ASSOCHAM

ASSOCHAMs 2nd Summit on Access to Healthcare: Scaling Up Best Practices ( 5th February, 2014 The Imperial, New Delhi)

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), India’s premier apex chamber, established in 1920, is organizing the 2nd summit on Access to Healthcare: Scaling up Best Practices on 5th February 2014 at The Imperial, New Delhi.. This is the 2nd endeavor by ASSOCHAM since 2011, in organizing highly prestigious Access to Healthcare Summit in order to inspire the industry members, entrepreneurs, R&D professionals, academicians and students in working together towards facilitating excellent healthcare facilities for the citizens of the country.
Health is influenced by a number of factors which exist within the individual and the society. The important factors which determine health includes: heredity conditions, environmental factors, life-style habits, income, education, nutrition, occupation and available healthcare services. In a developing economy like India we are experiencing issues such as growing population, higher non-communicable diseases, poverty, poor literacy rate and awareness regarding healthcare problems. Therefore there is an urgent requirement for better access to healthcare for every Indian.
The state of Indian healthcare system is a matter of immense importance to the most of the Indians. Functioning of Indian healthcare system has always been under a scrutiny for variety of reasons. Often we come across instances, where it is criticized and at the same time praised for various reasons. This situation of uncertainty calls for reforms in direction of making the Indian healthcare system the most efficient health care system in the world.
Recent past has witnessed strengthening of public health services under government schemes such as NRHM. Learning from past experiences Indian government is now determined in extending the mission to urban India.
Although substantial progress is visible in the key healthcare indicators there are still a set of challenges to work upon for improving access to common Indian and guarantee their healthcare needs.
In India public healthcare is much more affordable as compared to the private healthcare; however the lack of physical reach and other practices makes private healthcare system a better alternative. Government of Indias initiatives such as formation of High Level Expert Group (HLEG) on Universal Healthcare Coverage (UHC) and Prime Ministers announcements about increasing public funded supply of the free generic medicines to the less privileged half of the population by 2017 are some of the steps in right direction.
The most of the healthcare needs in India are satisfied by private sector; however absence of affordable insurance protection often results in out-of-pocket payments.
In present socio-economic conditions Indian healthcare system is in need of innovative models of healthcare delivery. Some models have emerged in the last few years which aim to address issues of accessibility, affordability and assurance on quality of care. The successful models that can be applied to the rest of the country are mentioned as;
1. Public Private Partnership (PPP) – State governments of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttaranchal state have successfully implemented the PPP models.
However, there are challenges in achieving the right model so that interests of both parties are served while meaningfully addressing the needs of the nation.
2. Low cost healthcare – Another likely healthcare delivery model to emerge in the future is a low cost hospital for the middle-middle and lower -middle classes. These would be functionally focused hospitals with a conscious effort at cutting extraneous costs. These hospitals could be based in Tier II and III cities and towns where the cost of resources is lower and would provide primary to high end secondary care services.
3. Single Speciality Chains (SSH) – Single specialty hospitals specializes in a particular therapeutic area, offering end to end services and personalized care in their core area. Quite a few chains of single specialty hospitals have come up in the last few years focusing on different therapy areas such as eye care, nephrology (kidney & dialysis), cardiac and cancer.
4. Day Care Hospitals – This model aims to bring down the cost of treatment by 15 to 20 per cent as compared to multi-specialty hospitals.
5. Telemedicine – Telemedicine as a healthcare delivery model makes use of communication network, information and medical technology to extend the benefits from advanced medical science centres to remote and otherwise inaccessible areas.
6. Wellness Centres – With the rise of the middle class in India, incomes are rising and lifestyles are undergoing irreversible changes, particularly in urban areas. The impact of these lifestyle changes are being felt in the form of a shift in India’s disease burden from acute towards chronic diseases.
The wellness space includes offerings such as Ayurveda treatment centres, alternative medicine, medi-spas, cosmetology and cosmetic dentistry clinics, dietary counseling and even wellness based products retail.
At this point the role of private healthcare sector is extremely crucial. Private sector can experiment and consequently make available feasible innovative models to increase the reach of improved healthcare system and services to the masses.
The objectives and major areas of focus of summit includes, Scaling Up Best Practices, Major policy Gaps and Possible Solutions, Redefining Role of Private sector in healthcare including Hospitals/ Pharmaceutical/ Medical Devices and Medical Diagnostic Companies, Importance of Traditional Indian Health Practices, Utilization of ICT in enabling healthcare delivery and management, Pioneering models for increasing access to healthcare and value of a Comprehensive Health Insurance Policy to serve health needs of the people

The 2nd Summit on Access to Healthcare is our endeavor is to promote Healthcare for All. The forum will offer a platform to discuss the state of Indian healthcare services and showcase the best available scalable models.
Participants Profile include, Government officials, Indian and foreign diplomats and healthcare policy makers, Well-informed speakers working on the various aspects of Indian healthcare industry, Hospitals representatives, Pharmaceutical, Medical devices and Medical Diagnostic companies, Business/ Research partners, Entrepreneurs in healthcare domain, Medical insurance / banking institutions and NGOs functioning in areas of Indian healthcare

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