Healthcare Industry is a booming industry in India and provides employment opportunities to 5 millions of people. There is always a Shortage of hospital beds and talents which results in a constant demand in the industry. Every year around 2 million medical tourism patients visit India from 78 countries for various Iow to high-end treatments. Coimbatore is getting a reasonable number of patients from various countries. Coimbatore is equipped to handle medical tourism patients seamlessly. Some of the important areas of our City is focussed to attract medical tourism patients across the world.
Dr.Nalla G Palaniswami Chairman & Managing Director, KMCH.
What are the initiatives have your corporate multi-center hospital undertaken to establish yourselves as a medical tourism destination?
First and foremost is having a comprehensive facility under one roof. Almost all specialities are available within our campus with latest state of the art technology. We can proudly say that our management is never tired of investing in newer technology and hiring talents. Our hospital is Quality certified by NABH, NABL and ISO. Most of the patients are very particular about this aspect, which we are already holding. Almost all healthcare service providers are familiar with English language which medical tourism patients feel at ease. To make them comfortable, we have translators for different languages, who will be there during their stay. The cost of treatment in India is almost 50% cheaper than developed countries. With us, it will be still cheaper but with quality at par with any known brands. There is a separate team dedicated right from attending queries, assisting visa formalities, booking tickets, receiving and sending them off to their home town. From landing at Coimbatore till boarding , there will be a dedicated person allocated to be with them. We have priority at each touch points so that there is less waiting time.
Based on patient’s need we arrange tour to nearby places like Ooty, Kodai, Kerala, etc. We are doing promotional activities consistently in international magazines to create awareness. We conduct many activities on focussed countries to improve the foot fall. We have multi-cuisine restaurant to meet their need.
For which all medical treatments do people come to hospitals in Coimbatore?
Coimbatore is a medical hub and it is blessed with all high-end hospitals. Many medical tourism patients are coming for Nephrology, Urology, Cardiac surgeries, Neuro surgeries, Spine surgeries, Oncology treatments, Ortho and Gastro procedures. Patients are coming from Bangladesh, Comoros, Maldives, Muscat, Nepal, Nigeria, Sudan, Srilanka, Tanzania, USA, UK, Yemen etc.
“We expect that the Coimbatore connectivity will be better and many more international flights will land directly so that the medical tourism will get a big boost.”
What are your thoughts on the higher health index in Coimbatore?
As per the data, almost one in eight doctors available in the country is from Tamil Nadu. We hold 12% of the total doctors of the country, while Maharashtra is holding 15% of the total number of doctors of the country. This ratio applies to Coimbatore also to have higher health index. Health awareness with the Coimbatore population is better than other cities. They do not ignore health, when needed. Due to fast pace of industrialisation, health awareness has increased, which is also one of the reasons for growth of healthcare industry in Coimbatore. The accessibility, availability and affordability of this population are reasonably good when compared to other cities. Establishment of many larger hospitals and individual speciality centres have prevented patients moving from Coimbatore to other places for treatments. Adding to this there are 5 medical college hospitals, which are taking care of the un- affordable population but with quality treatments. Alternative medicines are also popular in this city which takes care of those interested in Yoga, Ayurveda, etc.
What are the hospital’s upcoming plans of expansion and strategies for the future?
Though there are lot of demand from various patients’ population to start hospitals at other areas of Tamil Nadu, we are very keen in consolidating at the main centre. We are planning for high-end newer equipment to upgrade technology. Our focus will be towards Robotic and AI based systems. Our next stage would be to auto posting of vitals of the patients at fixed intervals without manual intervention. Many smart and automated systems are in the pipeline to improve operational efficiency.
We are planning to add 100 more beds in the main centre to expand our day care facility.
Apart from this we have a plan to start an exclusive 500 bed children’s hospital. We also have a plan to start a 500-bed hospital in Chennai in the main area whose planning is under way. In and around Coimbatore, we may establish few peripheral centres apart from Erode, Sulur, Kovilpalayam and City centre that are already operational. This may happen in a phased manner.
Dr.Arun N Palaniswami Executive Director, KMCH.
Could you provide us a brief overview of the medical professionals and specialists within your hospital’s medical community?
We have a strong, dedicated talented doctor’s pool available. They are our backbone. Their dedicated service and TEAM work is the secret of our success. Many of the doctors stay with us for more than 30 years. Many star doctors are with us for a longer time who get referral from all over India. Doctors are given full freedom to practice and we do not have any target to anyone. A dedicated marketing team is available for departmental promotion.
National and International conferences are encouraged. Among the doctors, there is a healthy understanding and decisions on treatments are taken jointly, which is most beneficial to the patient. Our whole system works on Patient Centric and doctors are also cultured in the same way.
Each department is transformed into a Centre of Excellence by its own, having all high end technology, talents and related supporting facilities around them. This will avoid unnecessary movement of patients from one place to another.
“Our whole system works on Patient Centric and doctors are also cultured in the same way. ”
What is your vision for the healthcare in Coimbatore five years from now?
Over a period of 5 years Coimbatore healthcare will be brighter and more potential. Few more medical colleges and hospitals are expected to improve the healthcare facility of un affordable population. Quality care is going to be the order of the day and there will be preference from patients, while choosing a hospital.
Few hospitals may get JCI accreditation to improve the quality healthcare of Coimbatore. Hospitals will be more of Robotic system and AI based applications.
Hospitals will be migrated to paperless functioning. Many apps would get introduced to make the patient’s experience smooth and seamless.
Waiting time would considerably reduce and acceptance of telemedicine will be more. More Palliative care facilities will come up as the old age population is more in Coimbatore.
Few mergers and acquisitions may take place.
We expect that the Coimbatore connectivity will be better and many more international flights will land directly so that the medical tourism will get a big boost.
Webiste: https://www.kmchhospitals.com/
