Before you start

Employer group medical cover, a student policy, or a private policy
Vaccinations appropriate to India
A doctor and hospital identified before you need them

Step-by-step

1
Confirm what your cover actually includes
Check room-rent limits, per-condition sub-limits, maternity cover and dependant inclusion. Student policies through a university are often thin — read what they actually pay for and consider a top-up.
Via employerWho: YouFirst month
2
Get vaccinated before you arrive
Typhoid and hepatitis A are the baseline; others depend on circumstances. Some courses need weeks, so start at home.
In personWho: You
3
Identify your hospital and check the cashless network
Ruby Hall, Jehangir, Sahyadri and Deenanath Mangeshkar are the major private options, mostly central. Know which is nearest, which is in your insurer's cashless network, and the drive time from your side of the city.
In personWho: YouWeek 1
4
Take mosquito precautions through the monsoon
Dengue and chikungunya rise from July through October. Standing water breeds mosquitoes and the aedes mosquito bites during the day. Repellent, screens and clearing standing water on balconies are effective.
In personWho: You
5
Filter your water
Pune's supply is generally better than many Indian cities but an RO filter is still standard in every household, and worth having from day one.
In personWho: You
6
Use the climate — it is the health advantage of being here
Pune's altitude gives it cool mornings and evenings for much of the year, and no severe air pollution season. Outdoor exercise is genuinely pleasant here in a way it is not in Delhi or Chennai. Take advantage of it; the trekking community exists for a reason.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Insurance policy documents and cashless card
Vaccination records
Prescriptions, with generic names rather than brand names
Passport, required at hospital admission

Things most newcomers don’t know

The climate here is a genuine health advantage over the other Indian cities in this app.

Pune has no severe winter air season like Delhi, no oppressive coastal humidity like Mumbai or Chennai, and cool mornings and evenings for much of the year thanks to 560 metres of altitude. For anyone with respiratory sensitivity or who wants to exercise outdoors, this is the strongest argument for a Pune posting over any other in India.

Source: Central Pollution Control Board

University health cover is often much thinner than it looks.

International student policies arranged through institutions frequently carry low sums insured and tight sub-limits, adequate for a GP visit and inadequate for an admission. If you are here to study, read the policy rather than assuming the university has handled it, and price a top-up.

Source: community-reported

Room-rent sub-limits break Indian health policies more than anything else.

Many policies cap the daily room rent payable, and exceeding it causes the insurer to proportionately reduce every other charge on the bill — surgeon's fees, tests, everything.

Source: community-reported

Dengue is the monsoon risk here, not flooding.

Pune's monsoon is green and pleasant rather than paralysing, but it breeds mosquitoes in exactly the same way. Dengue and chikungunya rise from July, and the aedes mosquito bites during the day, so evening repellent alone is not enough.

Source: National Center for Vector Borne Diseases Control

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming a university-arranged student policy is adequate for a hospital admission.
Not reading the room-rent sub-limit in a group policy.
Relaxing about mosquitoes because the monsoon here is gentle.
Assuming a hospital is in your insurer's cashless network without checking.
Drinking unfiltered tap water.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.