India compete for Medical Tourism

India is forecast to have three percent of the global medical tourism market by the end of 2013, according to a piece published by the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. But it wants much more. That's why the Indian healhcare industry felt unfairly singled out by President Obama when he criticized medical tourism in April.

India hopes to use medical tourism to build its healthcare infrastructure. While it has well trained doctors and up-to-date hospitals, healthcare remains out of the reach of many Indians. Dollars flowing in from outside the country could help fix that.

"India's potential is huge," said Rana Mehta, executive director of PricewaterhouseCoopers India, in the Wharton piece.  "Some 80 percent of foreign patients coming to India are from the neighboring countries and from Iraq, Afghanistan, the former Soviet Union, etc., and now increasingly from Africa. But now, with India proving itself as a credible provider of value healthcare, the Western population aging, and healthcare becoming more difficult there, I expect more people to come from the U.S. and the U.K."