The panoramic beauty of Jammu and Kashmir may soon be augmented by unparalleled medical treatment facilities. Jammu and Kashmir has a pool of cost effective medical facilities and qualified health care professionals that makes it the ideal spot to become the next big medical tourism hub in India.
Leading doctors in Jammu and Kashmir got together for the 55th Annual Conference of Indian Association of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons (IACTS) The event was held at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convocation Centre in May 2009, and on the agenda was the topic of how feasible it was to promote Kashmir as a medical tourism destination. The three day conference witnessed more that 150 papers being read on cardio vascular and thoracic surgery.
The Governor of Kashmir, NN Vohra also spoke on the occasion. He called attention to the need for cashing in on this opportunity, as it would greatly benefit Jammu and Kashmir monetarily and would speed up the state’s general development. The Governor pointed out the results of certain studies that predicted an earning potential of 2 to 2.5 billion dollars every year if the medical tourism graph continued to skyrocket at its present rate.
The doctors, who attended the event, predicted that plastic surgery, neurology, rheumatology, hematology and cardiology are the areas that can be promoted for the growth of medical tourism in the state. Health care professionals hope that the conference provides a boost to medical travel to the state and puts the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) on the world medical map.
SKIMS, being a government institution, boasts an incredibly high level of cost-effectiveness. The Cardio Vascular and Thoracic Surgery Department Head at SKIMS said that surgeries would cost 25% less in Jammu and Kashmir than if performed in New Delhi. The cost is almost 95% less than in Europe and 98.5% less than in the United States. That is tremendous cost savings by any standard.
Bookmark/Share:
Related Stories
