Footfalls are up, but international patients a concern, says Manipal Hospitals CEO

BENGALURU: Hospital footfalls are up, after falling sharply during the stringent lockdown in April. And while footfalls are expected generally to return to pre-Covid levels over the next few months, a major uncertainty is around patients from overseas, which account for 10-20% of the revenue of Indian hospitals.


Manipal Hospitals CEO Dilip Jose told TOI that footfalls in April dropped to 30% of the normal, but are now back up at about 60%. “The government had asked hospitals (in March) to stop non-essential procedures. But now we are again fully functional,” he said.

Jose indicated that some are still a little wary of coming to hospitals. Those who are coming now are those who can’t wait too long. “Those requiring dermatology, ophthalmology or dental procedures will probably wait. In dental, we are still doing only emergency work, in line with the government’s request, since doctors work very close to a patient’s face,” he said.

Given the general social distancing requirements, OPD treatments may not be the same for some time. “Suppose we were seeing 1,000 patients in 6 hours, with the new norms, we will have to change the duration and way OPD functions,” Jose said.

International patients is a worry. India is a prime destination for medical treatment for patients from Africa, West Asia, and neighbouring countries, especially Bangladesh. Some 6 lakh patients come every year and spend about $9 billion, according to the government. India is technically very good, and treatments are cheaper than in many other locations. An Indian government website says the cost of treatment for leukemia is 10-20 times less in India than in other countries. For many other treatments too, India is cheaper.

But patients have alternatives. Turkey is among them, and Jose said Turkey opened up medical travel a couple of weeks ago. “A patient in Iraq or Nigeria, they could go to Turkey, even if it is a little more expensive, and especially if it is urgent. The government should keep this in mind. Once things stabilise, we should also open up slowly. Losing this advantage may not be good in the long run,” Jose said. About 8-10% of Manipal’s revenue comes from international patients.

A gain from the lockdown has been an increase in patients’ comfort with video consultations. Such consultations went up during the lockdown, but have now begun to taper off, since people can come to hospitals. Jose thinks the video mode may become a preferred one for follow-ups. “Also, it has helped us go beyond our traditional footprints – for instance, patients in Jammu have been calling up our Delhi doctors,” he said.