The rush for health care abroad

Recently millions of Rajnikanth fans were in quandary when they found out their PURATCHI THALAIVAR (Revolutionary Leader) has suddenly gone to United States. Rumors started flying high and thick around him getting some surgery done in the Coke land. Before it manifested further, his brother came out giving a statement - the real reason behind the Megastar of Tamil cinema's Coming to America was to get some routine Medical Checkups done.

Rajnikanth is not new to ailments. A few years back when he went to Singapore for his treatments, his crestfallen fans conducted PUJA (worship) in temples pouring thousands of gallons of milk on SHIVLINGS (Phallus statue of Lord Shiva). many goats were sacrificed and heads shaved off shaved off to save their hero's life.

Celebrities and folks who can afford, rush abroad at the drop of hat for treatment - America being the most favored destination. Examples are many - amongst politicians Vajpayee and Sonia Gandhi had their knee and stomach surgery respectively done in USA. The cricketer Yuvraj Singh removed his cancerous growth in Boston.

Rajnikanth as I just mentioned preferred Singapore, being closer to home, having arguably the best health care facility in Asia. Only Manmohan Singh did his heart surgery in India - probably Madam Sonia did not give him permission to travel aboard, without whose permission he could not even visit loo.

So why there is so much of rush to rush abroad for treatments, even for nominal checkups, even if the same can be done at a nominal price in India ? Though privacy is one of the factors, but certainly not THE ONLY factor.

It's mostly due to lack of trust in the system. Though the quality and quantity of Hospitals back home has gone up manifolds in recent years, the health care may not have caught up to Global standards to earn enough confidence for the men and women who matter most.

It's akin to India's performance in Olympics games. From previously not winning a single medal, we have come to win 5 to 10 medals in aggregate, though still languishing behind the global standard. Our health care probably follows the same pattern - good, yet not good enough when it matters to those who matter.