India has an ancient historical connection with medicine. India is one of the most important contributors to modern medicine. Early scriptures from India written by saints such as Sushrutha, credited as the father of surgery, and the teachings of the monks in Nalanda were the basis of medicine as we presently know.

East India – The Birthplace of Medicine

Even today, East India has one of the fastest-growing hospital and medicine networks. You can find some of the best Cardiologists, Neurologists, and the best Oncologists in Kolkata, the metropolitan city of the East. This is majorly credited to the era of medicine that took place in the kingdom of Nalandha, or modern age Nalanda University situated in Patna, Bihar. It is safe to assume that East India has been the birthplace of medicine for the world.

Medicine and East India

East India has been majorly advancing in the field of medicine due to its prehistoric connection with sages and saints that preached of health and medicine. Kingdoms such as the Gupta Empire encouraged Buddhist monks to reside in olden Nalanda where they set up classrooms. These teachings have been collated and combined by various researchers when the ruins of Nalanda were later discovered in the 1900s.

Many of these are preserved in the museum situated in Nalanda University and is now a proud UNESCO heritage site. Nalanda University was built on these grounds and now houses the famous Nalanda Hospital and Medical College in Patna, Bihar.

Cancer and Eastern India

East India comprises both the Northeast and Central East states. It is a fact that the Northeast part of India lacks development owing to the fact that they are mostly rural and farther away from the center.

This makes it difficult to access these areas. Some states in the Northeast are entirely forest regions with native tribal populations who have had no chance to see the technological development that the rest of the country has witnessed.

Because of these reasons, Cancers are at an ever-rising rate in the Northeast. It is notable that the northeast has double the rate of cancer than the rest of the states in the north. This is mainly due to the lack of transport and healthcare facilities that can access these remote areas.

The Indian government is taking all the steps possible to create health schemes to facilitate medicine services to these parts and build more hospitals and medical schools to create awareness. However, Tertiary care for more advanced diseases still remains questionable.

Kolkata –  The Eastern hub for healthcare

Kolkata is a state capital and one of the 4 metropolitan cities of India. This city has grown immensely due to the availability of employment and opportunities in terms of health, education, and quality of life.

Some of the best hospitals in India can be found in Kolkata offering healthcare in a range of issues such as Cardiology, Neurology, Urology, and Oncology. In fact, you can find some of the best Oncologists in Kolkata when compared to the neighboring states.

Due to the growing number of cancers and other major diseases in the northeast, many patients visit Kolkata for accessing healthcare services. It is estimated that the highest cases of respiratory cancers are diagnosed in Nagaland and the most number of digestive organ cancers are diagnosed in Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram. The lack of treatment facilities and transportation of essential healthcare services makes the scenario worse.

Kolkata is the closest major city to the rural northeast states and therefore it is easy for patients to travel to. Kolkata has some good medical schools such as the Calcutta National Medical College, RG Kar Medical College, KPC Medical College, etc, from which many doctors and specialists graduate each year.

Kolkata has many specialty and super-specialty hospitals due to the high number of patient flow from all parts of the country. This is the main reason why Kolkata is emerging as a hub for healthcare in Eastern India.

East India and Medical Tourism

A fast catching up trend, Medical Tourism is the flow of tourists from various countries who visit India seeking medical services. This is a growing business opportunity for East India and Kolkata is attracting many patients from Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal for surgeries and treatments.

It is both a service as well as an opportunity to capitalize, Most medical tourists visit India from South Asia and the SAARC countries since these countries are underdeveloped and big hospitals with the latest technology equipment in cities like Kolkata is a preferred choice.

Evidently, there is a lot of scopes for East India to grow and dominate the healthcare industry.