Health care in India – An Evolving Scenario

Before we latch on to the subject of Health Care in India, the following are some points regarding current status of Indian Economy:

• Fastest growing economy in the world
• GDP growing at 9.5%
• In about seven years Indian economy would cross US $1.5 Trillion mark.
• Foreign Direct Investment amounts to US $12.5 billion
• Foreign Trade and exports to cross US $125 billion in current fiscal year

Now let us get the statistics for Indian Health care Economy:

• Currently valued at US $35 billion
• Expected growth of 13% annually
• Percentage GDP expenditure is highest amongst developing nations
• Low costs compared to other countries
• Largest service sectors in the economy with over 4 million people engaged
• Expected job opportunities at 12%

Health care Industry in India is hence set for a major upsurge. It is like a hen which can lay a golden egg each day if not more. The following are some of the factors which are influencing the upward trend for health care in India:

Health Insurance:

Health Insurance has now matured from infancy stage. The Business is growing almost at 50% per year and is projected to grow to US $ 5.75 billion by 2010. Almost all the insurance companies have outsourced their claim processing and settlement protocol to Third Party Administrators (TPA). This has brought in a sea change in processing and settlement of claims. With this kind of fluency in working more and more people are getting medical insurance.

Economy Upsurge:

As mentioned above Indian Economy on the whole is also experiencing a tremendous upsurge. The IT industry growth is like a fairy tale. Along with IT many other industries have also flourished which has effected in rise in disposable income of common man. In turn the rise in income has also resulted in increase in Life style oriented health problems.

Investments in Health care:

Health care sector is attracting huge investments from domestic players, financial investors and private equity firms. Last year US $450 million were invested in this sector. Indian Government is also now contributing along with private sector companies. With rise in cash flows, health care sector now has the fiscal power to embark upon ambitious projects, high end research, creating or procuring sophisticated technology etc.

Rise of Medical Tourism:

4,50,000 foreign patients were treated last year. Currently Medical Tourism is churning out US $350 million per year. It has the potential to grow at 30% annually and become a US $2 billion industry by 2012. In India treatment cost is lowest as it is valued to be 20% of the average cost incurred in the US, Singapore, Thailand and South Africa. Lower cost plus the tourist attractions offered by India are now the key selling points. World Class medical facilities and expertise is now available in India. Increasing popularity of traditional Indian Medicine – Ayurveda combined with our family values and genuine concern for our patients, Medical Tourism in India is a gold mine.

Up gradation in Hospital Infrastructure and Services:

Keeping in trend with patient’s requirement to have maximum comforts, hospitals have now started to modernize. Excellent and comfortable accommodation facilities are now being created. Hospitals are looking more like 5 star hotels or resorts. Qualified, efficient & effective nursing, para medical and administrative staff is being recruited along. State of art ambulance service is a feature of almost any prominent hospital in India.

Availability of world class equipment:

India today has best of current medical technology. The concentration now is on Indigenization so as to bring down the costs. The Indian medical equipment industry is around US$ 2.17 billion and is growing at 15 per cent per year. It is estimated to reach US$ 4.97 billion by 2012. This would naturally bring advanced technology in reach of common man.

Information Technology:

IT has played a major role in changing the outlook of healthcare in India. Video Conferencing, Tele Medicine, Online Medical Record Storage and Retrieval etc are now the utilities commonly used in India. Gone are the days where we required a doctor in person to advise us, healthcare is now available at a click of a button.

Governments Initiative:

The Government has launched the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) in 2005 that aims to provide quality health care for all. During the 2009 interim budget, the government has allocated US$ 2.42 billion for NRHM. Government has increased the expenditure on health care from 0.9 % of GDP to 2-3 per cent of GDP by 2012. It has also relaxed the import duty on medical equipment and life saving drugs.

Research:

Clinical research and manufacturing is shifting away from the United States and Europe, hence outsourcing to India would continue to grow at a fast pace. Clinical research and manufacturing are growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33% and is expected to be US$6.6 billion by 2013.

Indian Health care scenario is indeed something to watch out for as it has become an extremely vibrant power in overall Indian Economy.

Swine Flu – A disease that went beyond being just a Pandemic

Swine Flu or medical speaking H1 N1 virus spreads its pandemic tentacles in India…100 odd cases are reported...Pune witnesses a large number of reported Swine Flu Cases…A highly reputed English medium school reports 14 students positive to H1 N1 virus…Situation time…Panic spreads and parents do not allow children to attend school…Concerns grow and hence school organizes a dialogue between the State and Local Medical Authorities, School Management, Indian Medical Association, Pune Chapter, authorities of the National Institute of Virology, Pune and most importantly the panic stricken parents.

My daughter studies in the same school and naturally I was also concerned. Almost every parent that I came across seemed highly stressed. A funny incident can be related to this fact. Due to some nose irritation, I gave a few sneezes. Two women sitting in front of me immediately covered there mouth and nose and kept it on till the end of the program.

The Government Medical authorities explained in detail the aspects, causes and treatment modalities to the parents. They explained the measures taken in India presently are known as QUARANTINE or isolation of the patient for certain period of time that the treatment is administered and the virus is sanitized.

Now, parents were of the view point that if the school is kept closed for a few days the effects of the virus would be eradicated. Lot of deliberations took place between the parents and the medical experts with an added spice of few local politicians joining in the same.

Now, as most had their bit of limelight, two gentlemen came on the stage with medical masks on their faces covering their nose and mouth. They were the fathers of infected students. They put forth 2 pronged theory of dealing with this situation
1) Human Relations
2) Social Responsibility

A tingle went down my spine. A thought process evolved and made me to realize the trauma these parents might be going through. Here we are all concerned whether we or our children are subjected to this disease but least concerned of the children that already have attracted the wrath of this disease.

More importantly is the condition of the child subjected to quarantine. No one wants to be alone for a certain period of time. Rightly put forth by one of the affected parent - imagine you staying in prison for one day. True, children aged between 10 to 13 years subjected to isolation from rest of the world just because of some virus. He or she is not used to it but these are the children of India who have braved this adversity and have cured themselves.

What are the parents of infected students going through? The concern for such parents now is the acceptability of their child in general society after their recovery. Well here is where we have to use the tool of Human Relations.

The medical authorities have assured that patients diagnosed for H1N1 virus after proper medical treatment are not further carriers of this disease. So they all are part of us. Let us accept these students with open arms. They are part of our society and our fraternity.

However, we also need to understand the aspect of social responsibility. We as parents if discover that our child is suffering from any symptom of this virus (symptoms can be gathered from internet) we need to take appropriate steps. Let us use our self discipline methods here. Visit the Government authorized medical centre and get yourself tested that also if the medical authorities deem you fit for the test for H1 N1 virus.

Swine flu is not only a pandemic it is now a force dynamic to our life specific at present. So as fellow humans we need to think, plan and execute as mentioned.

My friend Sanjay has suggested this link which can be useful to all of us
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8021958.stm

Hospital Industry and IT

IT – Information Technology the buzz word of today’s generation. We are all aware of its benefits, advantages, utilities etc. It has captured the world by storm.

Hospital industry is acquainted with IT through the high tech medical and diagnostic equipment used nowadays. Since the advent of IT the medical fraternity has always been a dynamic source for this concept. Especially considering, the diagnostic imaging and surgical arenas in hospital industry. Many other aspects of IT have then flowed in, some of which sustained and some did not endure for a long time.

HIS – Hospital Information System has been existent since a long time. Many a hospitals are using this technology for good benefit. Now it is also awakening to the fact of its usage in other areas of its working. The utility of IT is ranging from patient care to monitoring of health records to even HR management. IT is a tool which can be shaped and cast as one feels and hence the hospitals are now using it as they prefer the best.

However there are some areas as I feel need more attention as related to usage of IT. Majority of hospitals are still ignorant to the following facts:
• Online storage and retrieval of patient’s medical records
• Online marketing a hospital

Let us understand the advantages on the above mentioned utilities of IT:

Online storage and retrieval of patient’s medical records:
1. Simultaneous, remote access to patient data:
Multiple Dr’s can access a patient's record simultaneously from many locations.
2. Safer data:
Data once stored online is safe and can then be never lost.
3. Confidentiality:
A unique password and user ID is created and is known only to the user.
4. Assisted search:
In a small fraction of the time required using a manual system, computers can search free-text as well as structured data to find a specific data
5. Always up to date:
Once uploaded then all data is immediately available to all Dr’s regardless of their physical location. This eliminates the problems associated with several Dr’s, each keeping a small portion of a patient's medical record in their offices and transferring these paper-based records back and forth as they consult.

I also have this specific website in mind www.arogyadarpan.com which can almost cater to all the requirements as mentioned above.

Online storage of medical record gives the user and the doctor the freedom of accessing the data anytime and anywhere.


Online marketing of a hospital:

Online marketing is generally known as ‘Viral Marketing’. Viral marketing is an effective Internet marketing tool to efficiently market your business. It is one of the most popular cost-effective Internet marketing solutions.

• Reach a large number of people quickly and easily online
• Have an explosive growth of traffic to your website within a short time
• Build brand recognition
• Increase your link popularity
• Assess and take remedial measures on customer complaints
• Inflow of foreign patients

Various forms of Viral Marketing are:

• Email marketing
• Blogs
• Online Articles
• Social networking through sites such as linkedin, orkut, facebook etc.
• Online Newsletters
• Online forums

Internet today has eliminated boundaries. Hospitals if they have the will they can cater their services and medical expertise to any patient across the globe. For this Internet Marketing is an important tool.

Hence, the hospital today can very well take up these aspects of IT and create true value to its customers through online medical record storage and retrieval and multiply its business using the online/ viral marketing tool.