Healthcare has become one of India’s largest sectors - both in terms of revenue and employment. There is a significant scope for enhancing healthcare services considering that healthcare spending as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is rising. Rural India, which accounts for over 70 percent of the population, is set to emerge as a potential demand source.
With union budget 2018-19 which was very much in favor of Indian healthcare sector and now USFDA giving approvals to the drugs especially to the Indian pharmaceutical companies, the healthcare sector seems to be on the run to touch zenith in business.
Role of Technology in the healthcare sector
Technology inventions are introduced to make life easier and smoother than before. Healthcare is one sector which is fast growing and has a lot of scope for improvement, which can be done by adding technological means to it.
J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, launched initiatives such as LaQshya, for Labour Room Quality Improvement, a mobile application for safe delivery, and operational guidelines for obstetric high dependency units (HDUs) and intensive care units (ICUs).
Dr. Saarthak Bakshi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of International Fertility Centre, said, “IoT shifts and focuses on patient’s home-centered check-ups and eliminates the need for hospitalization by the effective use of technology. The simultaneous monitoring and reporting through connected devices instantly transfer the health condition of the patient to the concerned doctor. The provision of real-time health report of the patients will hopefully be time-saving as a speedy treatment would be given to the patient.”
Bakshi further says, “The role of technology in the healthcare sector is monumental especially the way how doctors and engineers have joined hands towards the escalation of digitalization of the healthcare system. The technology seems to have assisted and facilitated in easing out things at all spheres.”
He explains:
Future of Healthcare Sector
Looking at the present scenario and the latest developments taking place in the healthcare sector in India, it is predictable that the future seems quite bright as it holds opportunities, scope and enough room for growth.
In May 2018, the Government of India approved Rs 1,103 crore (US$ 170.14 million) for setting up All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Deoghar, Jharkhand.
India is attracting a lot of medical tourism business from across the world. In June 2018, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Norway India Partnership Initiative (NIPI) from 2018-2020, the cooperation is aligned with National Health Policy 2017.
Bakshi concludes, “The perspective of IoT in the Healthcare sector is unfathomable but is an expensive initiative to implement initially. Also for a country like India, where a large population is uneducated, making it difficult for them to accept this change and implement it.”
