Healthcare Summit

The Indian government has taken several steps over the past few years to strengthen the healthcare infrastructure in the country. The biggest initiative has been the introduction of Ayushman Bharat Yojana, by which the government wants to provide cashless treatment to more than 10 crore poor families. Each family would be eligible for Rs 5 lakh annual health cover, in the largest such assurance scheme in the world. In addition, the government has worked on improving medical student enrolment, creating new hospitals and medical colleges, launched several schemes for the benefit of women and children, and has also looked to promote medical tourism in the country. What else is there in the government’s long-term vision? Will these initiatives be sufficient? Why has the allocation to healthcare not been adequate for several years now?

The Covid-19 pandemic brutally exposed the gaps and shortcomings of Indian healthcare and also had a host of other side effects such as a diversion of focus away from chronic conditions and other vaccinations, which could have long-term consequences. While the industry did recover well after the horrors of the Delta wave, today they face a gamut of challenges -- hospital chains’ finances are stretched, expansion plans are on hold, cost of treatment has climbed across different kinds of treatments, among other things. Plus, despite Covid, India has not seen the kind of increase in insurance penetration that is needed, to ease treatment costs for patients. What is the way forward for hospitals in India? How can we address the shortcomings in infrastructure, staff, cost of medical treatment, supply chain issues that were exacerbated during the pandemic, among other challenges?

Healthtech startups have become critical in the area of last-mile delivery of medical care – including medicine delivery, diagnostic tests, personalised health solutions for corporations’ employees, video consultations between doctors and patients, and even between different doctors for the purpose of sharing knowledge and staying updated, etc. Yet, these digital native firms have to face several challenges, including complex regulatory frameworks, funding, finding the right talent, safety compliances, and building confidence amongst both patients and doctors. How can healthtech startups build trust and confidence? How can they navigate the regulatory frameworks? What are the biggest compliances issues they face and how can they overcome them? How can the government mitigate these challenges for the benefit of the common man?

The AIIMS has been front and centre of the Covid-19 battlefront, and has played a stellar role in ensuring patient care in the most difficult time that we have seen in a century. As the country battled oxygen shortages, bed shortages, a flood of patients never seen before, crippling shortage of medicines, we also learnt to find solutions to them. But the big question is: are we ready for another Delta? How can we better prepare for pandemics in the future? What have we learned from the COVID-19 pandemic? What are some of the biggest challenges that countries face when it comes to preparing for pandemics? How can we ensure that we have enough medical supplies and equipment to deal with pandemics?

Despite the horrors of Covid, India’s health insurance penetration remains abysmally low. Overall general insurance penetration is about 1%, and of that, health insurance accounts for a mere 0.34 percentage points, as per a response in the Lok Sabha by MOS Finance Bhagwat Karad. This is a challenge that appears almost insurmountable, even as people spend their savings and borrow money for treatment that could easily have been offset by medical insurance. The situation has not changed much despite efforts by both government and insurance companies to increase awareness. What can be done in this regard? How can we make people aware of the benefits of health insurance, even while ensuring that insurance policies are affordable to most people? How do we increase health insurance penetration in rural India?

AYUSH, or alternative treatment therapies namely Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy, are based on specific medical philosophies and promote healthy living through disease prevention and health promotion. The Department of AYUSH has so far taken several steps to promote AYUSH in the country as well as globally. This includes promoting quality control of AYUSH drugs, providing cost-effective AYUSH healthcare by improving access, promoting awareness of AYUSH to make them part of the mainstream medical consciousness. Going forward, how does the government plan to promote AYUSH further? What steps are being taken to standardize products and services, and ensure that the patient gets the best treatment and care? How can AYUSH education be furthered in India to ensure a certainly quality for the industry going forward?