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| 'Healthcare opportunities not fully explored' |
| BS Reporter / Chennai/ Hyderabad Sep 28, 2009, 00:25 IST |
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Indian healthcare providers have not fully explored the opportunities in indigenisation of medical equipment and textiles, training of medical and paramedical staff and treatment of out-patients among others.
These also have the potential to reduce costs of treatment incurred by patients apart from helping the hospital realise better returns, according to various healthcare professionals.
Speaking on ‘Challenges and opportunities in healthcare services and allied industries’ at the Indian School of Business’ healthcare and pharma conclave here on Saturday, Daljit Singh, president (strategy and organisational development) of Fortis Healthcare, said superspecialty hospitals, which need heavy investment, had a mandate to cater to the upper class. These cannot be extended without a profit motive due to the inherent capital expenditure, he said.
“There is a need for increasing medical and nursing colleges at least four times the present number to deal with the shortage of manpower,” he said. The shortage of doctors is estimated to be 5,00,000 and that of nurses to be one million.
Apollo Health City chief executive officer Hari Prasad said the healthcare sector was grappling with a shortage of trained manpower to tackle the backend operations of hospitals. The medical and nursing education were still offered under archaic guidelines. “There is nothing contemporary in these,” he said.
Stating that there was a need to tweak Aarogyasri, a third party health insurance scheme in Andhra Pradesh, to make it sustainable, he said hospitals were not being consulted while fixing tariffs for various treatments covered under the scheme. “They are fixed on the advise of the insurance companies.”
Max Healthcare director-chief medical affairs (external) Shubnum Singh said healthcare institutions found it difficult to get finance. Though it employs the largest number of employees, the sector does not enjoy special incentives from the government like other trade-oriented sectors.
“Many perceive that providing healthcare was the onus of the government, but the latter has a dismal record in spending when it mattered,” she added.
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