A brief glimpse into the future of healthcare

Dr Suleiman Merchant, Dean, Lokmanya Tilak Medical College and Hospital gave a glimpse of healthcare’s future and drew attention to the various advancements that are transforming healthcare. At the same time, he also advocated that simple measures can help prevent several health threats. He gave the example of TB management and pointed out Vitamin D supplements can help improve TB outcomes. He pointed out that flaws in our initial approach to disease management can lead to bigger menaces such as MDR TB. He stated that low-cost innovations and timely interventions are the way forward to improve public health.

Dr Suleiman also showed a video where a stroke patient is being treated using a minimal-invasive technology where the blood clot in the brain is disintegrated rather than removed through surgery. He also informed that the procedure is being done in his hospital at affordable cost. He went on to describe various other new interventions adopted in his hospital and how patients can benefit from these techniques and technologies.

His session also highlighted newer areas like epignetics and its potential in transforming healthcare delivery. He urged the public health fraternity to whole-hardheartedly adopt the
advancements in science and technology to provide best quality care to the patients. He played several videos to prove his points and catch the interest of the audience. He also cautioned that changing according to times is not a choice but a necessity.

Key recommendations

• Timely measures will help nip problems in the bud and prevent them from becoming bigger dilemmas
• Low cost innovations are the way forward to improve public health
• Emerging areas like epigenetics can transform healthcare delivery