The second edition of Financial Express Digital Health Conclave 2023 at Hyatt Regency, New Delhi, brings together all relevant health leaders and experts, innovators, practitioners, policymakers and stakeholders. This year the theme of the conclave is ‘Mapping the future of healthcare’.
Through a series of on-stage conversations, expert panelists discuss common priorities, best practices and perspectives on the future of healthcare delivery, and explore opportunities to continue improving equity and access to quality healthcare.
With more than 30 speakers and 150 delegates, FE Digital Health Conclave 2023 aims to set the course for a healthier future.
The focus of the conclave remains on discussing a number of pressing topics, including India’s Digital Health ID Mission; Developing Digital Solutions To Deliver Better Outcomes; Proactive population health management; Future of Digital health & the New Imperatives; Covid And Beyond: Resurgence of Infectious Diseases; Improving Patient & Clinical Experience with Advanced Digital Health Technologies; The Future of Healthcare: Let The Data Speak; Has Indian Digital Health Industry Got What It Takes to Catch Up?; and Strengthening the Digital Health Ecosystem in India.
The conclave is the optimal spot for networking and knowledge sharing with peers.
Join us at the summit for a transformative day of content and conversation.
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A big thank you to all who contributed their thoughts to the FE Digitalhealth Conclave 2023.
Thank you for following our live blog. We hope you enjoyed reading our liveblog and had an informative day following our sessions. We will now wrap the blog. Good night
Since technological advancement is the key to unlocking a robust healthcare system in India, FE Digitalhealth Conclave 2023 is conducting a felicitation ceremony to encourage and congratulate healthcare industry leaders for their exemplary work. On stage are, Roshun Povaiah, Editor, FinancialExpress.com and E Kumar Sharma, Deputy Editor, FinancialExpress.com to hand over the certificates to 46 Indian healthcare innovators.
The valedictory address on Strengthening the digital health ecosystem in India by Dr RS Sharma, Chief Executive Officer, National Health Authority is not to be missed.
Dr Sharma said technology is an enabler that makes things easy and simple. It also empowers the patient.
Speaking on Ayushman Bharat, “We are opening an ABHA account for every patient. It's like opening a bank account where you keep your medical documents. The patient can control who can access the health account, he added.
Professor Anurag Agrawal, Dean, BioSciences and Health Research, Trivedi School of Biosciences, Ashoka University, India said that most reports cannot be understood by patients who require it the most. “Digitisation can come to aid here so that patients can read and understand their reports,” he said, adding, “We have to do things differently and not follow what others have been doing for years.”
“Earlier many patients came to hospitals to collect records of blood tests but Covid changed it all,” said Jitendra Haryan, CEO, Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre.
He felt that digitisation is the need of the hour and it saves the patients' and hospitals' time and efforts.
He added that meaningful data can change a lot in the healthcare sector.
Dr Susil Kumar Meher, Head-It, AIIMS New Delhi said all data records in terms of medical records that hospitals have are in isolation. “So when it comes to interoperability of data we have failed.”
Dr D S Rana, Chairman, Sir Ganga Ram Trust Society stated that Ganga Ram Hospital is one of the few hospitals in the country that decided to digitise in 1999.
He added that Ayushman Bharat will be a real game changer in terms of digitisation.
From the point of view of a healthcare provider Joy Chakraborty, COO, P.D. Hinduja Hospital spoke on the significance of digitisation of documents at his hospital.
An insightful session on 'Has Indian Digital Health Industry Got What it Takes to Catch Up?' has begun.
On stage, our panelists are:
Joy Chakraborty, COO, P.D. Hinduja Hospital
Professor Anurag Agrawal, Dean, BioSciences and Health Research, Trivedi School of Biosciences, Ashoka University, India
Dr D S Rana, Chairman, Sir Ganga Ram Trust Society
Jitendra Haryan, CEO, Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre
Dr Susil Kumar Meher, Head-It, AIIMS New Delhi
The session is moderated by Mohd Yaman, Solution Consultant – Digital Media, Adobe
Post the pandemic telemedicine solutions are being used widely, said Pooja Chatrath, CIO, Oncquest Laboratories Ltd.
But just do not leave data protection to the cloud, it is the responsilibility of other stakeholders as well, she cautioned.
Praveen Bist, CIO, Amrita Hospitals stated that AI is making fast advancements and healthcare is not an exception. “AI is great but embrace it with caution,” he said.
Dr. Arjun Dang, CEO, Dr Dang's Lab spoke on the potential of using data for the larger benefit of the nation. He said that labs play a crucial role in sharing data with ICMR and similar bodies for research projects.
Dr Harpreet Singh, Scientist, ICMR said that in terms of hospitals, the data is standardised but the data for research projects is generalised as it is collected from a diverse population.
Governance, policy and legal framework is needed for data standardisation, he asserted.
A very engaging discussion on The Future of Healthcare: Let The Data Speak has begun. The eminent panel includes Dr Arjun Dang, CEO, Dr Dang's Lab; Pooja Chatrath, CIO, Oncquest Laboratories Ltd. ; Dr Harpreet Singh, Scientist, ICMR; Praveen Bist, CIO, Amrita Hospitals. The session is moderated by Roshun Povaiah, Editor, FinancialExpress.com who began the discussion by stating that data is the new oil.
It never gets better than this at the FE Digitalhealth Conclave 2023!
In yet another thought provoking session, Prasad Kompalli, CEO & Co-Founder, MFine spoke on Improving patient & clinical experience with advanced digital health technologies.
Elaborating on tele consults, Kompalli said that it is mobile centric.
On mobile as health tracker, he focussed on vitals monitoring, tracking health and continuous care.
On health IDs, he mentioned portability of data and simplicity of data.
Hon (Brig) Dr Arvind Lal, Executive Chairman, Dr Lal PathLabs mentioned that 66% of deaths occur due to non communicable diseases (NCDs).
“Diagnostics players jumped onto the Covid bandwagon due to test and track mantra of the authorities. We will always rise to the occasion and if it is not a pandemic, we can control it,” said Dr Lal.
Speaking about differential pricing, he insisted that there has to be differential pricing in the sector. “We have been asking the Government for differential pricing, and the Govefrnment has in principle agreed,” stated Dr Lal.
Prashant Tandon, Co-Founder & CEO, Tata 1mg spoke on consumerisation of healthcare. He said, “We are consumer-focussed and the platform does not decide for the consumer.”
At the end of the day, consumers will have a vast choice and will go to the most trusted player, he added.
In terms of expansion and growth, it should be an omnichannel play and there should be focus on digital as well as physical, said Antony Jacob, CEO, Apollo 24/7.
Anand K, CEO, SRL Diagnostics spoke about how laboratories are adopting new technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence for diagnostics.
In terms of expansion and growth for diagnostics, there is a huge room for consolidation and M&As, he added.
Stating that the current pricing is reasonable, he said that differential pricing is here to stay and in the sector it is more about quality and convenience and not about pricing.
Dr Arvind Lal, Executive Chairman, Dr Lal PathLabs said that although a lot has happened in the recent past, but last mile internet connectivity is missing.
“It is not for doctors to manage health services, we must have better management of health services,” he emphasised.
A powerful discussion on Covid And Beyond : Resurgence of infectious diseases is underway.
The distinguished panel includes Hon (Brig) Dr Arvind Lal, Execuve Chairman, Dr Lal PathLabs; Anand K, CEO, SRL Diagnostics; Prashant Tandon, Co-Founder & CEO, Tata 1mg; Antony Jacob, CEO, Apollo 24/7. The session is moderated by E Kumar Sharma, Deputy Editor, FinancialExpress.com.
In a special address on the 'Future of Digital Health & the new imperatives', Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, former Chief Scientist at the World Health Organisation (WHO) felt India was today best placed to leverage its early lead in digital health interventions to expand the scope and reach of healthcare.
Referring to the impact of the CoWIN app during the pandemic as a medium that connected with a billion people, she stated, that the app and other digital platforms and interventions could now be leveraged to treat and manage several chronic diseases like hypertension. diabetes and other ailments.
“The pandemic really shook us and we had to do everything in a different way. For instance, with trainings, in 2020 with the onset of Covid 19, we had to reach out to a large population, about 60,000 to 70,000 people, and technology was a helpful tool,” said Dr. Bulbul Sood, Ex-Senior Strategic Advisor, Jhpiego. Jhpiego came up with apps and programmes for self-learning as well to tackle the pandemic, she added.
Speaking about data, she stated: “We have lot of data but what is missing is how we use the data at the appropriate level be it the policy level or the village level or any other level.”
Arun Goyal, Chief Information Officer, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital spoke on the National Digital Health Mission and also mentioned that the blueprint is on the NHA website. He emphasised that the interests of practitioners, entrepreneurs, etc are protected in the National Digital Health Mission.
While referring to the theme of the panel 'Proactive population health management: Necessity of the post pandemic value-based world', and sharing his initial thoughts, Dr Anuj Gupta, Principal VP, Head – Oncology and P&I, THB asked, “We are a population of 1.4 billion, shouldn't we have been proactive about population health management from the start? Were we waiting for the pandemic to become proactive?”
Emphasising that digital is a means to get to good health it is not a solution, Neeraj Jain, Country Head, Country Director – India, Director – South Asia, said, “Health is about equity. It is not about who can afford it and who cannot. Health has an impact on all of us, and the pandemic showed us that.”
As engaging and interactive sessions continue at FE Digitalhealth Conclave 2023, a distinguished panel discusses 'Proactive population health management: Necessity of the post pandemic value-based world.'
The panel comprises Deepak Tuli, Co-founder, Eka.care; Neeraj Jain, Country Head, Country Director – India, Director – South Asia, PATH; Dr Anuj Gupta, Principal VP, Head – Oncology and P&I, THB; Arun Goyal, Chief Informaon Officer, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital; Dr. Bulbul Sood, Ex-Senior Strategic Advisor, Jhpiego. It is moderated by Jaspreet Singh, Partner & National Leader, Grant Thorton Bharat LLP
The discussion is impactful as population health management will be shaping and changing our lives over the next ten years and beyond, including the response to the challenge of the global pandemic.
“Unlike other sectors, healthcare needs patience and persistence. Investors need quick returns but healthcare needs quality and trust as the solution needs to be tested,” said Rajdeep Ghosh, Chief Product & Technology Officer – Digital Health, Dr Reddy's & Svaas Wellness.
Sudhanshu Mittal, Head & Director Technical Solutions, NASSCOM said that the government structure is not designed to take initiatives. “Even if one does not utilise any government resources one faces many questions if out of five initiatives, two fail.”
He also spoke about technical due diligence being non negotiable with a digital health solution.
“We all know about the challenges in developing digital solutions such as access to data, access to tech and so on but we do not know about the challenges in delivering healthcare solutions,” said Vasanth Venugopal, Chief Medical Officer, CARPLl.ai spoke.
For a small hospital in UP to get access to digital health solutions in Lithuania is tough because of bureaucratic delays and more.
“As a radiologist to trust a digital health solution is tough as I have to assess these solutions on my data. There is no scope of error,” said Venugopal, adding that integrating the solutions into his workflow is a major challenge.