Medical Tourism in Developing Countries

112 ● Medical Tourism in Developing Countriescountries). 67 Also, India is engaged in stem-cell research, even boasting aGenome Valley just outside of Hyderabad where research entities are concentrated.Indian research and development in biotech and pharma industriesis geared at satisfying domestic needs and thereby reducing the needto import foreign products and techniques. Drugs are imported on a needbasis. If there is a generic version, the doctor decides whether to prescribethe Indian generic (similarly, in Malaysia some 65 percent of drugs areimported and physicians decide whether to use those or locally produceddrugs [that tend to be general such as painkillers and antibiotics] 68 ). Evenfor physical capital, there is an emphasis on domestic production. NeeleshRajadhyaksha, medical superintendent of Bombay Hospital, 69 said theIndian medical tourism industry imports hard-core medical equipment ona need basis from GE, Philips, and Siemens.After satisfying domestic needs in medical or biotech fields, India seeksto promote its exports. The country’s advanced position with respect toresearch and development is especially evident in its abilities to export tocountries such as Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, Chile, and Peru.Chile has also become a regional center for health research and technology,conducted primarily in universities and research centers. The governmentprovides incentives through the National Science and TechnologyCouncil. 70 Chile has also been successful in developing cross-border telehealthinitiatives: it is involved with the Andean network of EpidemiologicalSurveillance with Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela throughthe use of information and communication technologies. 71Advantage IV: Developed Physical InfrastructureThe Thai government wants to create a modern service-oriented economyand has much competition from India and China. In order to achieve itsgoal, it is investing heavily in infrastructure. For five years, starting in 2005,the government plans to invest $41 billion, or 26 percent of gross domesticproduct, in infrastructure such as electricity, transportation, housing, irrigation,health, and education. 72 In Jordan, the government pledged a massivetourism infrastructure plan and will implement tax incentives for foreignand local investors in that sector. 73The Thai and Jordanian authorities are intent on developing their infrastructurebecause they know, as do many development economists, that thecapital required for economic growth is not just equipment and humancapital, but also includes public infrastructure. 74 Such infrastructure isdefined as the underlying amount of physical and financial capital embodiedin roads, railways, waterways, airways, and other forms of transportation