Dr. Sunita Dube
The Indian Healthcare sector currently represents a 2000 Crore industry. While this growth of healthcare sector in India is an upbeat achievement, government has also initiated various welfare measures to enable citizen’s access to affordable and reliable health services.
To be fair, Disease Control Programs have shown considerable improvements. Polio is near elimination and diseases like tuberculosis, neonatal tetanus, measles and even HIV have shown decreasing trends.
Yet, India’s healthcare spend is less than half the global average in percentage terms when compared on a “percent of GDP” basis. Efforts are on to evaluate incidences of leprosy. Malaria continues to be a challenge. A number of newly emerging diseases like H1N1 have made it essential for us to strengthen surveillance and epidemic response capacities.
While the private sector has evolved a multi-pronged approach to increase accessibility and penetration with new delivery models such as day-care centre’s, single specialty hospitals, end-of-life care centre’s, to address specific needs; the public sector is keen on encouraging private investment in the healthcare sector and is now developing Public – Private Partnerships.
Against the backdrop of these dynamic developments, we have conceived MedscapeIndia which is a unique, independent non-profit organization that serves as a platform that unites doctors for discussion and debate on relevant subjects. We aim to exchange knowledge, set standards and establish ‘Vision 2025’- a twelve point charter on changes we intend to see in the in Indian health care system. This charter can include issues such as doctor-patient relationship, female foeticide and other problems.
As a collective, we hope to contribute towards defining the future of healthcare in India. I thank all the representative medical bodies for lending their support to our cause & awards.
Now we have gone one step closer towards achieving our goal with the MedscapeIndia Awards. These awards are our sincere endeavor to recognize excellence in healthcare and honor exemplary service to patients by the medical fraternity.
These awards aspire to set a new benchmark for the stakeholders of the healthcare industry, thus encouraging them to further scale up their efforts in order to provide affordable quality healthcare to consumers.
It is truly humbling for me to be functioning as the President of the MedscapeIndia Awards. I thank all the representative medical bodies for lending their support to our cause & awards. The MedscapeIndia, in association with other medical bodies has to be viewed as championing change for the betterment of the medical fraternity. While a doctor is expected to treat all patients as equal, whatever be their background, doctors themselves are judged rather ruthlessly by society. There are hospitals and buildings that are over 40 years old and were constructed in very different times. Newer regulations that are set out today to redefine hospital spaces are impractical and difficult to execute in the limited timeframes.
Issues are many and we need to make a case for our own rights and unite to support each other.
