Healthcare Is Not An Industry
In industry, commerce takes precedence, which is not the case for healthcare. Healthcare is a business with a soul and no one should forget that. It is not for a company or sector but for the nation itself, urges Naresh Trehan, Chairman and MD, Medanta Hospitals
The last two years imparted several lessons but the important question is how much of it will remain. Two aspects stood out in the wake of Covid. The first was that something this life-threatening could happen to a perfectly healthy individual who did not expect to even get sick. And second, it pointed out that people with comorbidities and maladies have become even more vulnerable, to the point that they could be subjected to fatal threats. Covid brought this realisation. But memories fade quickly.
If you observe the current behaviour, people are taking risks and have thrown all caution to the wind. This is especially true for the young, who are then infecting the elderly and children. As individuals, and as part of a society, people cannot forget the virus is still lurking. The scientific community, in fact, firmly believes it will prolong in different forms. The only thing we can do is build our health and immunity to a level that we are protected against any infections that come down the pipe or any more mutations of this deadly virus.
The Bigger Picture
Don’t look at healthcare as an industry but an important pillar that represents a sector. The moment you think of it as an industry, commerce takes precedence, which is not a good thing for healthcare. Healthcare is a business with a soul and no one should forget that. I would argue healthcare is not for any company or a sector but for the nation.
When you talk about incorporating policies into the healthcare system of the country, it works at different levels. Today, we have a given burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases and both are still rampant. Dengue and Covid have overtaken all infectious diseases, which is a further sign that we need to improve hygiene, bottom-up, at every level we can find.
We must ensure every human being in India has access to decent civic amenities because that by itself will reduce the disease's burden hugely. The second thing is how do we monitor or survey our efforts. We have at least one Asha (Accredited Social Health Activist is a community health worker instituted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) in every village. These are supposed to function at a low level, which can be considered a starting point.
Augmenting the Structure
We should upgrade our Ashas, who already have ground presence and some basic level of skills to become frontline workers. They become our eyes and ears and help in prevention. They should also have the function to triage, which is to advise on the order of treatment. That will bring in the aspect of early detection.
The government has several good schemes like Swachh Bharat, Swasth Bharat, Ayushman Bharat in place already. If these three are integrated, wellness centres should be within reach of every village.
With these, the whole chain is established, and digital reach comes in very handy at this point. If we are digitally connected to every aspect of this chain, this is where the interconnectivity between private and government can be incorporated and we can all work together. Once this is done, and you still have people who need tertiary care, which would still be aplenty, that is where you need the infrastructure that is not adequate today. The need for healthcare education, hospitals, more doctors and nurses all need to be addressed. The first step in change, however, is to make all of this to move forward in tandem.
(Comments made while addressing BW Healthcare 40 Under 40 Summit)
