Indian healthcare @75

Indian healthcare @75: Talent, infrastructure, legacy & vision

Dr. Upasana Arora, Director, Yashoda Super Specialty Hospitals asserts that India has proven capabilities to bridge critical gaps in global healthcare.

Afew months ago, I wanted to take a second opinion for an autoimmune disease, for which I am being treated in my own hospital. I visited a special surgery hospital in the US, where I met Dr. Ronaldo McKenzie who was Head of Rheumatology and showed all my reports. His first response was, “You are getting the best treatment, why you are here? The best doctors are Indians.”

Indians are basically very hardworking and intelligent. It is a well-accepted fact that the best doctors and engineers in the world are Indians. In fact, everybody knows that US and UK’s healthcare system is run by Indian doctors!

In India, medical help is readily available, without very long queues. We probably do not appreciate the worth of this privilege as well as we should. If you are, for instance, going for an MRI in USA, you need an appointment two months in advance. In India, anybody can go and get it done then and there.

Moreover, modern Indian hospitals are providing all kinds of treatments under one roof – Allopathic, Homeopathic, Ayurveda, Ayush, Yoga. We are providing world class health care with cutting edge technology with all best doctors and charging very less if you compare with other countries.

Moreover, India actually believes in Atithi Devo Bhava, which sets us apart. In our culture, we become very close to our patients also and treat them with love, affection, care. We call them by name, rather than a bed number. These things make India different from other countries.

Our healthcare system was indeed challenged during COVID, especially during the second wave when lots of people lost their lives. While India has a good number of hospitals, the pandemic presented a once-in-a-century scenario, when so many people needed to get admitted at the same time.

Post this dreadful experience, it’s a demand of the times that all hospitals be prepared all the time for any problem. Yet, we also have significant positives to show to the world that India is the best destination for healthcare.

From zero manufacturing capability, we are now the biggest suppliers of PPE kits. India has provided the second dose to all and even a booster dose to 30% of the population. This is a feat that even developed countries are still struggling to match. At the same time, our hospitals, that were not having adequate facilities, were able to save many lives.

Hospitals have taken their learnings. Today, for instance if you go to any hospital, they have installed a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) plant for oxygen, and lots of extra beds are being added.

Our respected Prime Minister is taking so much interest in the sector, and the government is emphasizing on both Heal in India and Heal By India. We are planning to promote India’s medical tourism in a big way with the Sanjeevani programme. Around 50-60% people are young, and now we are increasing medical and nursing colleges as well as paramedical trainings.

Indian hospitals are capable to cater to more patients than other destinations like Thailand and Bangkok. We have land as well as manpower and skills. I am certain that from 2023, medical tourism will commence once again with full force and we will now get the best results.

The government is making a portal, where all big hospitals will be registered, especially NABHaccredited hospitals. Every hospital is supposed to put all their services, as well as their outcomes and number of surgeries done (like joint replacement, heart replacement, etc). It will be a game changer and greatly facilitate foreign patients.

Our respected Prime Minister is also very keen that Indian hospitals should go abroad, and establish their setups there, besides delivering services through telemedicine or medical personnel. A lot of Indian nurses and physiotherapists, for instance, are working in different countries. Other countries are offering free of cost land, to set up and provide healthcare services.

At the same time, there are few countries that have big, well-equipped hospitals, but face shortage of skilled doctors, nurses and other staff. So, they would like Indians to come there and provide treatment to their citizens. Our specialist doctors can do few days in a month in some countries, or some hospitals can establish there.

So a lot of such initiatives are in progress, and within a few years, India is going to become a vishwa guru in healthcare, because we have all the right ecosystem drivers in place and are also backed by our government’s vision to make India heal for itself and the world.