India should collaborate more with US in healthcare: Prathap Reddy
July 25th, 2012 - 11:36 am ICT by IANSWashington, July 25 (IANS) A leading Indian health expert has suggested greater collaboration between the US and India to meet the healthcare challenge with new tools to transform its delivery, such as through information technology.
Calling the healthcare challenge ’solvable” at an interactive session on ‘US and India: Innovating Health Care’ here Tuesday, Dr. Prathap Reddy, chairman of the Apollo Group of Hospitals, said that it was a key area where the US and India can work together.
Speaking at the event organized jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Reddy lauded the ongoing efforts in the US to digitise healthcare data through Electronic Medical Records and hoped that such techniques would be brought to India as well.
He also acknowledged the tremendous contributions made by research organizations in the US in diagnosis, methodology, innovation, research and technology in the healthcare sector. Applying existing innovations from US, Europe and other parts to countries like India is thus critical, said Reddy who pioneed the concept of corporate hospitals in India in the eighties after returning from the US where he a had a very successful practice as a leading heart surgeon.
“The three biggest challenges India faces in the healthcare sector are: paucity of hospital beds for people; lack of skilled health human resources; and rise in both infectious and non-communicable diseases,” he said.
India is facing alarming numbers of cases of heart disease, cancer and diabetes, Reddy said. For example, the number of diabetes cases in India, earlier projected at 36 million by 2020, has already surpassed 75 million. Soon, one out of every five diabetic patient in the world will be Indian.
Noting that comparable surgeries in India cost one-tenth of the price in the US, he said high quality healthcare and cost benefit is hence a major priority area.
Karl Inderfurth, Wadhwani Chair in US-India Policy Studies at CSIS, kicked off the session and highlighted the increase in US-India cooperation across key sectors such as security, energy, defence, science and technology among others.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
- Three keys to make India-US ties soar - Jul 16, 2012
- Indian MPs, US think tank discuss policy issues - Jul 06, 2012
- Indian-American doctor offers healthcare solutions for India - Aug 13, 2012
- Indian healthcare industry poised for rapid growth - Aug 05, 2011
- WHO expands steps to fight non-communicable diseases - Apr 25, 2012
- Health budget 'reassuring', welcomed by industry - Mar 16, 2012
- Kochi to host AAPI's global healthcare summit - Sep 05, 2012
- Prevention of non-communicable diseases priority: Azad - Mar 16, 2011
- Sedentary lifestyles affecting health of India's elderly (April 7 is World Health Day) - Apr 06, 2012
- India's blackout is a wakeup call in US too - Aug 03, 2012
- WHO for enhanced partnership to curb non-communicable diseases - Apr 24, 2012
- US trade group sends life sciences mission to India - Jan 31, 2012
- To combat 'silent killers', India to conduct survey - Aug 12, 2012
- Apollo Hospitals to launch 100 sugar clinics in 90 days - Nov 23, 2011
- India seeks framework to boost worker mobility with US - Mar 08, 2012
Tags: alarming numbers, apollo group, centre for strategic and international studies, confederation of indian industry, diabetes cases, diabetic patient, electronic medical records, health expert, health human resources, healthcare challenge, healthcare data, healthcare sector, heart disease cancer, heart surgeon, hospital beds, hospitals in india, innovation research, interactive session, non communicable diseases, skilled health