'Medical technology, need of the hour'

The Indian health care industry should adopt quality technology for the masses and make use of the country’s engineers, opined industry watchers. 

Speaking at the seminar on the ‘Disruptive technology in the Healthcare Sector’ organized as part of the BangaloreITE.biz 2014 and CeBIT India annual conference on Friday, Narayana Health Chairman Devi Prasad Shetty said that technology will not be very expensive if it’s used for the masses and IT will be the matrix on which healthcare will be delivered. 

“In 10 years, 75 per cent of hospital beds will be part of the ICU. India needs 1 million doctors, 2 million nurses and 3 billion beds,” said Shetty. 

Even though technology will not replace doctors, it will make them efficient and safe. According to Shetty, this technological transformation can happen only if India avails its extremely bright engineers.

He pointed out that the need for basic healthcare will quickly become a challenge for developing countries like India. 

 “This scenario will create opportunities in the manufacturing of medical electronics. But as medical designs continue to shrink in size, the design challenges and limitations within medical electronics become more pronounced,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, IESA President M N Vidyashankar said 90 per cent of patient cases in India do not require a doctor to be physically present. 

He said the local manufacturers should understand the unique dynamics of the Indian healthcare industry. 

“Here they should innovate and develop medical equipmen
t that suit the requirements of developing nations like ours,” said M N Vidyashankar. 

Mohammed Hussain Naseem, 2mpower Health Management Services Founder and CEO, said around 80 per cent of deaths in India are due to unnatural reasons. 

“Wearable technology is an emerging space with applications in health, wellness and healthcare services and they are completely non-intrusive ways of monitoring health vitals,” he said. 

Equipment that will allow for telemedicine, remote diagnosis and low-cost treatments is the need of the hour, said Nazeem.