Indian Healthcare Prioritises Stricter Mandates, Data Governance, & Tech Adoption to Tackle Changing Disease Landscape

The discussion highlighted India's shifting disease landscape, emphasising the need to focus on long-term care. Experts stressed the crucial importance of significantly expanding insurance coverage and prioritising preventive care measures.

In response to India's evolving disease landscape, marked by a shift from communicable to non-communicable diseases, healthcare experts emphasise the urgent need for stricter mandates, robust data governance, and increased technology adoption.

This insight emerged from a roundtable discussion on Health Technologies for a Healthy New India hosted by the Institution of Engineering and Technology, a global engineering body.

Moderated by Rajaneesh Kini, CTO at Cyient, the discussion featured industry leaders, including Girish Raghavan (VP, Digital Platforms, GE Healthcare South Asia), Dr Satya Vadlamani (chairperson and MD, Murali Krishna Pharma), Hema Jagota (country director, Clinical Solutions, Elsevier India), Amit Ananpara (MD, executive board member, Innoplexus Consulting Services), and Suresh Kumar R (VP – Product Engineering, Providence).

A key focus of the discussion was the evolving disease profile in India, necessitating a shift in priorities toward long-term care. Experts emphasised the paramount importance of increased insurance coverage penetration and a concentrated effort on preventive care measures.

Ananpara highlighted a critical aspect of data custodianship in healthcare, noting that unlike in European countries, Indian hospitals are not automatic custodians of patient data. Patients must actively provide consent, necessitating a robust education campaign on the value of their data. Anonymised and secure storage practices must be communicated, with the state acting as custodians.

Raghavan highlighted a significant challenge – the scarcity of trained clinicians and technology professionals in Tier II and Tier III cities. The solution, he proposed, lies in democratising access to trained professionals across the country. Integrating technology solutions becomes crucial not only to bridge this gap but also to enhance clinical outcomes, reducing the clinician workload and the likelihood of errors.

Ananpara emphasised the need for refining regulations, particularly within the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill. Specifics on access control, usage and storage mechanisms, identification of legitimate users, and infrastructure requirements should be articulated to enhance data protection.

Jagota emphasised the transformed disease profile in India, now dominated by non-communicable diseases requiring prolonged management. Identifying high-risk individuals for timely interventions becomes crucial. She advocated for government-led digital screening campaigns, emphasising the importance of digitising these initiatives to ensure higher data quality.

In conclusion, the roundtable discussion underscored the imperative for a comprehensive and tech-driven approach in Indian healthcare. Adapting to the changing disease landscape requires not only technological advancements but also strategic initiatives, data governance, and public awareness campaigns.