How Technology Can Play A Pivotal Role In Addressing India's Healthcare Challenges?

If India is to realise its goal of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), it is imperative that technology and healthcare talk to each other seamlessly.An insight by Manoj Kapoor,VP – Product Engineering and Data Services, Optum, elaborates

WITH A population of 1.3 billion scattered across urban and rural India, the country poses a unique healthcare challenge. According to a report by the United Nations, 75 percent of all healthcare infrastructure including medical specialists and doctors are concentrated in urban areas where only 27 percent of the Indian population live. Added to this is the fact that private hospitals and quality healthcare are limited to urban areas. While on the other hand, around 716 million people that make up the remaining 72 percent of the population stay in rural areas with a chronic lack of primary health care facilities.

One of the most pressing challenges for India is to offer world-class care at affordable rates to all its citizens. In 2011, (the latest data available) the country’s hospital bed density stood at 0.7 per 1,000 people, which is significantly lower than the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines of 3.5 beds per 1,000. In such a scenario, technology is the only tool which has the potential to bridge this gap.

Is technology the answer?

If India is to realise its goal of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), it is imperative that technology and healthcare talk to each other seamlessly. The good news is that change is here. Technology is all pervasive and is helping address the unique challenges of India in terms of accessibility, affordability and quality. Though at a nascent stage, the rate of adoption is rather fast and given the size of the healthcare sector, the resultant scale and impact can be immense.