‘’Healthcare organisations should have trained healthcare administrators with modern management skills’’

Scarcity of manpower is a major problem in Indian healthcare. What are the three immediate steps that should be undertaken to deal with this issue?

Dr S D Gupta

The three immediate steps would be:

• Manpower should be equally distributed in rural and urban areas.
• Private sector should be encouraged to train more healthcare professionals.
• Replacing the technical manpower with health care managers to enable them to work as professionals in hospitals.

What kind of shortage are we witnessing in the managerial and administrative segment of Indian healthcare? What would be the right way to handle this shortage?

At present the healthcare system is managed by doctors who do not have administrative capabilities and skills. The healthcare organisations should have trained healthcare administrators with modern management skills to improve the healthcare services. This would also require change in government policy.

Which government policies are needed to reform the management side of Indian healthcare?

India today faces the dual burden of infectious diseases and chronic diseases. Prevention and public health functions need more focus than clinical care. It is imperative that factors like nutrition, hygiene, water supply and sanitation, food adulteration, quality of drugs, environmental protection, and health programmes in schools and occupational areas are addressed.

What are the lessons for India in hospital management from the global experience?

Technology is increasingly playing a role from patient registration to data monitoring, from lab tests to self test tools. Devices like smart phones and tables are starting to replace the conventional recording systems. These need special emphasis in the hospitals of our country.

What are the areas of hospital management that need special focus while looking to train professionals in India?

Modern hospitals need a multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary approach to put various services together for its effective and efficient use. Developing management competencies, leadership skills are core to our institute’s mission.

Which are the organisations that you are seeking partnerships with? How would they help in improving IIHMR’s offerings?

Working together as partner, disseminating information and sharing knowledge at the national and global levels are the ethos of the institute. Emphasis has been given to networking with prestigious universities like Johns’ Hopkins University, US; Gulf Medical University, UAE; Mahidol University, Thailand and international organisations such as World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, SEAPHIEN, The Union-Paris, Sup biotech Paris etc.

How has hospital management changed over the years? What are the current trends globally in this sector?

Managing large hospitals has become an increasingly specialised job as the organisation structure in these hospitals is getting complex. Coordinating the work of senior consultants, keeping a check on lapses and irregularities as well as preventing and controlling workers’ unrest require specialised managerial skills. Moreover, hospital managers have the responsibility to not only protect the interest of the clients but also to safeguard the hospital staff against getting involved in avoidable legal disputes.

With the advancement in medical technology, interventions on patients are increasing. This results in high chances of transmission of hospital acquired infections. The pressure on a hospital to improve the quality of care is not only from the clients but also from other institutions like insurance companies and third-party administrators (TPAs).

How does IIHMR help its students to be at par with the changing trends in the world?

It aims at developing trained professionals with requisite skills in planning and operating management techniques, diagnosing and solving management problems and acquiring consultancy skills. It intends to prepare the students to serve in hospitals and healthcare institutions of developing countries, both in the public and the private sectors, and to meet the rising demand for quality care.

How far does the tie up with John Hopkins University help in the endeavour?

IIHMR’s close affiliation with the Johns Hopkins University has been multifaceted from the beginning. The association with this esteemed university from the US has actively contributed in the areas of research, academics, capacity building and training. This unique affiliation has resulted in raising the benchmark of quality for IIHMR University in the field of academics through the JHU’s No. 1 programme- Master of Public Health.

Tell us about the recent University status granted to IIHMR by the Rajasthan government? What are the criteria that needed to be fulfilled to be granted this status?

IIHMR has been granted the status of a research university by the Government of Rajasthan and is permitted to conduct only postgraduate courses for promoting public health education in this part of the world. The criteria included world class infrastructure intellectual capacity, financial soundness and its capacity to carry out research.

Any new courses in the offing by IIHMR? How would it help to mitigate the scarcity for hospital management professionals?

We continue to strive for excellence with our vision to become a world class university of learning and scholarship in management education, research and capacity development in the health sector. We are moving ahead with expanding and strengthening institutional network, as well as building new partnerships and collaboration with the national and international organisations for more efficient and effective healthcare delivery. We reaffirm our commitment to improving the health standards of the people with the collective efforts of the government, partner institutions and development organisations. As ever, I am an uninhibited optimist and believe we will make it to the new orbit with our committed faculty, research and support staff.

[email protected]