Expat Insiders Healthcare, sorted before you need it
Do this section early. Everything here is far easier to figure out calmly than in an emergency.
Emergency numbers
- 112 — general emergency number (police, fire, medical)
- 100 — police
- 101 — fire department
- 102 / 108 — ambulance
- 181 — women's helpline
- 1073 — street accidents
- Your registered hospital's direct line — often faster than a general emergency number for non-critical urgent care
Share your home address in a saved note (in English and, if possible, Telugu or Hindi script) with your driver or household help — it speeds up any emergency dispatch considerably.
Hospitals & clinics
Hyderabad has several large private hospital networks with a strong reputation and experience treating international patients, including Apollo, Continental, Yashoda, and KIMS, alongside many smaller multi-specialty clinics closer to residential areas for everyday care.
- Register at a hospital or clinic near your home — most let you set up a patient file before you actually need one.
- For routine care, a smaller neighborhood clinic is usually faster than a large hospital; save the big networks for specialists and emergencies.
- Ask other expats which hospital they use for maternity, pediatrics, or any ongoing condition specifically — recommendations vary a lot by specialty, not just by hospital brand.
Save the nearest hospital's direct emergency line in your phone, not just the general number — response and routing can be faster than going through a main switchboard.
Even if you have an appointment, expect long waiting times.
A typical international patient lounge — several of the larger hospital groups in Hyderabad have a dedicated space like this for foreign patients.
Continental Hospital
Has a very helpful international liaison department. The hospital has a lounge for foreigners and an assigned person to walk you through the procedures. Health check includes: blood test, x-ray, neck ultrasound, bone density test, urine analysis. Mammograms are offered to female patients. You can have an eye check, dental check, ECG, and treadmill test done. A doctor reviews the results and gives medical advice.
Health check packages:
- Master Health Check — GP, cardiology, gynaecology, dermatology, and dental consultations; ECG, 2D echo, and cardiac stress test; bone density, abdominal ultrasound, mammography, and chest X-ray; full blood panel, thyroid panel, lipid profile, and urine/stool tests. Roughly Rs. 17,600–18,000 (~$185–190 USD).
- Platinum Health Check — everything in Master Health Check, plus gastroenterology, pulmonology, and genetic counselling consultations; pulmonary function test and an MRI (one region); special tests including liver elastography, CT coronary angiography, carotid doppler studies, and optional colonoscopy. Roughly Rs. 1,15,000–1,20,000 (~$1,210–1,265 USD).
Prices and inclusions change over time — confirm current package details directly with the hospital before booking.
Apollo Hospitals
Add notes on this hospital — specialties, experience with international patients, what to expect.
Yashoda Hospitals
One of Hyderabad's longest-running hospital groups, with 35+ years in operation and four locations spread across the city — so there's a reasonable chance one is close to wherever you end up living. Somajiguda and Secunderabad are the more established campuses; HITEC City is the most convenient for the IT corridor.
Health check packages:
- Basic Health Check-up — full blood count, complete metabolic and lipid panels, thyroid (TSH), HbA1c, hepatitis/HIV screening, chest X-ray, abdominal ultrasound, ECG, 2D echo, pulmonary function test, plus physician and specialist consultations (cardiology, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, and more). Roughly Rs. 6,950 (~$73 USD).
- Advanced Health Check-up — everything in Basic, plus vitamin D and B12, thyroid profile (T3/T4/TSH), tumor marker (CEA), TMT cardiac stress test, mammography (women) or extended screening, and additional specialist consultations including urology, orthopedics, and pulmonology. Roughly Rs. 14,500 (~$153 USD).
- Premium Health Check-up — everything in Advanced, plus whole genomic sequencing (97 tests), CT calcium scoring and CT coronary angiography, carotid doppler, whole-body MRI, bone density scan, colonoscopy and endoscopy, and consultations across a wide range of specialties. Roughly Rs. 98,000 (~$1,030 USD).
Prices and inclusions change over time — confirm current package details directly with the hospital before booking.
KIMS Hospitals
Add notes on this hospital — specialties, experience with international patients, what to expect.
Insurance & health cover
Confirm exactly what your employer-provided or personal policy covers before you need it — cashless treatment networks, outpatient coverage, and maternity terms vary widely between plans. Ask whether your preferred hospitals are in-network, since out-of-network treatment can mean paying upfront and claiming reimbursement later.
Keep a physical and digital copy of your insurance card and policy number with you. Make sure that your spouse or partner knows where it is — in an emergency, you may not be the one who has to produce it.
Most major hospitals do have an international lounge that can help you with the process.
Some hospitals might require an Aadhaar card in order to file an insurance claim for major procedures such as surgery.
Always check the cost of paying in cash vs. the cost of the procedure when filed through insurance. It may be worth paying cash at the hospital and then filing for reimbursement — if insurance doesn't cover 100%, this could save you about 20–30%.
Pharmacies & medicines
Pharmacy chains are widespread and many deliver, but not every medication you're used to at home will have a direct equivalent available locally. If you take a regular prescription, bring a supply to bridge the gap and ask your new doctor about the closest local alternative early rather than waiting until you run low.
Pharmacists will ask you how many pills you need. If you only need 5 and the pack is 20, you can only buy the quantity you need. No need to pay for extras!
Don't be surprised if the pharmacist asks you to wait a few minutes while they bring the medicine from another shop — the same chain of pharmacy often has stores located near each other and they share inventory.
Bring your prescriptions with generic (not just brand) names — pharmacists here can usually match a generic name to a local equivalent far more easily than a Western brand name.
Apollo Pharmacy
Apollo Pharmacy is the retail pharmacy arm of the same Apollo Hospitals Group listed above under Hospitals & clinics — so it's the natural default if you're already using Apollo for care, since prescriptions and records can carry over more smoothly between the two.
Its biggest advantage for expats is how much can be done online rather than in person: the Apollo 24|7 app and website let you upload a prescription photo, order refills, and track delivery in real time, with Hyderabad being one of a handful of cities where Apollo offers medicine delivery in as fast as 19 minutes for in-stock items. The app also stores your prescription history digitally, so refills don't require digging up a paper copy each time.