BANGALORE: “Just as China became, in a few years, the manufacturing base for the world, India will become a major medical hub ,” says Dr D. Premachandra Sagar, vice-chairman and CEO of Sagar Apollo Hospital.

And Bangalore, with its leadership in the remote delivery of IT services and cost competitiveness is likely to emerge as a main health tourism destination within the country. “The mantra is price,” says Dr Sagar.

A few global trends favour India. The healthcare systems in Europe and in the United States are facing a major crisis, notably the National Health Service in the UK.

As of today, patients have the choice between waiting for up to one year to get treated in a public hospital, or turning themselves towards the very expensive private sector.

“A cardiac procedure costs $40,000 to $60,000 in the United States, $30,000 in Singapore, $12,000 to $15,000 in Thailand and only $3,000 to $6,000 in India,” said Dr Sagar.

On an average, prices here are “1/5 to 1/8th of those in the United States,” R Basil, CEO of Manipal hospital, told ET. Moreover, “today, there is not one operation that cannot be done in our hospital and which is done abroad,” said Dr. Sagar.

“And the success rate of cardiac bypasses is of 98.7% in India, as opposed to only 97.5% in the United States,” he added. India’s healthcare industry is thus both competitive on cost and quality.

Yet, the psychological factor is huge in patients making a decision about their doctor, or hospital and India’s image abroad is not yet that of a high-tech health destination.