East African hospitals have been advised to find ways of marketing
available medical services to potential clients within and outside the
region. PHOTO | FILE
By GILBERT MWIJUKE
In Summary
- An estimated 100,000 East African patients travel to India annually to avoid long waiting lists and the high costs of treatment at home.
Rising medical bills and long wait-times within East African
hospitals are forcing many patients to travel abroad to seek medical
treatment, a regional health conference was told on Tuesday.
The 4th annual East Africa Healthcare Federation conference,
which was held in Kigali, Rwanda, on 17-19 May, was told that the
outbound medical tourism is also intensified by the perceived low
quality of medical services at home and limited proactive marketing.
"For a number of years we have seen patients travelling abroad
and spending money that could have been invested in our economy," Sam
Were, an official from the Kenya's health ministry said in a
presentation on emerging trends in medical travel and tourism in the
East African region.
An estimated 100,000 East African patients travel to India
annually to avoid long waiting lists and the high costs of treatment at
home.
India is among countries that offer the cheapest medical care in
the world. For instance, a kidney transplant in the country costs
$17,000, including travel costs, compared to about $20,000 in East
Africa.
Treatment for cancer costs $25,000 in India while patients in
East African hospitals are likely to part with at least $150,000 for the
entire treatment.
The conference participants noted that most patients who travel
abroad are those seeking treatment for pediatric eye diseases, cornea
diseases, refractive surgery, vitreoretinal diseases, high tech cataract
surgery and orbit and oculoplastics among other diseases.
During the conference, it was noted that outbound medical
tourism can be reversed if East African countries partner with overseas
hospitals to tap into their expertise.
"The first step is to look for partnerships with overseas
hospitals that are adept at treating particular diseases," said Dr John
Nkurikiye, a top Kigali ophthalmologist who a few years ago inked a
partnership deal with Dr Agarwals's Eye Hospitals of India to set up a
branch in Kigali.
Dr Nkurikiye said he looked to India because the populous Asian country "is doing well" in the field of ophthalmology.
Such partnerships, he said, have improved the quality of
treatment for eye diseases in Rwanda – thereby decreasing the number of
eye patients travelling abroad and a surge in the number of foreigners
seeking treatment in Kigali, particularly from Uganda, Burundi and the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
"The most important thing is to satisfy the local market. If
patients at home trust you then you will easily get clients from other
countries," Dr Nkurikiye said.
East African hospitals and clinics were also advised to find
ways of marketing available medical services to potential clients within
and outside the region.
"We have to invest in marketing of our services for patients to
know that they don't have to travel abroad for services that can be
accessed at home," Dr Nkurikiye said
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