Heal in India, Heal by India, Heal from India

India presented a "Heal in India," "Heal by India," and "Heal from India" strategy at the conclusion of the first Health Working Group Meeting of the G20 India Presidency in January 2023.

Dr. V K Paul, a member of the NITI Aayog, gave the keynote address on medical value travel (MVT). He said that the Indian government will soon launch a "Heal in India" initiative to leverage its healthcare services for international patients, a "Heal by India" initiative to send healthcare workers to other countries, and a "Heal from India" initiative to capitalize on India's strength in the telemedicine sector.

In addition, Dr. Paul advocated for the expansion of traditional medical practices like Ayurveda into the MVT industry. He emphasized the necessity of developing a robust and long-lasting MVT framework, stating that MVT is experiencing a combined annual growth rate of over 23%. According to him, MVT ought to zero in on keeping up with, improving, or reestablishing health through clinical mediation rather than the familiar speech of visiting one more country to look for drug.

'œIt can be achieved by providing access to quality and cost-effective medical care, transparent pricing, seamless travel to medical value travel destinations, attainment of Universal Health Coverage and ensuring low waiting time for medical treatment.' - Dr. V K Paul

Dr. Paul emphasized the need for effective governance and a policy framework, including the establishment of a Medical Value Travel (MVT) agency and board, as well as the need to strengthen the ecosystem for MVT. He emphasized the necessity of developing standards and accreditation for medical travel facilitators and healthcare facilities, and he advocated for making MVT digitization possible. He further featured the requirement for ensuring accessibility of medical insurance portability and inclusion of traditional systems of medicine under insurance policies at the global level, upgrading accessibility and patient experience through a liberalized visa contract and further developed air network and capacity building of healthcare ventures and staff.

Dr. Paul emphasized that a destination's attractiveness can be enhanced by creating an ecosystem of high quality, low waiting times for treatment, affordability, expertise in healthcare services, ease of communication, incorporation of technological advancements, and availability of medical insurance. In this regard, he urged the countries that are members of the G20 to work together to achieve universal health coverage, to establish sustainable collaborations between government, industry, academia, and experts to make healthcare and wellness services accessible, to increase the global utilization of resources, and to create a resilient MVT ecosystem in order to guarantee that everyone has equal access to affordable, high-quality healthcare without putting them in a financial bind.