Faiza Tehseen

Pakistan can tap its potential in “medical tourism” with little focus as it provides low-cost quality treatment for different diseases as compared to other countries, particularly the developed nations. There is huge potential to turn Pakistan into a “medical hub” by providing quality Medicare by fast-tracking visa processing for visitors, launching promotional campaigns, and providing adequate security to foreigners. Pakistan can become one of the most favoured countries for foreigners seeking cost-effective and quality treatment, thus promoting medical tourism. The global value of medical tourism is projected to reach $53.51 billion by 2028 at a compound annual growth rate of 21.1%.

Talking about promoting medical tourism and hospitality segment in Pakistan, Managing Director of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) Aftabur Rahman told WealthPK medical tourism had potential for development as Pakistan offered low-cost treatment for different diseases compared to regional and developed countries, thus enticing patients from across the world to come here. He said in the past, most people travelled from less developed countries to developed ones to seek medical care best suitable to their budgets. “But now, people from developed countries travel to less-developed nations to get low-cost medical aid or easy-to-get cost-effective therapy protocols approved by the worldwide medical agencies like the Food and Drug Administration of the US, etc.”

Rahman said countries had their own organisations to evaluate whether the same therapy protocol would be cost-effective in other countries. He said patients from the United Kingdom, the United States, the Middle East, and Afghanistan visited Pakistan because of expensive treatment in their own countries and a lack of insurance coverage. “PTDC and other agencies are working to promote this tourism segment for the greater benefit of the country. We are also planning to provide a host of trained tourist guides, especially Medicare tourists, for the training of paramedics with a multiple linguistics approach.”  Speaking to WealthPK, Dr Sabina Durrani, focal person on medical tourism of the Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination (MNHSRC), said being one of the largest medical services providers worldwide, Pakistan’s institutions were ensuring compliance with international protocols of hospitality and care.

“Highly trained Medicare professionals and specialist doctors in their relevant fields are the pride of Pakistan.” She said most often medical tourism was undertaken for different medical reasons, including surgeries (cosmetic or otherwise), fertility, dental treatment, psychiatric therapy, alternative medicine, convalescent care, organ or tissue transplant, cancer treatment, etc. She said MNHSRC had also set up a website dedicated to providing comprehensive information about the medical treatments available in the country. “It is ensured the best possible facilities are extended to the travellers arriving in Pakistan to seek treatment for different ailments,” Sabina Durrani said.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk