Summary:
AJ Hospital treated 10 foreign patients in 2016-17, 55 patients in 2017-18 and 73 in 2018-19. This number is likely to increase, provided we keep giving quality treatment,” said cardiologist Dr Padmanabah Kamath.Dr Sachidananda Rai, president, IMA, Mangaluru, said patients from the Gulf region and African countries had taken a liking to getting medical treatment in Mangaluru, and that the city was slowly opening up to Westerners for medical tourism. Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada district is slowly opening up to medical tourism and the increasing number of patients from across the globe serve a testimony to this.In the last three years, as many as 240 foreigners have availed treatment in three prominent hospitals in the city. While the city is yet to carve its niche in the West due to lack of publicity, affordability and hospitality is what is currently driving patients from the Gulf and Africa to this coastal city. Use of ultramodern technology is another reason, as the patients say they are satisfied with the quality of service and treatment.Currently, the highest inflow of foreign patients into Mangaluru is from the Gulf countries..