LEADERSHIP
Healthcare that truly cares –
ACCESSIBILITY AND AFFORDABILITY “With the Indian Government finally channelizing all its efforts on enhancing healthcare facilities and augmenting its expanse to the remotest places in the country, the 2 As hold the key in its success – Accessibility & Affordability,” stresses Dr. P. Siva Kumar (SK), Medical Technology Advisor, ESI MedTek Solutions. Having over 30 years of experience in leadership positions in the core areas of healthcare and specific expertise in Clinical Diagnostics, we invited Dr. Kumar in a Fireside Chat with Sanjay Desai (SD), Co-founder & Regional Director, Humana International, and hosted by Celerity. Dr. Kumar highlights the importance of government’s revolutionary initiative Ayushman Bharat and the role of private sector in ensuring ‘Healthcare for All’. Excerpts…
SD - Would you like to share with us your fond childhood memories? SK - I hail from a small-town Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh. Kurnool was the capital of erstwhile Andhra State between from 1 October 1953 and 31 October 1956. I come from a middle-class family. My grandfather was a teacher, great grandfather was a priest, and my father was a government official, and I have grown to be an executive. There has been a steady growth in the career paths of my lineage. This has come from the culture and the values that have been ingrained in us since childhood. Till up to 10th grade, my education was in Telugu. One of the important people in my life who helped me in smooth transition to English language from Telugu was my grandfather as he was an English teacher. He was totally hard of hearing, so he would make me write my messages to him in English. He would pick mistakes which helped me improve the language. Subsequently, I moved to Hyderabad where I pursed my studies further and my PhD.
SD - Let’s talk about your PhD in biochemistry… at which juncture did you even realize that you were destined to be a celebrated doctorate? How did this transition happen? SK - It’s a very interesting journey. 10th grade is
24 CELERITY September - October 2021
