Marketing Model for MIS in Rural Areas

BACKGROUND

• Lancet Commission on Global Health estimates the need for surgical procedures in rural areas as 5,000 per 100,000 population every year
• About 1,200 of these could be carried out laparoscopically [1]
• Another 300 to 500 of these could be managed by endoscopic methods [2] mostly urological problems.
• Regular diagnostic and surgical camps offer the most cost–effective way of managing surgical problems in rural areas [3]
• Minimally invasive surgeries are appropriate for rural areas [4] for a variety of reasons
• The market penetration of laparoscopic surgeries are only about 10% at present and might just double in another few years and the reasons are primarily related to the coordination of getting general anesthesia and gases in rural areas and the high costs and steep learning curve [4,5]

WHY MIS FOR RURAL AREAS?

1. Opens a market not penetrated by classic MIS-like conventional laparoscopic surgeries and endoscopic surgeries that is about ten times the current market for MIS
2. MIS makes surgeries possible with regular visiting teams thus making it the most cost-effective method of surgical care delivery
3. They are attractive to rural patients because of less pain and capability of getting back to work earlier and the same factors help them to pay more as they lose less due to time spent at the hospital

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