Digital revolution has brought easy healthcare accessibility to tier-2 cities in India with most people in areas with limited physical access to expensive treatments now getting timely care, well within their means.

According to experts, after the COVID-19 pandemic, many small towns and cities, affected by movement restrictions, had an increased demand for modern and affordable tertiary healthcare – for which patients had to earlier travel to metropolises like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai. However, today, new multi-specialty and modern super-specialty hospitals are fast emerging as nerve centers with modern and economically viable facilities.

Earlier this month, Madurai saw the opening of Meenakshi Super Specialty Hospital - a new 350-bed facility equipped with advanced medical technology and clinical expertise across nearly 50 specialties. The hospital aims to bestow the experience of the world’s premium healthcare services on people from all strata of society. “The new hospital will provide excellent care, global technology, premium facilities, and world-class expertise, all at lower costs. We aim to introduce luxury and world-class clinical excellence to a tier-II city like Madurai,” Dr. S Gurushankar, Chairman, MSSH told the media.

According to a Healthscape Report released by Pristyn Care earlier this year, tier-2 cities have outpaced big cities, witnessing an 83 per cent year-on-year surge in medical consultations. This increase is higher than the 73 per cent rise observed in the metro cities, reflecting a growing trend in seeking healthcare services beyond the urban areas.

According to industry players, one of the main reasons why big hospitals are making inroads into small towns is due to primary and secondary healthcare in rural regions not being up to grade. Currently, healthcare in rural and remote areas is mostly provided by the government and a small number of private nursing homes have been unable to keep up with the rising demand.

In most distant regions, tertiary-level healthcare is not even available. Even those who travel to large cities for treatment are unable to bear the rising costs.

“In Tier-2 cities, patients are particularly impacted because 70 per cent of the population lacks access to specialists and critical care. This shortage, coupled with inadequate infrastructure necessary for advanced critical care, leads to higher ICU mortality rates due to delayed or suboptimal care,” Dr. Dhruv Joshi, Co-founder and CEO Global, of Cloudphysician, told Times Now.

“These locations must adopt technology-enabled solutions because conventional solutions have fallen short for patients in these areas,” he added.

Dr. Joshi’s Cloudphysician partners with hospitals across India providing smart ICU solutions that help avoid the need for a transfer to a higher center in a metro city. “This approach reduces care costs as patients can now get access to world-class care in their communities and a cost-effective manner. This model of care delivery exemplifies our mission to deliver high-quality healthcare to everyone,” said Dr. Joshi.

However, even though the number of institutions has increased over time, the availability of doctors and support staff remains well below the recommendation levels of the World Health Organisation. According to statistics, in rural India, there are 3.2 government hospital beds per 10,000 people. Many states have a substantially lower number of rural beds than the national average.

These facilities are now mitigating various healthcare concerns by providing multiple medical specialties namely cardiology, neurology, orthopedics, and oncology among others in one health complex. “It also ensures the patients receive adequate and appropriate care as soon as possible without having to move to other distant centers within the integrated model,” Vinayak Chakravarty, Business Head, Apollo Spectra Hospitals told Times Now.

The government has given a lot of impetus to healthcare in rural and small-town areas, with a range of programmes aimed at making it more accessible and inexpensive. The National Rural Health Mission assists states and Union Territories in strengthening their healthcare systems to ensure universal access to equitable, affordable, and high-quality healthcare services. Also, the Ayushman Bharat Programme - established in 2018, is the primary vehicle for achieving Universal Health Coverage by providing comprehensive and integrated healthcare.

However, despite this running programme, access to healthcare is still not sufficient for a major portion of the rural and small-town population. And so, to close the gap, private healthcare providers are trying to fill in the gaps.

“Challenging the belief that rural healthcare cannot be financially sustainable, we have found that rural patients are willing to pay for quality services. We have developed an affordable pricing strategy, charging ₹100 for the first consultation, significantly reducing travel costs to city hospitals. Additionally, we sell branded medicines at discounted rates,” Priyadarshi Mohapatra, Founder and CEO of CureBay, a Bhubaneshwar-based chain of hospitals, which has introduced a hybrid healthcare model with over 135 e-clinics operational across Odisha and Chhattisgarh, covering 48,000 villages and towns and serving over 200,000 patients.

At present, India has the highest number of patients of cardiovascular disease which impacts the productive workforce from 35–65 years of age. This mortality rate is higher than most ethnic groups including Chinese, Japanese, Americans, and Europeans. According to the latest FICCI report, about 65 million people suffer from diabetes in India and the figure is likely to go up to 109 million by 2035.

And so, super specialty hospitals in tier 2 and 3 cities are not only keeping these numbers in check with ultra-modern diagnostic tools but are also playing an important role in reducing the burden on metros.