Medical rehabilitation centres provide palliative and restorative services to patients who suffer from functional inability on account of various neurological, orthopedic, cardiac, oncology, pulmonary and diabetic ailments.
These centres help to fasten recovery of the patient and restore an active and productive lifestyle.
Some key drivers for demand for medical rehabilitation centres are: Changing disease profile of the patients, necessitating more surgical interventions; rapidly ageing population; desire for an active and productive lifestyle; better and cheaper access to facilities outside hospitals; technological advances, enabling quicker and painless recovery; and so on.
The rehabilitation centre market is estimated at $750 million (Rs 3,423 crore) which is expected to double to $1,500 million (Rs 6,846 crore) by 2020. Oncology, orthopedics and palliative procedures account for more than 50 per cent of this pie.
Normally, patients prefer to recuperate completely in the hospital and following discharge, directly move back home. This increases their average length of stay significantly, adding to the burden on hospitals.