Usha Sharma – Mumbai
Aiming to create better awareness among health journalists on issues related to the sector, Heal Foundation recently organised the 4th National Health writers and Editors Convention in Goa. Laxmikant Parsekar, Health Minister, Goa was the Chief Guest for the event. The two-day national convention started with a discussion on the affordability and accessibility of healthcare in the Indian scenario.
Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, via tele conferencing took part in the event where he said, “We are working to improve the healthcare system in our country. I appreciate the efforts taken by health journalists towards polio eradication. We are coming up with big plans for national health insurance and there are plans to launch the Universal Health Insurance cover in India.”
Vardhan further said, “We would like to boost our traditional treatment methods. Bangladesh has already adopted Siddha, Unani and Ayurveda methods for their medical treatment. We are in talks with the Bangladesh Government to sign an MoU. In Bangladesh, we will be meeting the South East Asian representatives. Both India and Bangladesh are rich in medicinal plants and we would like to ensure that this opportunity can be utilised.”
Parsekar in his speech shared the key milestones of the state’s healthcare scenario.
Panel discussions and presentations at the event touched on the affordability and accessibility of healthcare, strengthening quality and innovation for effective healthcare, the dearth of talent and effective management of health resources, misconceptions surrounding health insurance, and the need for inhalation therapy for asthma management. Fighting adulteration in food items, and healthy snacking too were topics on the agenda.
DG Shah, Secretary General, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) gave an update on issues being faced by the Indian pharmaceutical industry due to Drugs Price Control Order (DPCO) 2013.
Ameera Shah, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Metropolis Healthcare spoke about the need for guidelines in the diagnostic sector to reduce the wide variation in test results across various labs in the country.
In order to generate awareness about the accreditation procedures for hospitals, Dr KK Kalra, Chief Executive Officer, National Accreditation Board for Hospitals (NABH) informed that there are more than 3000 hospitals in the country and only 240 hospitals have received an accreditation so far from the NABH.
Dr Sujeet Rajan, Consultant Chest Physician, Bombay Hospital Institute of Medical Sciences highlighted the importance of breathometer which helps to monitor respiratory diseases.
Gaurav Malhotra, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Bourn Hall Clinic India informed about the myths related to infertility in India. He mentioned that behind infertility both male and female are involved and female patients are not be blamed alone.