Chennai: Universal health care has been a challenge in the country for years. With ‘reaching doctors on time’ found to be a continuing issue, the need to come up with a solution is felt by many who belong to the healthcare industry. At the Association for Healthcare Providers of India (AHPI)’s fourth Global Conclave, the need for a Public Private Partnership (PPP) in introducing ‘e-clinic’ to help improve the status of health care accessibility in the country, was discussed.
Stating that not many city doctors visit rural areas, a doctor who spoke at the conclave said it has been seen that putting a doctor and patient physically together all the time is a constraint. “Why not the public and the private sectors come together and solve this problem for people, to whom it matters the most. If a doctor and a patient are brought together on a video consult and the patient is provided with the right treatment, he returns home with a solution. 70 percent problems are solvable by just providing the right consultation,” he added.
“A patient needs medicines or may need to undergo some basic tests which should be made available. To meet these needs, a simple vending machine, which is barcode enabled, could be put up. When a doctor gives a prescription, it could have a barcode on it and the patient would require to take a printout. The machine would scan the barcode and provide the required medicines,” he said.
Stating that it would require orchestration, he said that the government has the convening power to implement it. Video consultancy is a proved concept and delivery of medicines at home is also seen. However, combining these processes is what is needed, he added. Despite the fact that it is known that India has all the required ingredients to make this work, many feel that seeing it in practice is unreal.
“PPP has been lacking in our country for years together. Even if some may agree to work towards making this a reality, there may be others who will not cooperate. Sadly, this may remain only a dream that could not be achieved,” said Dr. J. Gnanaraj, a general physician.
