For long, India has struggled to provide quality affordable healthcare
to all its citizens. While the reasons for this are well known, adopting the
conventional route of creating adequate physical infrastructure, building a
medical and paramedical resource base and maintaining high quality standards at
the same time would require huge investments and timelines that a developing
country like India can ill afford.
The disruptive power of technology has
completely transformed landscape in various spheres of life. It has changed the
ways humans communicate, travel, socialize, store, and access information and
many more. Medical technology has the potential to do the same for healthcare
by helping overcome the current infrastructural and affordability
constraints.
Medical Technology can bridge the distance
between the caregiver and the patient thereby helping patients in remote areas
access specialist and specialized equipment present in large cities far away.
Technological advancements in the fields of health monitoring and diagnostics
help detect health issues early on thereby reducing overall cost of care and
enhancing wellness levels of the society. Similarly, technological
interventions are rapidly increasing the precision and efficacy of treatment
modalities thereby improving clinical outcomes.
However, to realize this opportunity both the
government and the industry will need to make concerted efforts.
The government should streamline the regulatory
and business ecosystem in a manner that makes operating in India more
attractive and simpler for both the medical devices players as well as
investors. The industry needs to customize their business models to suit Indian
markets. Medical devices segments which provide a sizeable
opportunities and require moderate level of technological expertise
to produce should be prioritized for manufacturing in India. Finally, India
should embrace the path of innovation in the MedTech industry that makes its
products and solutions tailored-made for the opportunities and constraints of
the country.
If India is able to be self-reliant in Medical
Technology sector and capitalize on this Medical Technology revolution, which
could be achieved if all stakeholders play their respective roles, it would
stand a good chance of realizing its vision of providing healthcare to all its
citizens.
The CII – Deloitte report on Medical Technology Shaping Healthcare for All in India was released at the 10th Medical Technology Conference held on 7 September 2017 at New Delhi.