India’s medical tourism is gearing up for AI

The tourism industry is finally making it out of the woods after the pandemic as the world is opening up day by day. The hospitality,healthcare and tourism sectors are witnessing a re-emergence. During the pandemic, many industries were compelled to go digital and transfer their manual operations online. Technological developments saw a rise as more and more businesses started utilising various kinds of online services that were required by them to keep their work operational during COVID.The spotlight, although, was stolen by the medical industries and businesses who made the best out of the opportunity and developed several ways to ease the processes of many of their operations. From blood reports to dated appointments for RT-PCR tests, everything was sorted and lined up by the help of several apps that came into play at that time.India has always been an ideal destination for people who seek to visit the country for its medical facilities.The medical tourism sector of India is an untapped space that needs to be focused on, as it can turn India into one of the most popular destinations for medical urgencies. 

“There is a need to reinvent the medical tourism industry by making it AI-enabled. Post the pandemic, medical tourism has been affected because people are not moving as freely as they used to and are also economically drained out,” says Dr Bharat Rawat, Associate Director Cardiology, Medanta Hospital, Indore.

According to a study by NASSCOM, as far as investments by both public and private players to bolster the quality and coverage of medical products and services is concerned, India still ranks low on the Healthcare Access and Quality (HAQ) index, and the sector faces several challenges too.                                   We are in an era of technological transformation. Change is not just an option but a necessity for the medical tourism and healthcare sectors now. The potential that this transformation holds is immense. It can be revolutionary if optimized well with the core of an organisation’s operations and management. AI has the ability to enhance and give solutions to healthcare facilities in order to make them more accessible to patients.

The road ahead                                                                                            

Governments and industries alike are making efforts to further excel in the field of healthcare. The aspects that need focus are still being recognised and work is being done to improve and modernise them. Great healthcare facilities and enhanced medical tourism go hand in hand.

“The role of AI is increasing. More and more hospitals are using technology to their advantage to help patients. Quality management systems are in place and protocols are being followed. These protocols can be checked better through AI. We are not yet using AI to treat a patient directly, but it is slowly coming up as an assisting tool,” points out Dr Rawat.

A change is on the horizon. AI is in the process of being included in every sector and its pace will further gain momentum. There will be a lot of opportunities created by and for the tourism and healthcare sectors in the near future.With progression, the sectors of medical tourism and healthcare in the country will be able to attain the heights of the global standards of excellence. The various efforts being made by the government and the private sector in this regard indicate a profitable future for the healthcare and medical tourism sectors of India.

Source : https://smefutures.com/