About Author: Runam Mehta is the Chief Executive Officer of HealthCube, a well-funded health-tech startup in the arena of diagnostic devices. She is a dynamic and vastly experienced professional and has spent over 13 years building businesses and new sales channels in the Indian healthcare industry. Prior to joining HealthCube as its Chief Growth Officer and later taking the reins as the company’s CEO in less than 9 months, Runam spent close to 7 years at Portea Medical – India’s largest home healthcare company.
Healthcare coverage and India’s disease burden have been at a precarious level for a long time. The pandemic brought things under the scanner in an unprecedented manner, calling for a holistic review, and a considerable revamp of the infrastructure. From the readiness to handle a healthcare onslaught like the pandemic to the number of doctors and facilities, it was an eye-opener in more ways than one.
There exist frameworks to adequately address the healthcare needs of Indians. A three-tiered pyramid of sub-centers and primary and community health centres has been envisaged to cover the country. However, the actual numbers catered to by these healthcare facilities are much higher than expected, with the numbers being especially skewed in rural areas. According to the Rural Health Statistics from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare 2021, there are a total of 5,183 community centres currently functioning in India, against a target of 24,855 PHCs, 15, 8417 sub-centres, and 5,624 community health centers, as per 2020 data.
In a country like India where nearly 65% of the population still resides in rural areas, these numbers are insufficient to support the massive demands. Multiple other factors also add up to the problems faced by people residing in these areas- People need to travel extensively to reach these care centres, and are often faced with the lack of qualified personnel or diagnostic equipment aggravating the situation. For instance, there is a shortage of about 79.9% of specialist doctors at community health centers across India. The number of specialists has increased at an extremely slow pace in 2021.
“The advanced devices offer integrated technologies such as IoT, AI, and mobile technologies to operate in areas where even electricity or internet coverage is sketchy”
To combat the above health infrastructure issues, the Government of India launched the PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (ABHIM). In the next 4-5 years, the goal is to improve the vital healthcare network from village to block to the district to regional and national levels. The most important pillar of this program is to develop adequate diagnostic and treatment facilities.
Integrating technology-driven private sector healthcare services
The pandemic also brought challenges around ensuring adequate screening and regular monitoring of health conditions into the limelight. Public private partnerships can transform India’s rural healthcare system with a long-term sustainable model in multiple ways. Given the growing population of our country, state efforts alone may not suffice to strengthen the health system.
We have witnessed rapid and inspiring collaborations between public systems and private innovations to deploy digital solutions in times of great need. This spirit needs to be institutionalised for the long term evolution of our healthcare systems. Usage of smartphones for tele-consultations, and POC, portable diagnostic devices that can carry out a diverse range of basic blood tests and screening for infections as well as Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) has increased dramatically.
“We have witnessed rapid and inspiring collaborations between public systems and private innovations to deploy digital solutions in times of great need”
For instance, in one such initiative, the state government of Uttarakhand deployed POC devices for routine healthcare checks in remote mountainous villages across the state. These are regions that typically remained cut-off in uncertain weather. However, digital POC devices can now ensure year-round access. If a disease is detected, further steps can be seamlessly taken to provide doctor consultations or transfer the patients to healthcare facilities.
Through screening camps and partnerships with state governments and municipal authorities, health-tech startups are now swiftly expanding their coverage as well as features of digital diagnostic solutions. The advanced devices offer integrated technologies such as IoT, AI, and mobile technologies to operate in areas where even electricity or internet coverage is sketchy.
Way forward
The key is to continue the momentum to digitize the diagnostic ecosystem even though the pandemic has abated. A proactive, regulated, and consistent approach is surely going to be a game-changer for India’s medical ecosystem, and an enabler so that rural and remote areas can reap the benefits.
**Views expressed by the author are her own.
