Medical tourism: a lucrative hub in the making

One of the core ambitions linked to the economic development of Mauritius is its positioning as a medical hub in the Indian Ocean region. While the private health care industry already boasts of world-class facilities, several hurdles remain to be crossed prior to reaping the full benefits medical tourism epitomises.

The Mauritian private healthcare sector has undergone a major transformation over the last few years with the emergence of the medical tourism industry. Several clinics are equipped with state-of-the art infrastructure and highly-qualified personnel with a view to attract foreign clients and position Mauritius as a medical hub in the Indian Ocean region.

The island comprised 17 multispecialty clinics, 11 private specia-lised clinics and 28 medical laboratories as at 2012, while 21,346 foreign patients travelled to Mauritius for medical services during the same year.

According to Valérie Rawat, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Apollo Bramwell Hospital, which has attracted patients from countries in the region, such as Madagascar, Seychelles, Mayotte, Comoros and Reunion island, there has been a considerable increase in the number of foreign patients who visited the island between 2005 and 2009, while in 2010, over 10,000 patients chose Mauritius as a medical destination.

The country hopes to reach 100,000 patients by 2020. Hence, this market has the potential to contribute up to $ 1 billion to the Mauritian economy, she states. “The country’s ambition of becoming a medical hub is perfectly legitimate, and private clinics have an important role to play in this area. Mauritius has built a solid reputation as a centre of medical excellence in the region and the constant increase in the number of foreign patients that have come to Mauritius over the past few years demonstrate that medical tourism is a promising sector,” highlights Valerie Rawat.

Medical tourism: Mauritius ready to treat foreign patients

Patients choose to travel nowadays because they know they can find quality healthcare in emerging countries, and usually at affordable costs. Mauritius fits into this description and has the advantage of being politically stable, easily accessible by plane with an ideal geographic location between Asia and Africa.

It is bolstered by the potential of this industry as an important source of revenue that the Nouvelle Clinique Ferrière, the oldest clinic of the island, is currently studying the feasibility of a project to attract foreign patients from the neighbouring Indian Ocean Islands and Eastern and Southern Africa, for which an investment of Rs 10 million has been earmarked. “There are some interesting initiatives in this sector. Medical excellence should be promoted as a pre-requisite. We anticipate that medical tourism will contribute around Rs 5 million to our turnover within five years’ time,” says Donald Ha Yeung, Manager of the clinic.

In spite of the promise that this sector bears, several issues remain to be addressed before the complete positioning of Mauritius as a medical hub. Simmardeep Gill, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Fortis Clinique Darné, which celebrated its diamond jubilee last year, notes that the island is ready in terms of infrastructure and skills to treat foreign patients. Medical tourism currently contributes around 7 to 8 per cent the clinic’s turnover. The difficulty, according to him, lies in attracting the market and cost-effectiveness of services. “We are currently receiving patients from Madagascar, Seychelles and Comoros but there is the potential to target patients from the African continent,” he states.

The African clientele however prefers to fly to India for medical services, given that it offers much cheaper alternative. There are hospitals in India, he pursues, that have mastered the skill of pricing along with their skills and which are able to offer cardiac bypass surgery, for example, to patients in around $ 3,000 while such an intervention would not be possible in Mauritius for anything than $ 7,000.

India, a competitor in the medical hub sphere

“The cost of the medical procedures, along with the cost of flying, hotel and clinic stays matter equally to the patient. It is bundled into a package and compared to other destinations. India is our direct competitor in the medical hub sphere, since it is able to attract the African clientele we should be getting. The Fortis network runs a lot of hospitals in India which are sometimes 30 per cent occupied by African patients,” notes Simmardeep Gill. The latter points out the issue of flight connectivity and pricing of air tickets. The real solution, according to him, to transform Mauritius into a medical hub is for the health care industry, the hospitality sector, the government and the aviation sector to find a mutual solution for the reduction of air ticket prices.

“These bodies need to work out a joint package for patients, which is exactly what Indian clinics are doing right now. Even $ 100 matter to the budget-conscious patient. This cannot be achieved individually,” he affirms. Mauritius, he adds, will not be able to bring down its medical costs to the same level as India but does benefit from its unique selling point: its beaches. This could add spice to the whole package being proposed to the client, giving him the incentive to pay a little extra for discovering the island.

“I am confident in the potential of the medical tourism for Mauritius; we just have to get this jigsaw puzzle right. If we start tackling these issues right away, we will be able to emerge as a medical hub in less than five years. Fortis Clinique Darné anticipates that this sector will contribute 25 to 30 per cent to its turnover in the future,” points out Simmardeep Gill.

Chantal Scaramella, Manager of the Centre de Chirurgie Esthétique de l’Océan Indien, shares this view as well. Mauritius, according to her, possesses the best assets for medical tourism. Nonetheless, adaptation and reactivity are needed to keep this sector buoyant. Competition in this field is tough and certain low-cost destinations such as Thailand, Malaysia, Tunisia, Morocco and Turkey can represent a real danger to the growth of this
sector.

“Government was wise in not taxing medical services, which would have killed this source of revenue for the country. There is yet a lack of financial incentives in this sector. The first step to be taken is the creation of promotional packages by airline companies for medical travel,” she suggests. The clinic anticipates growth of 20 to 30 per cent of turnover from medical tourism in two years’ time.

For Dr. Mukesh Sooknundun from Clinique du Nord, the country could certainly benefit from a softening in legislation and a reduction in cost in order to propel the industry. While expressing confidence in the potential medical tourism represents, he observes that efforts will also be required for Mauritius to prove itself as a cheaper and more reliable destination. There is however unanimous consensus on one point: medical tourism has a long way to go on the island and the concept of medical hub is slowly but surely getting out of its embryonic phase.

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