Mumbai: Even as the Indian healthcare
industry is growing at an annual rate of 15 per cent, it
requires an investment of USD 80 billion to be at par with
advanced countries, a top official of a consulting company
on Thursday said.
"Though it has undergone a sea-change overcoming
challenges like malnutrition and infant mortality, it still
lags behind several developed countries," Technopak Advisors
Vice President (Healthcare) Rana Mehta said during a
healthcare conference here today.
India has made considerable progress in the last few
years by overcoming issues like malnutrition, infant and
maternal mortality, but the country is way behind developed
nations when it comes to bed-to-population ratio, he said.
The bed-to-population ratio is nine beds per 10,000
people in India as against the world average of 40 beds per
10,000, according to a recent report.
The need of the hour is public-private-partnership as 80
per cent of urban and 58 per cent of the rural population
today undergoes treatment in private clinics, he said.
With changing lifestyle and a developing economy, the
spending in healthcare is also likely to go up to USD
70 billion in the next few years.
With an annual rate of 15 per cent, the industry is
currently pegged at USD 37 billion, he said.
He also said medical tourism in India is expected to rise
to USD 1,250 million by 2012.
PTI
