Public health in India exhibits a peculiar trend. In spite of a compound annual growth rate of 15 per cent in the healthcare industry, public health in India is full of paradoxes and challenges. Life expectancy at birth, for example, has increased from 48.8 years in 1970 to 64.8 years in 2009. However, there is an increasing incidence of deaths from chronic non-communicable diseases, or lifestyle diseases as they are popularly known, among people aged 35 to 60. Simultaneously, a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) suggests that 18.9 crore Indians will be at least 60 years of age by 2025, the implication being an enormous burden on the healthcare infrastructure of India as a result of the growing elderly population. In addition to that there has been a serious rise in lifestyle ailments like heart diseases, cancer or diabetes. In 2008, more than 35 per cent Indians who died of a heart attack, cancer or diabetes were in their productive years (age 35-60).
Given the issues and challenges public health in India is facing presently, there will always be a gap in terms of healthcare resources vis a vis people who are sick in the near future. Hence, as an alternative to consolidating resources for curative services is preventive healthcare. WHO indicates that at least 80 per cent of premature deaths from CVDs and type 2 diabetes, and 40 per cent of cancers are preventable if a healthy lifestyle is maintained and/or the conditions leading to the disease is detected early!
Deteriorating health also has serious implications on the economics of our country. WHO says, 3.2 per cent Indians will fall below the poverty line because of high medical bills, i.e., more than 61 Indians go below the poverty-line every minute by spending on healthcare. It is also suggested that about 70 per cent of Indians spend their entire income on healthcare and purchasing drugs.
Save your health, save your life, save your money!!
A preventive health check-up simply keeps you up-to-date with your health status! Also it is an investment that not only helps you save money today; it saves you from future catastrophic expenditures. Pioneer Futuretech (Healthcare IT) pioneers in creating a health card called the eMedicard – Just HealthCare 24×7 that brings healthcare to your door steps with no added costs rather with a battery of benefits and discounts.
The services that eMedicard brings for you:
- 24*7 Free teleconsultation with doctors for medical advice and second opinions
- 24*7 Doctors on call in times when you can’t go out to the clinics and hospitals
- 24*7 Diagnostic facility at your door steps
- 24*7 Instant first line of treatment during emergencies
- 24*7 Ambulance services equipped with doctors within 10 minutes
Apart from all these great benefits to bring you the best healthcare, it also keeps electronic medical records (EMR) for you. EMR is not something that we as Indians hear very frequently but it holds utmost importance in times of emergencies. EMR pull together all of a patient’s information, from the results of the last routine check-up with her primary care doctor to CT scans from her emergency hospital admission because of a fall, in one place that is secure but remotely accessible not only to physicians but to the patient herself.
A study concluded that heart attack patients who have EMR, when brought to the emergency departments of hospitals are less likely to develop complications or die as compared to patients who have no such records to help the doctors treating in emergency. This is so because in times of emergencies the patients or their families cannot carry health records to the hospitals. This is also one of the reasons why we are able to bring to you the best healthcare advice as well as service as we know your medical and family histories.
eMedicard is a service that helps manage your health needs for best results, provides rapid medical attention during times of emergencies and helps you save on medical expenses. It has a unique multifaceted approach towards healthcare and is thoroughly equipped to handle and manage its clients’ preventive and emergency healthcare needs. It is emerging as a facility that is here to bridge the gap between the healthcare needs and delivery.