Delegates discuss the roadmap to enhance healthcare in India
The 2nd edition of Global Exhibition on Services was held on April 21, 2016 at Greater Noida. According to panellists at a session on ‘Making Indian healthcare accessible globally’, India’s low costs, skilled medical personnel and world-class hospital network would serve as a driving force for medical tourism and services exports.
Arvind Mehta, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, noted that the degree of medical specialisation in India is higher compared to other developed countries as Indian physicians have more exposure to patients. He added that India has enough human capacity to meet both domestic and international demand in the healthcare sector, also suggesting that the Indian government and the medical fraternity should pool together resources to build excellent hospitals and medical schools across the country.
It is necessary to build technological prowess and a software interface for health insurance, opined Mehta.
Also present at the occasion was Dr Devi Shetty, Chairman and Founder, Narayana Health City, who stressed on the importance of building health cities.
He said, “The Yeshaswini Micro healthcare insurance which Narayana Health City provides to farmers at a premium rate of as low as Rs. 50 per month has helped in conducting one lakh heart surgeries till now.”
In a parallel session on ‘Health Disparities and Improving the Delivery of Healthcare in South Asia’, Ramesh Kumar, COO, Aster-Medicity, outlined the five pillars of clinical excellence, service excellence, preventive healthcare, accessibility to finance and quality assurance in the healthcare sector.
Manish Trivedi, COO, Jaypee Hospital, reiterated the need for accessibility, accountability and affordability in healthcare.