Tag Archives: HealthCare in India

Building the Healthcare ecosystem

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Over the last two years, Healthcare has been on an exponential growth. Previously, Healthcare was limited to professionals who have been in the field and others stayed away from it even though they thought they could solve the problems. However, things changed. There are many non-Healthcare professionals who have been in the technology space who are partnering with people from other streams to solve and address the Healthcare needs.

Today, there is more than $100 Billion riding on Healthcare technology alone in India with expectations of it growing to $280 Billion by 2020.

What we have today is the opportunity to identify the pain points and build a workable solution around it. This provides the opportunity to look at aspects which were non-existent earlier. For instance, with the advent of apps being available for finding Doctors and medical services in a particular area, provided an opportunity for people to explore nearest medical services and get just in time help.

With Doctor’s consultations being available on Skype, it is easy now to find a specialist and set up an appointment and speak to them in detail. The list goes on.

What we need to focus is to build sustainable models which can be replicated across. Moving away from the core infrastructure problems such as Doctor:Patient ratio has not even started with the advent of technology, but on a long run, this can be addressed.

Startup’s focusing on addressing Healthcare should understand what is the existing infrastructure and how we can utilise it to build our offering around it. In simple words, building mutually inclusive offerings is the need of the hour.

Educating the Healthcare Consumer

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There are over 1000 startups just focusing on Healthcare in India and we see more and more coming up each day. If you look at the pattern of the startups, predominantly we see competitive startup’s. There is one person who is wanting to solve a problem and they are many others following the trend but with an additional feature or functionality. Consider finding Doctors as a pain point. There are few early adopters like Practo, but over the last eight years, there are more than 50 startups in the same space offering similar services. The next thing what happened is the startups have diversified to different cities becoming first in their city. Competition is good, the consumer gets to taste more convenience and functionality. But what should not happen is withdrawal from using technology.
The key area what we need to focus is to streamline the problem-solving abilities and diversify the solution offerings based on the regional requirement. One solution does not fit all.
Consumer education plays a very vital role in building a successful startup and solving a problem. The key aspect of Consumer education is to reach out to the end user and help them utilize services available and for this, education should start at the ground level. Reaching out and working with NGO’s who work with varied population, partnering with Primary Health Centers, organizing educative seminars and workshops at meeting points (Panchayat meetings, Locality meetings etc.) will go a long way.

Health hazards in Agriculture

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I wanted to touch this topic because, in today’s world, technology is helping us provide better Healthcare to rural areas.
Rural areas predominantly do not have access to higher Healthcare facilities. Mobile Health camps, PHC’s are helping address the needs, but it is important for us to utilize the power of Mobile reach and device new ideas to help improve Healthcare for farmers.
So, what are the health hazards to farmers have?
  • Farming chemicals.
  • The constant presence of dust, mud and mold.
  • Accidents while using farm equipment.
  • Everyday exposure to the sun all the time.
  • Arthritis
  • Risks of various ailments due to varying weather conditions.
The list is just a beginning. Please do add to the list and also, if you are looking at ideas for your Startup, this list can help you.

Interoperability – Future of Healthcare

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According to the dictionary, Interoperability is ability of a system to work with or use the part of equipment of another system.
Very simple and easy to articulate. But, it is the toughest to execute in the Healthcare space. Most organizations and Healthcare apps work in silos because no one has still figured out how each one can work with each other. So, until then, there will be silence but debates and ideas will exist.
For me, Interoperability does not necessarily mean that each organization has to work with each other and each app has to communicate with other apps freely. Interoperability is a framework and these guidelines are what we should be driving towards executing.
Interoperability is definitely very important component of the Future of Healthcare and it is going to play a pivotal role in the future.

Interoperability for Big Data

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You can search for the “most frequent flyer” and you sure will get results. How can the data of one person traveling across continents on different airlines be noticed and tracked? There are two major reservation systems in the world for airlines – <Write the names here>. Anyone buying a plane ticket anywhere in the world has to go through one of these two systems. So, when you search for the most frequent flyer in the world, results are easier to be found.
In America, according to a research, they found out that more than 80% of people are using and tracking Health using, at least, one wearable device (Phone, Step Tracker, Smart Tracker etc). All their information is being recorded and saved.
How do we gather this data and make meaningful use of it? Interoperability is the key here. Organizations which manufacture wearables and store the information should be able to share information with hospitals. Hospitals should be the focus point who gather the data and participate in research activities.
I use a Garmin wearable for tracking my steps, calorie intake and burnt, heart rate and active time. All the data is on Garmin website. When I go to a hospital, to understand my lifestyle, Doctor should be able to pull in my information from Garmin with my permission. This will help him in the better analysis. Second, hospitals should be able to use this information for preventive care.
In India, the PHC which today collects information in the region synchronizes data with the central server. This is how Government takes precautionary measures for any epidemics. Healthcare organizations (Hospitals, Tech Companies etc) should work with the Government to utilize the data for bettering quality of care.
What do you think?

Personalized Medicine – The future of Healthcare

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This is one common question which comes frequently in my conversations. What is the one big thing which will change the landscape of Healthcare in the next decade or so. With my experience, I personally feel it is going to be Personalized Medicine.

Recently, I met a founder who is working on this idea at a different level. Their idea is to combine various forms of medicine to personalize the treatment. For instance, if you have a backache (common in today’s world), just popping a pill might give you instance relief, but what is the long term treatment? In the long term, one should be sincere in developing a discipline to ensure this is proactively taken care. Doing Yoga and sitting in proper posture while working and sleeping are certain ways of dealing with this kind of a problem.

What I foresee is that the regular medication which you take also will be personalized based on your DNA and other vitals.

In summary, I might not be taking Vicks Action 500 for my cold and headache, but I might walk into the pharmacy, provide my vitals and other information required and I will get personalized medicine which will address the issue much better and also ensure I develop some kind of resistance to the ailment.

Why, What, How of Predictive Analysis in India 

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Enough is said about the Healthcare infrastructure in India. All what we have is problems. Doctor to Patient ratio is very less, Population to Hospital beds is less, Manpower is less. Everything is on a downward trend.

Healthcare startups are focusing on bridging various aspects in Healthcare – Delivering medicines, connecting Doctors, Virtual consultation, Telemedicine etc. However, there is one thing Startups are not focusing on – Preventive Care.

Why?

The answer is simple, for Preventive Care, we need data and in India, that is what we lack. We do not have historical data to predict the future. The other aspect which is worrysome is that, there are very few (countable on fingers) that are focusing on automating the care delivery. This can be attributed to not so strong Healthcare Management in India. 70% is private care and out of pocket expense and 30% is the Public model.

What?

I personally do not believe that Government has to do everything, but in the current context, Government has to focus on at least structuring the Healthcare laws and delivery model in the country. Startups should focus on data collection and developing algorithms for using this data to predict the future course of action.

How?

Hospitals are ready to work with Startups to provide the data. Initially, hospitals might not allow public sharing of the algorithms, but if the Quality of Care increases, more and more will be forced to adapt to the model.

What we need today is just one case study, which can use the existing data, utilize technology to design predictive analysis and then, the ball starts rolling.

Utilizing Aadhar for Healthcare Delivery

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India launched the prestigious Unique Identification Project (Aadhar) on the 28th of January 2009. After 7 years, around 95,00,00,000 have Aadhar Card. Even though having Aadhar is not mandatory, Government has been increasingly launching initiatives which are linked to the Aadhar Card and hence the number of signup’s have been increasing.

How can we use Aadhar Card to improve Healthcare?

To begin with, tracking Health records. India’s Healthcare system is a three tier architecture – Primary Health Center (PHC), Secondary Care and Tertiary Care. The PHC is the first point of care for the Government and according to the design, there should be 1 PHC for every 5,000 population in the rural areas and 1 PHC for every 10,000 population in the urban center.

With the Aadhar number, personal health records can be created for every individual at the PHC level. In the urban areas, Aadhar number can be utilized to register individuals at Private hospitals/clinics or at the PHC. Alternatively, we can have a centralized website which can create Health records for Individuals and they can signup using their Aadhar Number.

When there is a birth, before issuing the Birth Certificate, a Medical record should be created and all the vaccination information should be pushed through electronically. Today, this is done manually through medical cards which carry important vaccination information for the child.

What are your thoughts?

Idea for Healthcare Startup – Mobile Diagnostic center

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Two weeks ago, unfortunately, my dad fell down at home and has a displaced hip bone. We got him admitted to an Orthopedic Hospital. They had to wait for three days to ensure all vitals are normal before they did the procedure to correct the hip bone. During these three days, the Doctor wanted to have a CT Scan done too. However, since they did not have the CT Scan equipment, we were asked to take dad to a Diagnostic lab.

During this time, it struck me as to why we do not have mobile diagnostic centers. It would have been a lot easier for us to call them and they come and get the test done at the client’s residence or any hospital. It would make life so easier for elders especially.

Can this be done? Any startup’s which are providing this kind of service?

Solving the Healthcare maze

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When India got Independence in 1947, average life expectancy was 47 Years and today, average life expectancy is at 66.21 Years (we rank 139). Japan leads the list with average life expectancy at 84 Years followed by Spain, Andorra, Australia, Switzerland, Italy, Singapore and San Mario at 83 Years. The country with the least life expectancy is Sierra Leone at 49 Years.

Previously, technological solutions in Healthcare have been focusing on advancing the care (how to provide better solutions), but now, we are focusing on advancing the care process (how to deliver better solutions).

In the Indian context, Tech startup’s focusing on Healthcare have increased over the last few years. This is good and it will help bring Healthcare to the fingertips.

Most of the startups are focusing on providing “services”, meaning, connecting the consumer to the service. Apps for finding Doctors, finding Services available, e-Commerce, Wellness etc. This is a good approach. All of us have an inherent fear for Health. We are over cautious and we generally tend to avoid visiting the Doctor/Hospital and also at times go with self-medication. The technology today is focusing on providing introductions to the end user to managing Health proactively. With the advent of apps for monitoring nutrition, work out’s, doctor appointments, enrollments into wellness programs, the common person is now getting to understand how to manage and monitor his/her health.

Also, with Health programs getting advertised, many who did not have an understanding of various health scenarios are now getting educated. If you are someone who is born after 1990’s, chances are that your parents are maintaining your health record with all the vaccinations were given and the history of your well-being.

Biggest health problems cannot be solved in one day and the approach is painstaking. Governments should focus on building the infrastructure and organisations (startups and the big one’s alike) should help support the initiatives by connecting people with the care providers.

There is no short-cut’s especially in managing Health of individuals and the nation alike. Connecting the dot’s proves pivotal in creating a healthy nation.

In the next decade, I am sure India would be in a much better place in creating a healthy environment for all of us. With initiatives like the Aadhar (UID) slowly gaining popularity, am sure solutions would stem out connecting people to Government (to prioritise their health initiatives), Insurance firms coming forward to provide better Insurance assistance and Hospital’s connecting to communities to provide better proactive care.

Personally, I think we should look at various models across the globe and adapt what worked well into the new system we are creating. India being the world’s second most populated country, if we create a system which works, then the entire landscape of Healthcare in the world would change.