A New Era of Medical Tourism: AI, Wellness & Patient Care
Sonam Garg, Founder & CEO, Medical Linkers is a healthcare entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience across the telecom, media, and healthcare sectors. A pioneer in India's medical tourism industry, she has helped hospitals and healthcare groups expand internationally by establishing clinics, offices, and hospitals abroad.
India's medical tourism sector is entering a transformative phase, driven by world-class clinical expertise, cost-effective treatments, supportive government initiatives, and growing global demand for integrated healthcare solutions. As international patients increasingly seek personalized, technology-enabled, and seamless treatment experiences, the country's healthcare ecosystem is evolving beyond affordability to focus on trust, transparency, and patient-centric care.
In an exclusive interview with CEO Insights, Sonam Garg Sharma, Founder & CEO of Medical Linkers, shares her insights on the future of medical tourism, the role of AI and digital platforms, India's competitive advantage, and the policy reforms needed to strengthen its global position. She also discusses emerging trends in wellness tourism and the leadership principles shaping success in cross-border healthcare facilitation.
Medical tourism has become a strategic focus area for India. What, in your view, is driving this shift, and how do you see the sector evolving over the next five years?
India is emerging as a leading hub for Medical Value Travel (MVT) by integrating advanced medical infrastructure with traditional wellness systems such as AYUSH. Strong policy support, digital facilitation, and initiatives like AYUSH Visa and Regional Medical Hubs are strengthening the ecosystem. Rising global healthcare costs and demand for holistic care are driving international patients to India for affordable, high-quality treatment and preventive wellness solutions.
According to the latest FHRAI and KPMG India report, India's medical tourism market is projected to grow from $18.2 billion in 2025 to $ 58.2 billion by 2035, reflecting increasing global confidence in the country's healthcare ecosystem. Over the next five years, we expect the sector to become more technology-driven, patient-centric and integrated.
Digital consultations, AI-enabled care coordination, multilingual patient support, and international partnerships will redefine the patient journey. At Medical Linkers, we believe success will increasingly depend not only on clinical excellence but also on delivering a seamless, transparent, and end-to-end healthcare experience that builds lasting trust among international patients.
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India has long been recognized for affordable, high-quality healthcare. What additional factors will determine whether the country can establish itself as a global leader in medical tourism?
Without doubt, affordability and quality of clinical care have been responsible for making India a top choice for medical tourism. There must be an entirely different ecosystem-based approach that looks beyond mere affordability and clinical excellence. Today’s international patients evaluate the entire healthcare journey, from discovering the right hospital and understanding treatment options to visa assistance, travel coordination, language support, accommodation, and post treatment follow up. To strengthen India's global position, there needs to be a greater focus on the aspects of transparency, internationally acclaimed standards, and patient-centeredness.
With growing partnerships with global insurance providers and easier procedures for obtaining medical visas while promoting internationally accredited hospitals. Of equal importance is the use of technology to provide virtual consultation, record exchanges, and personalized care coordination. At Medical Linkers, we believe India's next phase of growth will be driven by trust, convenience, and collaboration across the healthcare ecosystem. When world class medical expertise is supported by a seamless, technology enabled patient experience, India can evolve from being an affordable healthcare destination to becoming one of the world's most trusted hubs for medical tourism.
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Patient expectations have changed significantly in recent years. How are international patients evaluating healthcare destinations today beyond treatment costs?
Today, international patients choose their health care based on a lot more than just how much it costs. Before choosing a hospital or country, patients research a doctor's skills, the hospital's accreditations, the success of treatment, patient reviews, and the availability of cutting-edge medical technologies. The need for the availability of services such as online consultation prior to traveling, multilingual assistance, clear pricing, visa and travel assistance, accommodation assistance, and post-procedure follow-up is now more crucial than ever.
Ease of access to technology and quick communication also help patients trust, especially those who are seeking treatment from other countries. At Medical Linkers, we have seen this change for ourselves. It's not enough for patients from other countries to just look for the best treatment; they also want a trusted healthcare partner who can help them every step of the way and offer support and advice.
Technology is increasingly shaping patient journeys across industries. How do you see AI and digital platforms transforming the medical tourism ecosystem—from discovery and decision-making to treatment and post-care?
The new era of medical tourism is evolving due to technology through increased transparency, efficiency, and the shift toward a patient-centered perspective. Currently, foreign patients start their search for healthcare online, by researching hospitals, evaluating treatment options, reading patient feedback, and consulting specialists with specialists even before traveling. All of these tasks can be facilitated using artificial intelligence and other types of digital technology. The impact of technology extends well beyond treatment. Healthcare records, telemedicine consultations, and remote follow-up services will help maintain continuity of care even when the patient is back in his country. Technology is perceived by us as a tool that makes life easier for the patient as his medical journey becomes more transparent and efficient through better communication, coordination, and prompt assistance at each step.
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While India has world-class healthcare capabilities, awareness remains a challenge in many international markets. What can healthcare providers, policymakers, and industry stakeholders do collectively to strengthen India's global positioning?
India has built a strong case for medical tourism because of its highly qualified doctors, globally recognized hospitals, highly advanced medical technology, and affordable medical services. However, in order to make the country more respected in the global market, there should be cooperation between all healthcare providers, policy makers, facilitators, and other stakeholders in the business.
Instead of promoting particular healthcare facilities separately, India has to be perceived as a secure country where one can seek professional medical help through global branding and collaboration. At Medical Linkers, we believe healthcare facilitators play a crucial role in connecting global patients with India's healthcare ecosystem through personalized guidance and end to end support.
Trust is one of the biggest factors when patients travel abroad for treatment. How can healthcare organizations build greater transparency and confidence among international patients?
The key to medical tourism is building trust since the patients will be making important health choices from outside their country. This is established through being transparent, communicating, and taking a patient first approach throughout the process. The patients need to be provided with a clear plan of treatment, the cost of treatment, realistic time frames for recovery, information on doctors, the accreditation of the hospitals, and the results of previous patients.
There needs to be seamless communication in the healthcare organization and this is done by providing multilingual services, quick responses to queries, and assigning personal care coordinators who take the patients through their treatment process.
This can be enhanced by using digital technologies like online consultations and updating patients through the previous medical records.
At Medical Linkers, we believe trust is earned through ethical practices, personalized guidance, and end to end support rather than promises alone.
Cross-border healthcare involves coordination between hospitals, facilitators, insurers, and governments. What changes would help create a more seamless experience for patients?
Building up a seamless cross border healthcare process is contingent upon improved cooperation among hospitals, healthcare enablers, insurance companies, policy makers, and government departments. Although Indian hospitals have world-class healthcare professionals, patients do encounter certain difficulties regarding issues such as communication breakdowns, paperwork, insurance issues, and travel problems.
Increased use of digital health records that work together and are documented efficiently, simplifying the process of getting visas for treatment abroad, and working more effectively with international insurance providers could really help the process of patient care. A dedicated care coordinator who serves as the main contact person for the whole process would also be helpful.
Looking ahead, what emerging trends do you believe will redefine medical tourism globally, and how should industry leaders prepare for them?
The future of medical tourism lies in the focus being shifted towards more individualized care, which is made possible by means of technology and being patient centric. Foreign patients today are interested in having an end-to-end digital experience in terms of artificial intelligence based treatment discovery, virtual consultations, electronic health records, and remote post-treatment follow-ups.
Precision medicine, preventive care, regenerative treatments, and wellness-based treatment plans are likely to become more common in the future. Industry leaders must prepare by embracing digital transformation while maintaining the highest standards of clinical excellence and patient care. Investing in interoperable health systems, strengthening international collaborations, improving data security, and streamlining cross border care coordination will be essential.
As a leader in healthcare facilitation, what leadership principles have helped you navigate a rapidly evolving and highly sensitive industry?
In healthcare facilitation, leadership is built on trust, empathy, and an unwavering commitment to patient outcomes. Every international patient places immense faith in us during one of the most important decisions of their lives, so transparency, ethical practices, and personalised support remain at the core of everything we do. Our approach at Medical Linkers involves building partnerships with hospitals, doctors, and healthcare organizations in order to provide high-quality patient experiences for our clients. In the constantly changing landscape of the industry, adopting innovations together with a human-centric mindset has been crucial as well. Adaptability, process optimization, and putting patients' needs before any financial gains are the pillars of our success in this sphere.
LAST WORD: If you could recommend one policy or ecosystem-level change that would significantly accelerate India's growth as a global medical tourism hub, what would it be and why?
If there is one ecosystem-level change that could significantly accelerate India's growth as a global medical tourism hub, it would be the creation of a unified national medical tourism framework that brings together hospitals, facilitators, insurers, visa authorities, and government agencies on a single digital platform. While India already offers world-class clinical expertise and cost-effective treatment, patients often face fragmented processes before and after their medical journey. A more integrated ecosystem would simplify medical visas, streamline documentation, improve care coordination, and enhance transparency. This would not only strengthen patient confidence but also position India as a seamless, trusted, and globally competitive destination for healthcare.