5 ms·

Can people in now go to India on medical tourism and get the treatment much cheaper?

by pkaye 12y ago

girishso 12y ago
Not only that, I think Indian pharmas can market the drug as generic in USA too. I am not really an expert in legal stuff though.
- pkaye 12y ago
  I feel if companies want to operate globally then consumers so be able operate globally.
- PhantomGremlin 12y ago
  Before you all rush out to book your flights to India to stock up on inexpensive generic drugs, read this article: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-06/flies-found-by-fda-threaten-indian-town-built-on-generics.html http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-06/flies-found-by-fda-... It's a link I posted in this[1] HN discussion. Any amount of Google-fu can turn up a plethora of similar articles. I hope you're feeling lucky, because IMO the potency and efficacy of Indian generics is very hit or miss. I don't mean to single India out. The "race to the bottom" is one of the overarching global themes of the previous few decades of late stage capitalism. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8773481 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8773481
  - MichaelGG 12y ago
    Or this article: http://fortune.com/2013/05/15/dirty-medicine/http://fortune.com/2013/05/15/dirty-medicine/ http://fortune.com/2013/05/15/dirty-medicine/http://fortune.... Basically the largest Indian Pharma company is corrupt to the core. Falsifying records, blatantly disregarding scientific method, omitting even basic engineering practises, lying on regulatory submissions, etc. The FDA only does bans on a per-facility basis, so Sun (which acquired Ranbaxy) can continue to sell many things so long the FDA has not shut down that specific location. Even in non-Indian locations, the plants were terribly run. One Ranbaxy location in NJ shipped pills with glass in them. (And was penalized by a temporary restriction on selling the pills.)
    - pkaye 12y ago
      There are certainly issues of concern and needs to be improved. There have been recalls and bans elsewhere also. Ultimately though given the state of the medical industry in the US, if the only choices are get in insurmountable debts or die due to lack of medical care, a third option of affordable medicine and some small risk might be worthwhile.
vishnugupta 12y ago
This has always been the case [1] :-). Medicines and medical care in India is cheaper, by many folds, compared to US. Anecdotaly, whenever my Indian friends working in US visit India (parents, family) one thing they never forget is to visit dentists. I initially found it very surprising but understood their reasoning when I came to know that in US you can easily go bankrupt due to medical condition, something that's unheard of in India. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_tourism_in_India http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_tourism_in_India
- pradn 12y ago
  It's hard for me to believe that people don't run out of money getting treatment in India. While prices for medical goods and services are lower than the United States, many Indians can't afford all the care they need.
- gryph0n 12y ago
  >>something that's unheard of in India. Maybe not if you're in the 'upper middle class'. If you're from the lower income classes (maids, drivers, helpers), it's very likely that health issues can bankrupt you. I personally know an entire family that has sunk into debt that they couldn't possibly pay-off, due to health related expenses for someone in the family.
tn13 12y ago
Yes of course.
tn13 12y ago
Yes of course.

Can people in now go to India on medical tourism and get the treatment much cheaper?

by pkaye 12y ago

Can people in now go to India on medical tourism and get the treatment much cheaper?

Not only that, I think Indian pharmas can market the drug as generic in USA too. I am not really an expert in legal stuff though.

pkaye 12y ago
I feel if companies want to operate globally then consumers so be able operate globally.
PhantomGremlin 12y ago
Before you all rush out to book your flights to India to stock up on inexpensive generic drugs, read this article: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-06/flies-found-by-fda-threaten-indian-town-built-on-generics.html http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-06/flies-found-by-fda-... It's a link I posted in this[1] HN discussion. Any amount of Google-fu can turn up a plethora of similar articles. I hope you're feeling lucky, because IMO the potency and efficacy of Indian generics is very hit or miss. I don't mean to single India out. The "race to the bottom" is one of the overarching global themes of the previous few decades of late stage capitalism. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8773481 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8773481
- MichaelGG 12y ago
  Or this article: http://fortune.com/2013/05/15/dirty-medicine/http://fortune.com/2013/05/15/dirty-medicine/ http://fortune.com/2013/05/15/dirty-medicine/http://fortune.... Basically the largest Indian Pharma company is corrupt to the core. Falsifying records, blatantly disregarding scientific method, omitting even basic engineering practises, lying on regulatory submissions, etc. The FDA only does bans on a per-facility basis, so Sun (which acquired Ranbaxy) can continue to sell many things so long the FDA has not shut down that specific location. Even in non-Indian locations, the plants were terribly run. One Ranbaxy location in NJ shipped pills with glass in them. (And was penalized by a temporary restriction on selling the pills.)
  - pkaye 12y ago
    There are certainly issues of concern and needs to be improved. There have been recalls and bans elsewhere also. Ultimately though given the state of the medical industry in the US, if the only choices are get in insurmountable debts or die due to lack of medical care, a third option of affordable medicine and some small risk might be worthwhile.

vishnugupta 12y ago

This has always been the case [1] :-). Medicines and medical care in India is cheaper, by many folds, compared to US. Anecdotaly, whenever my Indian friends working in US visit India (parents, family) one thing they never forget is to visit dentists. I initially found it very surprising but understood their reasoning when I came to know that in US you can easily go bankrupt due to medical condition, something that's unheard of in India. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_tourism_in_India http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_tourism_in_India

pradn 12y ago
It's hard for me to believe that people don't run out of money getting treatment in India. While prices for medical goods and services are lower than the United States, many Indians can't afford all the care they need.
gryph0n 12y ago
>>something that's unheard of in India. Maybe not if you're in the 'upper middle class'. If you're from the lower income classes (maids, drivers, helpers), it's very likely that health issues can bankrupt you. I personally know an entire family that has sunk into debt that they couldn't possibly pay-off, due to health related expenses for someone in the family.

tn13 12y ago

Yes of course.

tn13 12y ago

Yes of course.