Innovations in Indian Healthcare- Tackling Obstacles, Recognizing Progress, And Presenting Possibilities

 

The healthcare sector in India ranks among the rapidly expanding industries in terms of both earnings and job creation. With a value exceeding US$ 200 billion, the Indian health sector experiences an impressive compound annual growth rate of 22.9%. Public healthcare is accessible to all Indian residents. Hence, the public health sector in India includes eighteen percent of the total outpatient care and around forty four percent of the total inpatient care.

• The healthcare sector, comprising hospitals, diagnostic labs, and pharmaceutical firms, accounts for over 65% of the market. The industry's growth is fuelled by rising income levels, increased employment prospects, global market access, and swift technological progress. However, India's healthcare system faces the 70:70 paradox: individuals bear 70% of healthcare costs out-of-pocket, with medicines alone accounting for 70% of those expenses.

 

• In India, public health spending constitutes a mere 1.2% of the nation's GDP, compared to the global average of 6%. 

 

• Most healthcare expenses are out-of-pocket, accounting for 64.2% in the financial year 2013-2014. 

 

• This significant discrepancy in the availability, access, and affordability of healthcare services in India creates substantial potential for socially responsible innovations. These are aimed at providing cost-effective care through resourceful technology for which pioneering efforts from institutions such as the International Institute of Innovation & Technology stand out.

Tackling complex issues while recognizing the importance of innovative approaches

India faces the dual challenge of tackling infectious diseases, recognized as a significant challenge by I3TK, while also dealing with a rapid increase in non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Numerous factors, such as an aging population, inactive office-based lifestyles, economic progress, growing disposable incomes, and urban migration contribute to placing immense pressure on healthcare services. 

Out-of-pocket expenses related to the long-term management of NCDs significantly impact household healthcare expenditures. Most expenses tied to NCDs are directed towards inpatient care, primarily by wealthier individuals utilizing private facilities. This situation presents a unique opportunity for organizations such as the International Institute of Innovation & Technology to offer innovative solutions that aim to make NCD treatment more affordable and accessible.

Tackling health-related issues and developing inventive approaches necessitates a comprehensive comprehension of the care continuum. There are three distinct areas within healthcare where innovation can be applied at various stages of care:

1. Prevention: Identifying diseases through screenings, promoting changes in behavior's, raising health awareness, and providing education.

2. Provision: Delivering diagnostic and therapeutic services.

3. Protection: Ensuring long-term follow-ups, averting relapses, and observing trends.

Innovation is fuelled not only by internal factors but by external elements and the various parties engaged in providing healthcare. The diverse interests and obligations of these stakeholders contribute to the intricacy of the situation. The vast and varied challenges faced by a similarly diverse and non-uniform market necessitate comprehensive, large-scale, unconventional, and inventive strategies to achieve the intended outcomes.

A perfect innovation model encompasses a comprehensive approach, cost efficiency, budget-friendliness, easy access, high quality, and pertinence. These aspects are crucial for the enduring nature and transformation of a concept into a tangible product or service. 

Regardless of the type of innovation, it can be categorized under one of three groups: Product, Process, and Paradigm.

Product Innovation 

In product advancement, the creation of novel diagnostic instruments, healthcare delivery techniques, medical apparatuses, and alternative technologies plays a significant role. For a triumphant product innovation, it is vital to establish an efficient delivery mechanism and a robust financial framework that encourages reasonable pricing and easy accessibility. Lately, India has experienced an impressive upswing in product innovation, owing to its abundant technological prowess and vast medical expertise. It includes the following:

1. Mobile health (mHealth) and wearable health technologies, such as the government's text message-based tobacco cessation program (mCessation or QuitNow) and mDiabetes initiative, help enhance health-conscious actions among people with diabetes.

2. Point-of-care testing (POCT) services and compact, handheld diagnostic devices address prevalent diseases in India, like anaemia and diabetes, reducing diagnostic expenses, increasing accessibility, and relieving pressure on healthcare professionals.

3. Assistive technology examples include the Jaipur prosthetic foot; affordable, durable, custom-made 3D printed casts; and screen readers designed for visually impaired individuals.

4. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's 'Swasth Bharat' mobile app provides comprehensive information on diseases, symptoms, treatments, and health alerts; the 'Vaccine Tracker' monitors' children's immunization status; 'India Fights Dengue' helps identify dengue symptoms; and the 'MeraAspataal' app allows users to report pregnancy care-related data.

5. Medical mobile units like the 'Akha Boat' clinics initiative in Assam and mobile health vans in Andhra Pradesh increase healthcare accessibility in rural regions.

Process Innovation 

In contrast, process innovation utilizes the enhancement or transformation of internal procedures, healthcare resources, and service delivery systems. This approach enables healthcare organizations to improve efficiency, accessibility, and affordability without compromising quality and profitability. 

Paradigm Innovation 

Paradigm-shifting innovations consist of revolutionary concepts that alter the dominant framework within an industry. Such innovations may include policies, processes, or products that influence an organization's internal and external tendencies while directing it toward a holistic goal. Various instances of paradigm-altering innovations can be observed in India, such as:

1. Social health insurance schemes like Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi, and Yeshasvini Health Insurance Scheme provide monetary assistance to disadvantaged communities, destitute families, women entrepreneurs, and individuals afflicted with severe life-threatening ailments are living below the poverty threshold. These programs contribute to making healthcare more accessible and affordable.

2. Public-private partnerships merge the expertise of the private sector with the public sector's extensive reach through initiatives like outsourcing emergency transport services, assigning management roles for primary healthcare and community health centers to non-governmental organizations, and setting up diagnostic laboratory facilities within tertiary medical institutions.

3. The Indian Government's proposal to create a new cadre of rural healthcare providers via the BSc Family and Community Science program is designed to tackle the critical lack of doctors in rural areas.

4. The Ayushman Bharat program initiated by the Indian Government aims to provide universal healthcare through its two main components: health and wellness center's and the National Health Protection Scheme. This program exemplifies a current paradigm-shifting innovation with the potential to transform India's healthcare system profoundly.

India- The Fabled Land of Cost-Effective Innovations

Cost-effective innovations by organizations such as the International Institute of Innovation & Technology include the creation of products and services that maintain high-quality standards while being more accessible due to consideration of local variables. India, as a nation, has always been familiar with the concept of economic innovation. For international companies to ensure their product's sustainability, they must consider localized issues such as power shortages, fluctuating voltage, considerable dust and pollution, and extensive equipment use.

Through the 'Make in India' campaign, the emphasis has shifted towards manufacturing products locally from the ground up rather than simply modifying components. To guarantee affordability, sustainability, and alignment with local requirements – as diverse as India's landscape – products must be tailored to fit these needs. The Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone (AMTZ) serves as an ideal setting for medical innovation to thrive in India since it is a medical equipment production and testing facility with an incubation centre for MedTech start-ups.

Economical innovation does not only imply delivering low-cost devices; it also includes providing high-quality services at an affordable price. Public health institutions have achieved low-cost, high-quality healthcare services delivery on a large scale through mechanisms like cross-subsidization, economies of scale, and lean manufacturing.

Factors such as insufficient public investment in preventive healthcare, inadequate health awareness and education, weak public healthcare infrastructure, limited availability of advanced laboratory facilities and equipment, poor penetration of health insurance, unaffordable treatments, an insufficient health workforce, and subpar healthcare delivery system all contribute to the challenges within India's healthcare ecosystem.

Opportunities or Challenges?

A government's primary objective should be providing its citizens with dependable, accessible, and superior social security and healthcare services. With an increasing number of daily internet users, an extensive mobile phone user base, and affordable mobile and data services, India possesses immense possibilities for devising inventive and enduring healthcare solutions.

Medical tourism is another burgeoning sector with substantial growth potential. Indian hospitals offer reasonably priced healthcare while adhering to international quality standards, making them an appealing choice for medical tourists. This scenario presents India with an exclusive opportunity to cater to the healthcare requirements of patients across various income brackets from countries beyond the South Asia region.

A single biometric-enabled 'smartcard' customized to suit the healthcare needs of individuals could provide a reliable solution to integrate all healthcare services. This card would include all public and private healthcare services and establish a secure, scalable, and interoperable information technology platform while providing a paperless and cashless benefit. 

With this, we can achieve universal healthcare across India, without added costs while maintaining an emphasis on personalized medicine. The card will store immunization and delivery information of new-borns, antenatal check-ups, long-term treatment plans for people with NCDs, past medical and surgical history, and schemes for which the beneficiary is eligible.

The Indian pharmaceutical sector is acknowledged for its strong growth, the many employment opportunities it provides, and its tremendous export potential. Its exceptional specialty-generic model and economical production techniques demonstrate its resilience and ability to thrive in a challenging environment.

Innovation in medical supplies and services in a low-resource environment offers a chance to achieve broad, far-reaching advantages. To lower expenses without sacrificing quality, cost-effective strategies, such as a hub-and-spoke distribution system, group pricing, job reassignment, telemedicine, and prioritizing primary care can be implemented.

India has faced difficulties establishing a regulatory or quality assurance system for healthcare. To combat this issue, the Medical Device Rules and modifications of the Bureau of Indian Standards have been implemented, providing a uniform, evidence-based policy to regulate the production and sales of medical devices. Unfortunately, the rigorous and non-negotiable guidelines that accompany such a framework have been partly responsible for the limited development of the medical device sector in India.

The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) faces a complicated balancing act in managing the quality of medical devices in India: creating an inviting platform that encourages innovation while enforcing strict regulations. To motivate and foster the development of these items, India's regulatory and enforcement bodies must create an ecosystem that allows new entrants to enter the field while ensuring stringent control over the production process.

For reform to take root, an equal amount of work must be done to ensure it. The success of healthcare improvements and translating ideas into reality depend on a unique form of education and training. Those who offer health care in the future will struggle to adapt unless effectively prepped. To ensure vulnerable populations gain access to modern medical advances, healthcare professionals must have a well-rounded knowledge of not just medical knowledge, but how to use and implement inventive solutions even in environments where resources are limited.

Medical education can be transformed with innovative reform to foster future thought leaders. By blending the conventional curriculum with policy, diplomacy, advocacy, management, leadership, and innovation, future medical professionals can become conscious of the social environment and adaptive to change. Furthermore, the I3TK program will provide opportunities for medical entrepreneurship, offering the technology to a larger scope of people. Finally, institutions should receive training to manage grants, seek philanthropic funds, establish endowments, offer mentorship and career guidance, and cultivate networks.

Way Forward 

The Indian healthcare industry with its International public health organizations in the likes of I3TK is rapidly advancing, marked by foreign investors, disruptive healthcare models, cost-effective innovations, the digital revolution, and the transition from product to process innovation. It presents a joint venture and a unique chance to implement new ideas and secure investments while emphasizing patient experience. To stay ahead of the curve, we must uncover weaknesses and offer answers. Despite factors like shortage of hospitals in the rural areas and lack of basic resources and equipment's particularly in the rural areas that need to be dealt with, India has been successful in emerging as a popular destination for medical tourism. It is mainly due to the lower cost of treatment and high-quality private health care units.