Draft Report of the High Level Group on Services Sector

Table 5a   Costs of selected procedures in selected countries (US $s) 

Procedure	Thailand	India	Singapore	US	UK
Heart bypass graft surgery	7,894	6,000	10,417	23,938	19,700
Heart valve replacement	10,000	8,000	12,500	2,00,000	90,000
Angioplasty	13,000	11,000	13,000	31,000– 70,000	---
Hip replacement	12,000	9,000	12,000	22,000-53000	---
Hysterectomy	10,000	---	13,000	---	---
Bone marrow transplant	----	30,000	---	2,50,000-4,00,000	150,000
Liver transplant	----	40,000- 69,000	---	3,00,000-5,00,000	200,000
Neurosurgery	----	800	---	29,000
Knee surgery	8,000	2,000-4,500	---	16,000- 20,000	12,000
Cosmetic surgery	3,500	2,000	---	20,000	10,000

Source: Burrill India Life Sciences Quarterly-January 2007, Arunanondchqair and Fink (December 2005), CUTS (2007), Abinid, Alavi, and Kamaruddin (2005), Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre Limited (2007), and various web sources. (Cited from Smith,R., R. Chanda and Tangcharoensathien, ‘Trade in health-related services’, The Lancet, Elsevier Publishers, UK)
The competitiveness of India in medical value travel is enhanced by the attractiveness of the alternative systems of medicine, Ayurveda in particular, for the foreign tourists. A large number of tourists, both domestic and foreign, undergo treatment under Ayurveda not only for improving their fitness and well-being but also for curing many types of chronic diseases. For the regulation of Ayurveda clinics and for ensuring that they employ techniques in accordance with traditional methods the Ministry of Health has issued guidelines to be used by the States. Accordingly Kerala, the most popular destination for tourists for treatment under Ayurveda has promulgated an Ordinance regulating Ayurveda Health Centres. The Ordinance requires registration of such centres and prescribes the facilities and medical staff that they must have in order to run them. The unique position that Kerala enjoys with respect to Ayurveda is due to the fact that the treatment in the State has proved effective in dealing with certain diseases, which are incurable by other systems. The State is also well endowed with herbs and medicinal plants, which are used for treatment.