Dr Chandrika Kambam, Medical Director, EVEN Healthcare shares her organisation’s vision 2022 for transforming the healthcare sector in the new financial year. Edited excerpts:
What is the vision of your company for the new financial year?
I am starting my new financial year at a company called Even healthcare. The company is building a concept of preventive and managed care in India, providing unlimited OPD coverage to its members. Since we will be two years old this June, our focus is on growth and familiarizing consumers with this new way to manage their health with a team that provides end to end services from outpatient cover to in-patient cover.
What innovations is your company planning in your products, services, and marketing strategies to provide better service to the customers?
Even healthcare as a concept is itself new to India. Such products are available in the western world for a while now and have been well accepted by the consumers. In India, it was done by a few closed group organizations for their own employees like the Defence, Central Government schemes etc. but not for the public. So, bringing in the concept of managed care through a family physician concept is unique. It will largely help people, where they are currently missing that one physician who can guide them through their healthcare journey. Secondly, the idea of providing unlimited OPD coverage is a game changer as no traditional healthcare setup provides OPD coverage. Since India is amongst the countries with the highest out of pocket expenditures on healthcare, we feel this concept can be highly beneficial for Indians. Along with this, we’re focussing on a holistic approach to care for our members and providing inpatient care, emergency assistance and a 24×7 dedicated care team.
How do you see the healthcare industry evolve in the new financial year? What new challenges and opportunities do you foresee?
Healthcare is moving away from the traditional brick and mortar model. Technology is becoming the backbone of delivering healthcare services at all levels. There are many out of the box care models coming up, which opens a huge opportunity for the healthcare workers to explore and be part of this revolution.
Any new wave will come with its own challenges. For the start-ups they must gain consumer trust and they should start accepting the new normal. For Hospitals, they not only have to compete with similar acute care corporate hospitals, but also with start-ups, for business and for retaining the manpower.
What are the positive catalysts for ICT adoption in the government?
Positive catalyst for the information and communication technology by the government is better reach to tier 2 and 3 cities where 70% of our population resides. Health and Education are two important aspects, if improved it helps our country’s economy enormously. Using ICT, the Government will be able to deliver Primary care at ease and timely referral of patients to District and tertiary centres. It will also help to deliver education to school students and continue the same even during Pandemic. Easy availability of Internet and hardware and software also acts as a catalyst.
What are the challenges or roadblocks which may hamper digital technology adoption in the government sector?
Challenges are mainly in laying down the infrastructure. Understanding the value of what technology can do and how to leverage the same for the benefits of the population by the local leaders is very important. I am sure we have enough funds, but if this understanding is not there, we will not allocate funds appropriately. Educating people at the grass root level, making content available in vernacular language and in the easy-to-understand format is also required.
What is your vision for adoption of novel IT tools and technologies in your organization?
What is your vision for adoption of novel IT tools and technologies in your organizaBefore we think about novel IT tools and technologies, we must first adopt electronic medical records in all areas of our documentation from outpatient to inpatient work. Even big corporate hospitals are still struggling to adopt EMR. I see so many patients carrying scribbled, hard to understand outpatient prescriptions. Technologies are being developed at the speed of light but have little adoptionion?
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