Trvikram Singh, Managing Director, Gopal Narayan Singh College & Hospital highlights the need for sustainable healthcare infrastructure
As per report from NITI Aayog, India’s healthcare industry has been growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of around 22% since 2016. At this rate, it is expected to reach USD 372 billion in 2022. Healthcare has become one of the largest sectors of the Indian economy, in terms of both revenue and employment. In 2015, the healthcare sector became the fifth largest employer, employing 4.7 Million people directly. As per estimates by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) healthcare can generate 2.7 million additional jobs in India between 2017-22 — over 500,000 new jobs per year. The healthcare sector, in particular, has received heightened interest from investors over the last few years, with the transaction value increasing from USD 94 Million (2011) to USD 1,275 Million (2016) – a jump of over 13.5 times. All of these factors together create several opportunities for investment in India’s healthcare
The need for a sustainable healthcare infrastructure is being driven by an amalgamation of factors including an aging population, a growing middle class, the rising proportion of lifestyle diseases, an increased emphasis on public-private partnerships as well as accelerated adoption of digital technologies, including telemedicine. The pandemic has not only brought challenges but also opportunities for the healthcare sector in India. It has accelerated the development of low-cost, scalable, and quick solutions, especially understanding the needs and demands of tier-2 cities and rural India. Apart from a sustainable hospital infrastructure that covers the needs of every patient, additional focus has to be given for growth of health insurance, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, medical devices, medical tourism, home healthcare as well as telemedicine and other technology-related health services.
The hospital industry in India is witnessing huge demand from both global and domestic investors. The Government’s plans to increase budgetary allocation for public health spending to 2.5% of the country’s GDP by 2025, will benefit the hospital sector as well.
There is tremendous demand for tertiary care hospitals and specialty hospitals, in particular. Currently, a considerable gap exists between the number of beds available and the number of beds required. India’s hospital bed density is less than half the global average of 3 hospital beds per 1,000 population, implying that an estimated 2.2 million beds will be required over the next 15 years.1,11 .Apart from metropolitan cities, demand for health services is rising in tier 2 and tier 3 locations across the country. The per-capita income in these locations has increased rapidly over the past few years. Further, inputs such as land and labour are available at a lower cost in these cities. An added advantage is that these locations can also cater to the population in nearby villages and towns.
Technology is helping the healthcare system to achieve its sustainable goals and things are constantly being improved. Hospitals can use tech-based solutions to combat biomedical waste by managing it appropriately. These technology solutions allow one to categorise, track, schedule, and identify waste collection and transportation. It also allows for special management of radioactive management of waste disposal, and color codes different waste types, which makes it easier to segregate. IoT enabled tracking allows the hospital to ensure proper disposal of waste in a timely manner. A diet management system can help to schedule meals as per the requirements of each bed in hospitals. Maintaining this can save a huge amount of food wasted in the hospital kitchens. To prevent greenhouse gas emissions, solar solutions or electric alternatives have to be used rather than fossil fuels. Old MRI machines, CT scanners which consume a lot of electricity should be replaced as these older models not only consume more power, but they also add to the heat generation of the hospital.