Medtronic’s Shruti program aims to provide quality ear care to 10 million undeserved Indians by 2025

Mumbai: Medtronic plc, through its wholly-owned subsidiary India Medtronic Private Limited in India, has announced that it aims to provide quality ear care to 10 million people from the underserved community of India by 2025 through its innovative ear care program called Shruti.

According to the Indian Journal of Otology, almost 80 percent of hearing loss is preventable, yet many individuals don’t have the awareness, or access to quality, affordable ear care.

In December 2017, a case study on the patient impact of the Shruti program was published by BCtA (Business Call to Action) – a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) initiative. Recently, BCtA studied the impact of the Shruti program on a sample of over 400 patients to measure people’s awareness of hearing impairments and ear care; the prevalence and age distribution of disease; patients’ income levels; post-treatment rehabilitation and satisfaction levels.

Medtronic plans to use this impact data on Shruti to assess and improve screening and treatment protocols, measure improvements in the lives of patients and forge better partnerships with health service providers.

“There is about six percent of India’s population that suffers from hearing disability who need urgent intervention. At Medtronic, we believe everyone should have access to quality, affordable healthcare no matter where they live. Shruti is a health system innovation from Medtronic and aligns with the government’s vision of ‘Make in India’, as the ear screening kit is made completely in India, being designed and manufactured in Bengaluru and Chennai, respectively,” said Madan Krishnan, managing director, India Medtronic Pvt. Ltd. “The Shruti program drives ‘Digital India,’ by ensuring the use of information technology to drive down the costs and expand last mile access to quality healthcare. Lastly, the Shruti program also supports ‘Skill India’ through our training programs for community health workers, which has resulted in upskilling and creation of jobs.”

Medtronic launched Shruti in 2013 with a philosophy to create a sustainable program of low-cost ear care that includes awareness, screening, diagnosis, and low-cost treatment to the underserved, particularly in densely populated, low-income urban settlements, and rural areas.

Medtronic says it is transforming healthcare in India through the Shruti program with its presence in 25 hospitals across 18 cities in India and in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Through the network of community health workers, more than 390,000 people have been screened and more than 8,000 people have received life-improving treatment at a significantly reduced cost through the Shruti program.