Innovation and Collaboration Key to Building Access to Healthcare

NEW DELHI, May 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Industry Experts Join Hands at a Roundtable in Delhi, Discuss Role of Innovation in Building Access to Healthcare

India Health Progress (IHP), a call-for-action forum as a part of its commitment towards 'Access to Healthcare', brought together experts recently at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, to discuss and deliberate the role of innovation in advancing access to healthcare. The event was supported by PhRMA as part of the ongoing commitment of global, innovative pharmaceutical companies to be a solution partner in advancing a safe and effective healthcare system in India.

The distinguished panel included experts from the healthcare spectrum - media, NGOs, patient groups, healthcare providers, government organizations, doctors, and representatives from pharmaceutical companies.

Encouraging innovation in the healthcare sector, Dr. Amit Kapoor, Honorary Chairman at Institute for Competiveness India, suggested, "India needs to support and incentivize an innovation driven environment. It needs to explore business models that tackle issues specific to India including PPP, social entrepreneurship and patient assistance program. Innovation in healthcare can be a game changer; however cost of innovation needs to be borne by someone, which could be government too."

Prof (Dr.) Vinod Kumar, Emeritus Professor, Dept. of Medicine, St Stephens Hospital, Delhi and President Emeritus, Alzheimer's & Related Disorders Society of India, highlighted the needs of the ageing population in India and elder specific healthcare innovations. He said, "India's population is rapidly ageing and this ageing population requires affordable, accessible and quality public health services, innovative healthcare financing and preventive measures like lifestyle modification, and better hygiene."

Bringing to light the role of pharmaceutical companies in innovation and improving access to healthcare, Mr. Sundeep Kumar, Head, Corporate and Public Affairs, Novartis said, "Product innovation in pharma industry is extremely capital intensive. To sustain this process, pharma companies like any other business have to recover the costs. In a country like India, where 85% of the healthcare costs are paid by the end consumer, to reduce this burden, innovative models of partnership amongst Government, insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies need to be worked out."

Following the addresses by speakers and discussion with the guests, the panelists agreed that Indian healthcare system needs innovation and collaboration rather than confrontation. All the stakeholders from government to patient groups, NGOs and pharmaceutical companies need to redefine their roles and come up with innovative business models to meet the healthcare needs of the people.

About India Health Progress (IHP -  www.indiahealthprogress.in)

An independent 'call-to-action' forum launched on 15 August 2010, IHP seeks to bring together all like-minded entities and experts - doctors, healthcare spokespersons, opinion leaders and policy-makers - to address longstanding issues of healthcare and its inaccessibility in India. IHP therefore organizes periodic expert roundtables to facilitate relevant policy reforms and propel healthcare issues into public consciousness.

Primary Media Contact: Jeevek Rawat, [email protected], 91-7503293955

Secondary Media Contact: Rajesh Vanjani, [email protected], 91-9717791272