MRI Machine Prices to Rise Slightly, Medical Tourism Hit by War: Experts

According to Dr. Harsh Mahajan, Mentor at FICCI Health Sector and Founder and Chairman of Mahajan Imaging and Labs, while MRI scan costs for patients are not expected to increase, the prices of new machines will likely witness a marginal hike.

Further explaining the marginal hike, Dr. Mahajan noted that modern MRI scanners, unlike their superconducting models, require only 1,500 litres of liquid helium for the initial fill; therefore, even if helium costs rise, the impact on the total price of a new MRI machine would be minimal. "The price of an MRI scan for a patient will not increase even if there is shortage of liquid helium or the price of liquid helium increases. This is because liquid helium is not a consumable product. Most MRI scanners installed in the last 15 years have ' Zero Boil Off ' technology and do not require regular filling or topping-up. Helium in the MRI scanner once filled requires topping-up after 4-6 years," Dr. Mahajan told ANI.

"The price of a superconducting high-field MRI varies from about 7 to 20 crores. MRI scanners have about 1500 litres of liquid helium, and even if the cost of helium goes up, it would only minimally impact the price of the new MRI machine," Dr. Mahajan explained.

However, Himanshu Baid, MD of Poly Medicure Limited, highlighted an acute price surge across all plastic raw materials, highlighting that there is a 40-50% hike in prices. He warned that the severe shortage of raw materials is disrupting manufacturing and could lead to critical shortages of essential medical supplies.

"There is a 40-50% price increase across all plastic raw materials and there is acute shortage of raw materials which is causing disruption in manufacturing and may cause shortages of critical medical supplies," said Dr Baid.

Anil Vinayak, the Group Chief Operating Officer of Fortis Healthcare, noted that the medical sector has witnessed slow growth due to the prevailing conflict in the Middle East. Dr Vinayak noted that patient footfall from the Middle East has seen a witnessed 75% drop compared to previous weeks.

"Ever since the war broke out, there is a decline of more than 30% in international footfall across all the cities. The Middle East is a large contributor (-30%) of international business at Fortis. In the initial 2-3 days, the impact was minimal as we had patients who had already travelled to India. But gradually the numbers have gone down significantly. If we compare the last 10 days of February with the first 10 days of March, the footfall of patients from the Middle East has dropped by 75%," explained Dr Vinayak.

Dr. Vinayak further noted that international medical tourism revenue could see a dip of approximately 15-20%.

"There are currently no flights from Iraq at all. Flights from the rest of the middle east have also declined sharply due to air space issues. Although there Is no direct flight related issue with Africa or other parts of the world, but flight costs have surged and patients are fearful to travel currently. For the current month, the overall revenue impact on international medical tourism may be approximately 15 -20%. However, more significant impact would be seen in the coming months due to the decline in new patient arrivals from several key source countries," added Dr Vinayak.

He asserted that the situation remains highly uncertain, noting that the next few weeks will be critical in determining whether conditions stabilise and international travel begins to normalise across the affected regions.

"The situation remains highly uncertain, and the next few weeks will be critical in determining whether conditions stabilize and international travel begins to normalize across the affected regions. Historically, after major geopolitical conflicts or disruptions, the recovery in international medical tourism typically takes 2-3 months, as patients gradually regain confidence to travel and logistical challenges such as flight availability and visa processing return to normal," added Dr Vinayak.

- ANI