Devi Shetty Sees Huge Scope in Healthcare Innovations
Devi Shetty, founder, Narayana Hrudalaya, against the backdrop of the recent awarding of compensation to a patient in Kolkata said there was a need to understand the implications fully and cap the compensation, especially if we want to promote medical tourism.
To further promote tourism, we need better infrastructure, promote nursing as a career option to have a sizeable workforce of skilled nurses, and project the medical tourism opportunities that Indian offers. He was speaking at the session on Medical and Health Services: Export Potential at the Services Conclave: Promoting Services Exports from India- Challenges, Opportunities and Issues. The Conclave was organized by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India and the Confederation of Indian Industry in New Delhi.
Lending support to the views expressed by Shetty, Naresh Trehan, chairman and managing director, Medanta, said while the quality of medical healthcare offered in India is excellent, we need to focus on medical education the curriculum is antiquated by and large, and there is a pressing need to internationalize it at the undergraduate level. Moreover, he added, there is a need for good quality research, as there is a possibility to fuse the science of herbal medicine with modern medicine to create a new system of medicine that would be cheaper and could cater to a wider audience. This is a great opportunity for India.
Madhava Varier, managing trustee, Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala, said the Ayurvedic system is a comprehensive system which offers excellent solutions, especially for prevention and treatment of lifestyle-related disorders and chronic diseases. Trade and other enquires from the Gulf, US and Europe bear testimony to the fact that there is a demand for Ayurveda. Addressing issues such as regulatory hurdles, concept-related problems, and export related issues will boost the sector.
Shubnam Singh, Dean, Max Healthcare said that addressing issues related to mutual recognition agreement vis-a-vis accredition, medical transcription and data protection need to be re-energized to boost the sector.
