Healthcare in India is at a very nascent stage and is undergoing a paradigm shift from a static status to dynamic status. The growth trend of this industry is amazing. From $45 billion in 2008, the industry has grown to $110 billion in 2016 and is expected to touch $280 billion by 2020. The market is recording a growth rate of 16.5 percent CAGR and expected to show 23.0 percent in 2020. As the quality of treatment in India is at par with any of the western countries and the treatment is cheaper than those countries, many foreign patients visit India for their treatment. Most of the advanced procedures and technologies used in developed countries are available in India also. Medical tourism is expected to grow from the present $3 billion to $8 billion by 2020. As the healthcare leaders in India are conscious of quality delivery, many hospitals are opting for quality accreditation. In India, 31 hospitals were so far accredited by JCI (Joint Commission International) for quality. JCI is the gold seal for quality healthcare delivery system. India holds the highest number of JCI certified hospitals next to U.S. Apart from this, India is having accreditation program customized for Indian hospitals which is called NABH (National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers). There are 443 hospitals accredited by NABH so far and many hospitals are in the process of getting this accreditation.

For the growth of Indian healthcare industry, there are many factors responsible. The important among them are raising income, affordability of the population, insurance penetration, increased average life span of the population, encouraging medical tourism flow, changing disease pattern, and other aspects. Due to advanced technologies available in the delivery system, the average life span has increased from 62.3 years to 67.3 years for males and 63.9 years to 69.6 years for females from 2005 to 2015. This leads to a growing old age population. Better immunization and nutrition combined with prevention and treatment of infectious disease has contributed for this. India is now facing a major challenge as far as the disease pattern is concerned. Earlier, we were facing communicable diseases like Malaria and Tuberculosis. But now, we were threatened by non-communicable diseases like blood pressure, diabetics, and heart attacks.

The infrastructure and investments for treating communicable diseases are very low; but for non-communicable diseases, there is a heavy investments required. Hence requirement of more and more specialty hospitals are needed to meet the demand. As the government is unable to allot sufficient budget for the healthcare, many private players have utilized this opportunity to tap the potential. 74 percent of the hospitals are with private players in India. The Indian government has allocated 2.5 percent in the 12th plan for healthcare which is the least, whereas U.S. allocates 18 percent, which is the highest. For the growth of the industry, the government has friendly policies and encourages entrepreneurs by allowing various incentives and concessions.

As the quality of treatment in India is at par with any of the western countries and the treatment is cheaper than those countries, many foreign patients visit India for their treatment

Technological advancements in Indian healthcare industry are enormous. Now our doctors can transplant of kidney, liver, heart, lung, bone marrow, eye, skin and so on. Good news is that the number of people who are willing to donate their organ is increasing. Apart from cadaver transplants, live transplants are also increasing. It is the process of giving another life term for the needy patients. Defects in fetal are detected and getting rectified before birth to save the life of the child. To achieve precision results, robotic surgeries are performed. In this, doctors can sit outside the operation theatre and instruct the robotic machine to do the surgery at ease. While clinical technologies are at the peak, the non-clinical side is also growing at a faster rate. Now patients are able to choose the doctor and fix appointment at their convenient time. Their medical records are digitized and accessible at remote. Due to this the continuity of treatment is maintained.

To utilize the natural resources, healthcare leaders are serious in adopting Green concept. Green hospitals are not only helping the patient to recover faster but also remove fatigue and give freshness to the staff and doctors. When the patients are recovering faster, doctors and staff gets motivated. Using natural energy like solar power, wind power etc. will protect ultimately the environment and save lot of money. This drastically reduces the operational cost of the hospital. Properly ventilated hospitals will have less use of power. By using solar hot waters, again the consumption of electricity is reduced. Use of LED bulbs, saves the environment and reduces the consumption of power. Installing VFD and building management system reduces the work load and power bill. The effluent water coming out of the hospitals are processed properly through sewage treatment plant and getting re-used for flushing and gardening. This will reduce the load on corporation drainage system. Keeping greenery around the hospital keeps the patient and attenders very pleasant and ease. Green concept is picking up and adopted in many hospitals.

The present system of approaching hospital after falling sick to be changed to preventive health steps for a healthy life. Changing life style, disciplined food habits, mild to moderate exercise and health check at regular intervals are few initiatives which lead to a healthy life. India has the capacity to customize the delivery system to suit any one at an affordable cost. By increasing fund allocation by the government and making the infrastructure available, more and more population can be accessible at an affordable cost.