Let's set health priorities right
We need specific budgetary allocation to develop advanced technologies and take health care into the interiors of the nation
India stands at the cusp of becoming the largest populated country in the world. By 2022, we will be overtaking China, according to UN estimates. The 2021 Census will give a clearer picture of the demography. However, with the growth of population, disease burden is only expected to rise. And our preparedness to make the country healthy is far from adequate. It’s true that India lacks infrastructure, delivery models and resources for wider health care delivery. We also have an acute shortage of qualified professionals. Then there is the appalling doctor to patient ratio, which stands at an overall level of 1:1596. The Medical Council of India recorded 10.4 lakh doctors registered with it at various State branches. But only 8.33 lakh MBBS doctors are in active service. It is estimated that at the current population rate, India would require more than two million additional doctors by 2030 to achieve even the modest doctor-population ratio of 1:1000. There are just 25,650 primary health care centres (PHC) across India and nearly eight out of every 100 of these function without a single doctor on the payroll. This despite the fact that guidelines of the Indian Public Health Standards mandate at least two doctors at every PHC. Almost 36 per cent of these PHCs have no lab technician and more than 18 out of every 100 do not have a pharmacist.
Long-term prospect: The launch of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana was, perhaps, the single most important initiative undertaken by the Government in recent decades. Despite the Government’s plan to launch medical colleges like the ones launched in Chaibasa and Koderma in Jharkhand during the inauguration of Ayushman Bharat, India needs more educational institutes of quality and skill training to fill the gap. It will take at least a decade to have a strong workforce of qualified professionals. The solution lies in investing and implementing various technological innovations to help healthcare penetrate the interiors of the country.
Channelising qualified individuals: India produces approximately 1.5 million engineers annually. Computer sciences (CS), information technology (IT) and related streams are still the hottest trends. The country produces over 56,000 doctors and 1.25 lakh nurses annually. Numbers may seem impressive but with the population increasing by 26 million per year, the challenge is even bigger. While all doctors and nurses get absorbed in the system, of all the IT or CS engineers, only the top cream, around 20 per cent, get employed. The rest are left to fend for themselves. It would only benefit the medical sciences and the engineering fraternity if the next 20 per cent of these avenues of research and employment opportunities in public health-based technologies are created for finding India-specific models of healthcare delivery.
In 2019 and beyond, some of the domains that could be the next-level focus areas should include the following:
Assisted telemedicine and related innovation: Assisted telemedicine shows a lot of promise because about 70 per cent of OPD cases do not need in-person visits as indicated by independent researches. Further, statistics show that only 15-16 per cent of the patients treated by way of telemedicine had to visit a hospital for further treatment. It is also more suited in the Indian context as literacy levels in rural areas are abysmally low.
Innovation in diagnostics: Primary level diagnostics need portable, affordable and advanced innovation and technologies that can conduct various tests at the primary level to help the local healthcare professional decide upon the best possible treatment regimen or go for referrals. Making X-Ray, MRI and CT scans reach the masses is important. At the same time, pathological and cancer tests also need innovation for quicker, on-the-spot diagnosis.
Predictive analytics and big data: This is providing promising results in domains of patient prediction for improved staffing, establishing electronic health record systems, facilitating real-time alerting, using health data for national, State and regional level strategic planning, reducing fraud and boosting security.
IoT in healthcare: This is seeing a global demand. Used in advanced facilities through remote monitoring and tele-monitoring, this technology can be used to reach Tier-3 cities and below in India. This technology also includes tracking, asset monitoring and its maintenance, which builds on efficiency and optimisation of assets, thereby keeping patients safe, enhancing health and care delivery.
Artificial Intelligence: From managing medical records, installing virtual assistants to conducting repetitive jobs such as workflow and administrative tasks, progress of AI in healthcare is advancing rapidly. However, with respect to providing healthcare delivery in remote areas with minimum manpower, AI-based innovations can make a huge difference.
It is, therefore, imperative that a specific budgetary allocation be made to support entrepreneurs, establish research centres and assist organisations to come up with path-breaking innovations.
(The writer is founder of Gramin Healthcare)
No comments:
Post a Comment