city garbage-free, so as to generate a stronger public perception of the city nationally and internationally, healthcare specialists opined at a panel discussion powered by The Hindu here on Thursday.

Moderated by Mithra Prasad, the discussion provided insights into the boom in the healthcare sector catching up in the suburbs of western Coimbatore.

The panellists at ‘Coimbatore’s Healthcare Landscape Getting Bigger and Better - Infrastructure Opportunities at Kovaipudur’, included healthcare specialists and administrators: Mirudhubashini Govindarajan, Clinical Director, Women’s Center and Hospitals Private Limited, Coimbatore; David V. Rajan, Chairman and Managing Director, Ortho One - Orthopaedic Speciality Center, Coimbatore; J. Sivakumaran, Chief Operating Officer, Kovai Medical Center and Hospital; and Damodar R. Rao, Associate Director and Senior Consultant, Fertility and Gynaecological Endoscopy, Rao Hospital.

Coimbatore, known for its super-speciality hospitals, has been a preferred destination for healthcare over metro cities owing to the advantages of weather, patient-friendly culture, and cost-effectiveness, they pointed out.

The city has been at the forefront of thinking and implementing the concept of super-speciality hospitals for decades now and has transformed into a training ground in this area for professionals from within and outside the country, Dr. Govindarajan said. Reviews online about the edge the hospitals in Coimbatore have played a huge role in the city becoming a destination for medical tourism, Dr. Rajan said.

Going by the doctor-patient ratio specified by the World Health Organisation, immense growth of the sector was inevitable, more so in Coimbatore with its unique advantages. System-dependent healthcare delivery was a key factor for cost-effectiveness, Dr. Sivakumaran observed.

Better health awareness that could reinforce the necessity for annual check-ups would drive the growth of healthcare sector further, Dr. Damodar said.