In the 21st century, doctors need to be well versed in the basics of IT, just as much as they are with medicine. Such an integral part of the modern healthcare system is technology, and increasingly making a difference to patient-care in the field of diagnosis, investigations, treatment, documentation, retrieval of information and other numerous services. IT makes it possible for standard operating procedures to be introduced in almost every aspect of healthcare and providing real-time and appropriate information to relevant stakeholders. Local vendors providing customised and niche solutions are at times more preferred over large MNC players.
Developing nations are not saddled with legacy systems and are in an advantageous position to migrate faster into new systems and processes.
A country, the size of India with teeming millions, will always have a pressing need for affordable healthcare services by leveraging cost utility techniques. Frugal innovation techniques make a positive impact on cost. In the next decade, emerging economies are expected to invest more in R&D and provide human capital for multi-disciplinary research.
Given the opportunity, it can be expected that the investment community will extend their support. Medical technology innovation requires a vibrant and participative ecosystem where all relevant stakeholders comprising of patients, medical centres, universities, medical technology industry, health insurance companies and government play their respective roles and are able to function in synergy. That in the past decades, the sector did not see IT adoption as much as desired, need not be a deterrent at all. Exponential growth in usage of mobile phones and applications that run on them can ensure that the vision of e-health for Indian citizens is achieved by 2020 or even earlier.
It is worthwhile to note that treatment of the eye, heart, kidneys (and others) can be had at a much lower cost here, compared to US. Controlling wastage is a very important component of cost saving. The prominent hospitals are able to identify areas where wastage can be minimised and take adequate steps to remain cost effective. In many ways, the Indian story is a paradox. On one end there are world class hospitals which can provide state of the art healthcare services, even attracting patients from other countries, yet there remains much to be desired in suburban and rural parts of the country.
The medical equipment segment is representative of more than 50% of the total medical technology sector and includes imaging equipment like MRI, CT, in-vitro diagnostic equipment and those used for therapy like cath labs, gamma knife etc. Medical implants section is the next biggest segment accounting for almost 25% of the market. This segment includes cardiac implants like stents and pacemakers, orthopaedic implants, eye and ear implants and dental implants. The remaining 20% of the market is constituted of medical disposables and furniture. Several multinationals companies have entered the fray like GE, Cisco, HP, Qualcomm, Microsoft, TCS, Philips to name a few, and the lines between embedded software and hardware is blurring.
Bridging the gap between demand for healthcare and existing supply calls for substantive investments. The private sector has come forward and is doing a commendable job. From healthcare delivery to diagnostic services to maintenance of medical equipment to provision of ambulance services to establishment of medical colleges, there exists a whole range of opportunities for PPP models to work. The barriers to affordable healthcare include lack of awareness of diseases, inappropriate screening facilities, unsuitable diagnosis among other major causes. This lack of awareness extends to medical practitioners as well. Many are simply unaware of the availability of specially priced medical instruments and are not able to suitably recommend. Technology partnerships are much needed between the private sector and government to address this gap. Device manufacturers are now focussed on manufacturing devices for a particular geography, and pricing it accordingly.
The new healthcare models initiated by IT companies can deliver products and services that are simple to use and cost effective. Migrating to new systems would require a mind-set change and support from vendors on a sustained basis, given the mission critical nature. New technologies like virtualisation and cloud, though still in its nascent stage will see significant traction in the next few years. Telemedicine is a trend that is emerging very fast, supported by growth in IT & telecom. Several projects are being launched like eSanjeevani, a web-based telemedicine software solution, initiated by the government. The idea of digital hospital continues to gain in prominence as hospitals are increasingly going in for digitising their records, though IT adoption in public hospitals yet remain a challenge.
The Indian healthcare sector is growing at 1.5 times the GDP growth rate but IT investments are barely 2% of gross revenues, which is significantly lower than other sectors, where the figures are even upto 5-8%. This percentage will change radically as economic growth strengthens, private investments increase, health insurance goes up significantly and as we see emergence of new healthcare delivery models.
Increasingly, India is being recognised as a medical tourism destination which augurs well for the sector per se.
By R Chandrashekhar
The writer is president, Nasscom
