Leaders and game changers in India’s private healthcare sector came together at the event organised by Express Healthcare and The Indian Express Group to converse and contemplate on vital issues shaping the future of their industry
‘For good ideas and true innovation, you need human interaction, conflict, argument, debate.’ This is a quote by Margaret Heffernan, an international businesswoman, author, interviewer, and TED speaker.
Organised by Express Healthcare and The Indian Express Group, Healthcare Senate – India’s largest private sector healthcare business summit, held from July 12-14, 2018 at Radisson Blu, Delhi Airport is a platform which offered ample opportunities for all this and more.
The three-day summit saw several leaders and game changers of India’s private healthcare sector come together at its third edition to converse and contemplate on vital issues shaping the future of the healthcare industry, with a focus on the theme Healthcare 2.0: Strengthening Values for Sustainable Growth.
On one end, veterans like KM Cherian, Chairman & CEO, Frontier Hospitals spoke on the rapidly changing healthcare landscape and highlighted how medical technology, emergence of ICT, expanding network of World Wide Web, social media etc., are disrupting and transforming healthcare delivery.
At the other end, innovators like the teen prodigy Akash Manoj, who has invented a very simple device which can detect silent heart attacks and save thousands of lives, took the stage to enlighten the audience about the importance of out-of-the-box thinking and a solutions-oriented mind set in enhancing healthcare delivery.
Interesting panel discussions saw stakeholders of the industry share the stage to devise strategies for future growth. For instance, two of them, titled ‘NHPS: The way forward’ and ‘Access strategies in the era of price control’, saw eminent panelists discuss on the impact of initiatives such as Ayushman Bharat on the private healthcare sector, importance of all stakeholders collaboration, and approaches to remain profitable and sustainable in these times.
The participants at these discussions emphasised the need to find and create alternate revenue streams for healthcare providers. They highlighted the significance of putting systems in place to bring in efficiencies and reducing misuse and frauds through NHPS. The panelists also recommended bringing the patient to the centre of the decision making process and identifying the root cause for rising healthcare costs to support price control with other effective measures as well.
The event also witnessed very interesting dialogues between leading CEOs of the healthcare industry. They addressed why core values matter in building a successful business. The discussion established that as values can affect RoI in the healthcare business, it is essential to take actions, tangible measures, based on the values that the healthcare organisations’ uphold.
Growth strategies like consolidation and sustained innovation were also deliberated upon at Healthcare Senate 2018. The discussion on consolidation in healthcare focussed on how the strategy can help companies grow faster and benefit consumers in a better way. It also covered the need for vertical consolidation to create better interdepartmental synergies and improve overall performance. The discussion on sustained innovation for continuous progress established the need to create an ecosystem which is conducive to fostering new ideas and usher innovation.
Crucial topics such as tackling financial risks and supply chain transformation were discussed at Healthcare Senate 2018 as well. Leading CFOs and financial experts, on the panel discussing financial risks, pointed out there are several uncertainties in the healthcare market today. Stressing on the imperativeness of tabulating these risks and devising effective strategies to tackle them, they advised that risks are not to be feared, they just need to be managed. They also spoke on the importance of designing the right processes and implementing them right to manage risks effectively.
Panelists discussing supply chain transformation, among other aspects, accentuated that healthcare organisations should pay attention to details and ensure that each link in the supply chain such as identification of the right product, vendor identification and evaluation etc., is functioning properly to bring in better efficiencies in supply chain management.
This year, the audience at Healthcare Senate also gained insights from well known speakers such as Sanjeev Saxena, CEO, POC Medical Systems and Dr Renuka David, TedX Speaker, Author and Wellness Coach. The former shared his learnings from the Silicon Valley and his company’s efforts to make diagnostics simpler while the latter highlighted how home healthcare will transform care delivery.
Dr Mickey Mehta, India’s leading health and fitness guru also addressed the health professionals in the country and stressed that doctors should pay adequate attention to their own health as well. He accentuated on the need for holistic health management which would include wellness and disease prevention in a big way through proper diet and exercise.
Policymakers like Satyendra Jain, Minister of Health, Government of Delhi; Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State, MoH&FW, Government of India; and Dr Vinod Paul, Member, NITI Aayog graced Healthcare Senate with their presence on different days as Chief Guests and Guest of Honour. They chose it as a platform to inform about the various measures being undertaken to improve healthcare quality and access in the country.
The Delhi government is trying to provide quality healthcare at affordable rates to all the citizens of the state. The mission is to ensure ‘Health for all’ in the state regardless of their socio-economic strata. The government has introduced several initiatives such as providing medical tests at very affordable rates, paying for the healthcare services of all accident victims, setting up Mohalla clinics etc., informed Delhi’s health minister.
The Minister of State, MoH&FW spoke on how Healthcare Senate, with its focus on values, is a great platform for healthcare leaders, especially in these times when profit seems to be the biggest motivator. He also elaborated on how the current central government is striving to make healthcare services accessible and affordable to all through initiatives like Ayushman Bharat. He said, “The government is trying to revolutionise healthcare to make it accessible to all. We need the support of all stakeholders of healthcare, including the media, to make our movement successful.”
Dr Paul from NITI Aayog made a behest to all private healthcare players to lend their support to Ayushman Bharat and explained, “There are huge unmet healthcare needs in our country. We are only covering 15 per cent of our healthcare needs. Ayushman Bharat is an initiative to ensure that there needs of Indian citizens are met adequately.”
He stated, “With India’s young population, we are on the brink of a huge growth opportunity. We have the potential to grow exponentially in the next 20-30 years. However, India needs its population to be healthy in order to leverage it effectively. Ayushman Bharat is trying to drive a Jan Andolan in health.”
The partners of Healthcare Senate also came forward at the event to address the august audience and keep them updated about their solutions and services for the hospitals.
The event also honoured the pathfinders, game changers and front runners in this industry through Express Healthcare Excellence Awards 2018 and Best Hospital Pharmacy Citations 2018 for their invaluable contributions to healthcare in India. Stay tuned to know about the winners of these awards.
Thus, the three days of Healthcare Senate 2018 witnessed great exemplars of excellence, experience, innovation and knowledge.
Don’t forget to check out our print coverage in Express Healthcare’s issue for the month of August 2018 to know about each session of Healthcare Senate 2018 in detail.
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