The Indian Medical Association was quick to question the sudden airlifting of the girl to Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth facility, when her condition at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital was still fragile. The Association’s protest stemmed from the concern that this step could be seen as a lack of confidence in the country’s healthcare infrastructure and medical staff to deal with complicated cases. While the politicians were equally quick to retort that this was not the case, the murmur that the Indian government’s move was more an attempt to be seen to be ‘doing something’ after it failed to get its act together from day one, is not going to die down soon.
So it is with a reaffirmation in the talents and dedication of India’s medical fraternity that Express Healthcare’s 13th Anniversary Issue celebrates 13 Game changers who we think are at a tipping point and will make a real difference in 2013. While some are filling gaps in urban settings, others are expanding healthcare into India’s hinterland.
Dr Parvez Ahmed set up Aapka Urgicare to take a scaled down version of a hospital’s emergency facilities closer to the doorsteps of patients and their relatives. He hopes to save more lives being ‘the friendly, neighbourhood, first responder’ in the Golden Hour following medical emergencies. Dr Akash Rajpal’s Ekohealth aims to build the biggest member ‘value’ network in the country and in doing so, leverage the power of group bargaining to make healthcare facilities and diagnostic services more affordable. Manish Menda’s MYA Health Credit is also tackling the same problem from a different angle: by providing patient financing schemes to suit every pocket. Nihal and Shyama Kaviratne, founders of St Jude Childcare Centres provide accommodation and care to children undergoing cancer treatment, using corporate strategy to make a philanthropic effort more sustainable. Most of these children belong to rural backgrounds coming to cities for cancer care so St Judes’ is a unique endeavour to serve the needs of the rural patient in an urban setting.
Dr C J Vetrievel of Be Well Hospitals is yet another visionary who saw the need and the opportunity at the base of the pyramid, and went about creating a chain of secondary care hospitals targetted at Tier II and III cities. Doctor turned IAS officer turned healthcare entrepreneur Dr Sabahat Azim took this focus one step further when he founded and positioned Glocal Healthcare Hospitals as India’s first and so far only, rural corporate hospital chain while Dr Zeena Johar’s Sughavazhvu Healthcare is envisioned as a chain of rural micro health centres. Arunachalam Muruganantham is a school drop out turned businessman, who introduced thousands of women in rural India to the concept of a sanitary napkin and what’s more, closed the loop between maker and consumer by employing rural women at its manufacturing hubs. Rajat Goel’s Eye-Q Hospitals does the same with eye care to those in Tier II and Tier III towns, who in the absence of the same, spend time travelling to cities.
A Vijay Simha’s OneBreath portable ventilators are an affordable alternative just as Nishith Chasmawala – promoted Consure Medical’s device for faecal incontinence addresses an unmet clinical need little thought about, and largely ignored, yet having a large impact. Myshkin Ingawale’s Biosense Technologies developed ToucHb, a low-cost, needle-free portable device to diagnose anaemia in patients, will help better and earlier diagnosis of a condition responsible for nearly 40 per cent of maternal deaths. Similarly, Krishna Mahesh of Sundaram Medical Devices will be rolling out affordable medical beds meeting the highest global quality, safety and usability standards.
We know we’ve only skimmed the surface when it comes to healthcare entrepreneurs who are charting new territory. Do write in with suggestions on who you think deserves to be featured as a Healthcare Game changer in Express Healthcare.
Here’s wishing all our readers a very happy and healthy 2013 …
Viveka Roychowdhury
Editor