BioVoice News April 2017 Issue 11 Volume 1 | Page 83

NPPA notified the ceiling price of Coronary Stents on 13th February 2017 at Rs. 7,260 for Bare Metal Stent (BMS) and Rs. 29,600 for Drug Eluting Stents (DES) including metallic DES and Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold (BVS)/ Biodegradable Stents. The average MRP before this notification was Rs. 45,100 for BMS and Rs. 1,21,400 for DES. Price regulation has brought down the prices of stents of BMS by 74% and of DES by 85%. Positioning India as the next medical tourism hub The Times Group in association with World Medical Tourism Congress (WMTC) introduced the first Asia Medical Tourism Congress India (ASTCI). The two day conference held over 7th and 8th of March, 2017 at Greater Noida saw the largest congregation of medical fraternity who deliberated on current market challenges and strategies that will help India to be the next leader in the medical tourism industry. Dr Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation Chairman of Medical Wellness Tourism Board, Government of India giving his inputs towards the summit said, “India in today’s time is specifically known for medical tourism. We are trying to address all issues related to medical tourism through a single clearance window. India now has a simplified e-medical visa facility which allows you 3 visits to the country. We will try to address more issues in time to come, like standardization and accreditation of services.” Stigma leading to high morbidity of mental disorders in India: Experts More than 100 million people in India – over 10 percent of the population – suffer from mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety, but the society’s views about these are clouded by several misconceptions, with exorcism and magic still considered a part of treatment in rural India and even some urban areas, said experts assembled at Amrita University for a three-day workshop on global mental health. They singled out stigma as a major factor contributing to the huge burden of