New Patient Guide

Travelling overseas for cancer treatment is of great concern for the patient and their family. Taking the right steps and following a systematic approach can make your choice a truly rewarding experience. This new patient guide is aimed at helping you understand the complete process from the point you wish to evaluate your options till you come back home after visiting India for medical treatment.

At Dharamshila Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, we work with you to identify the right doctor for you; to keep your costs as low as possible; and to take care of any details along the way. We want to make your stay in India as easy and worry-free as possible.

• Getting in touch with the hospital
• Preparation for your visit
• Your first Appointment

GETTING IN TOUCH WITH THE HOSPITAL

By following these steps, you will help to ensure that our team knows as much about you as possible before you and your family travels to India:

• Send an email at bmt.dnsh@narayanahealth.org to the hospital stating your present medical condition and the procedure that you are planning to undergo. We have a simple query form at our website that you can fill in and send by clicking the Submit button. Make sure that you have filled in your phone number and email address correctly.
• Our International Patient Coordinators will contact you with in 24 to 48 hours with an initial response. They may ask you to send them more detailed medical information like scanned copies of your medical reports, x rays and MRI scans etc. to enable the hospital send you a specialist/ surgeon's opinion and a cost estimate.
• Sometimes the heavy scanned copies of medical reports may not go as attachments with your email. In that case, you can use our upload your medical reports section at home page to send the reports to the hospital.
• Our International Patient Coordinators will share your case with the concerned cancer expert and send you the treatment plan along with treatment cost including details of the inclusions and exclusions. The number of days of stay at the hospital will also be included in the package.

PREPARE FOR YOUR VISIT

• Check your Passport Requirement: You need a valid Passport and Indian visa to enter India. If you do not have a passport, please apply for one immediately. If you already have a Passport, please check that it has more than 6 months of validity still left on it. Or else please get the passport revalidated before applying for Indian Visa.
• Check Visa Requirements: You can find out the local Indian consulate or Indian Embassy from the "Mission & Posts" section of Indian Government's website http://india.gov.in/overseas/indian_missions.php
• Medical Visa : The patient must have "MED VISA" (The Government of India has initiated a separate category of visa called "MEDICAL VISA" denoted by "MED VISA" only for foreign patients and "MEDICAL ATTENDANT VISA" denoted by "MEDX" facilitating only two persons to accompany the patient as attendants"). As the duration of treatment varies from case to case, the medical visa is extendable.
• Airplane Ticket(S): Indira Gandhi International Airport (I.G.I. Airport) is one of the busiest international airports in the world and located approximately 35 kilometers (21 miles) from Dharamshila Narayana Superspeciality Hospital (DNSH (Dharamshila Narayana Superspeciality hospital)). All International Flights come in through I.G.I. Airport. Total time taken will be 46 - 50 minutes. For planning your air travel you can check out the costs and air connections to the Indian city where you would be going on various airlines or travel websites. Or you also contact travel agents in your home country who specialize in inbound travel to India. You can find these travel agents on the http://www.incredibleindia.org/newsite/travelagentslist.asp
• Airport Assistance: Once you have made your travel arrangements, please inform our International patient care service team at least three days prior to your arrival with:
  • Your flight number and airline
  • Time and date of arrival
  • The names of your family members who are traveling with you
  • Any special needs you may have such as wheelchairs or language assistance
  • We will provide a complimentary airport pick up to you and your attendants. Our Team representative will be at the airport to receive you.
• Money Transfer : It is advisable to transfer the cost of treatment by bank transfer to the hospital prior to your starting the journey. This will save you the risk of carrying dollars or delay in treatment at the hospital in case your credit / debit card not getting accepted prior to the surgery. Usually the patients have to make a booking in advance prior to arrival. Our Bank details will be provided upon request.
  Please note :Patient is requested to obtain CDF (Currency Declaration Form) from custom at IGI Airport (New Delhi) which will help hospital authorities in case of any amount to be refunded after treatment in hospital in mode of bank. Please consider this as mandatory documentation and kindly note that we can only accept upto 5000 USD per person (upto one patient and two attendants), for rest of the payment options are as follows:
  • Traveller's Cheque
  • Bank Transfer
  • Credit/Debit International Card
• Accommodations: Dharamshila Narayana Superspeciality Hospital is located in East Delhi, near many affordable hotels and short-term living accommodations. Most hotels provide patients and families with accommodations at a discounted rate, depending on availability. For assistance, please inform the IPS Team in Advance.
• Contingency Amount : The patient is strongly advised to budget some Contingency Amount, Outside City Stay Expenses, Food & Beverage Expenses, Telecommunication Expenses, Incidental Expenses e.g. Return Air Ticket Changes, FRRO Immigration Expenses etc etc.

YOUR FIRST APPOINTMENT

While you are here, your family will be assigned a case coordinator and a financial counselor who will work with you to get you and your family the best care and service possible.

Your family's case coordinator and designated financial counselor will help you to review details of your appointment, verify all financial information, provide an orientation of Dharamshila Narayana Superspeciality Hospital and answer any questions you may have.

In addition, here are some general tips to help your first appointment go smoothly.

Gather Any Necessary Information: Many patients are surprised by the amount of preparation needed for the first appointment. Cancer is a complex illness, and every case is different; it's important for us to have as much information about your case as possible.

What to bring :

• Medical Reports Please carry all your medical reports to your first appointment. This information will be very important for your physician to review.
• Pathology Material It is imperative that you bring your pathology material (glass slides and/or paraffin blocks) to your appointment. You may be asked to mail the material prior to your appointment and further instructions will be provided by your International Patient Assistant if this is the case.
• Diagnostic Imaging Please make sure to bring the films and/or CD ROMs (DICOM compatible) of the diagnostic testing (CAT scan, MRI, PET scan, Ultrasound, Mammogram, X-ray, etc.) relevant to your diagnosis so that you are able to show these to the physician during your first visit. You may be asked to mail this material prior to your appointment and further instructions will be provided by your International Patient Assistant if this is the case.

What your visit includes :

On your first day, you will meet with our esteemed doctors involved in your care, who will review your medical records and health history and give you a physical examination. He / She will answer any questions and discuss treatment options, including the possibility of participating in clinical studies of innovative new treatments.

Your first appointment will be tailored to your specific medical needs, and you may be scheduled to see more than one expert.

Our doctors work as a team to evaluate and treat patients with all types of cancers and related diseases. Our goal is to provide an expert evaluation and the most advanced care possible.

Specialists involved in your care may include:

• Medical oncologists, who specialize in administering anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapy)
• Surgical oncologists, who perform various surgical procedures
• Radiation oncologists, who use radiation to destroy cancer cells

Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) Requirements :

Registration : All the patients on Med Visa or MEDX visa shall have to register themselves with Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) within 14 days of arrival. The Pak national on Med visa or MEDX visa shall have to register themselves with DCP, Special Branch, Delhi Police Bhawan, Asaf Ali Road, Delhi within 24 hours. The Afghan Nationals shall register with FRRO Delhi within 7 days on arrival. (Through our International Patient Care Services Team).

"FORM-C" For Inpatients: The hospitals are also legally bound to provide particulars of such foreigners in the prescribed "C-Form" to the FRRO, Delhi. It is the duty of the hospital authority to advise the foreign patients either admitted in the hospital or taking treatment by staying outside the hospital to get himself/herself registered with the FRRO, Delhi and also to send their "C-Form". In case, the foreign patient or his attendant is not staying in the hospital than also they should be advised the necessity of sending C-Form through the owner of the premises/hotels where they are staying. Filling the said C-Form online and Submission of the hard copy along with generated report to FRRO office is the duty of our International Patient Care Service Team.

Visa Extension: Visa extension should be on the advice of the treating doctor (on his letter-head) duly signed by him and countersigned by the Medical Superintendent of the hospital.