Experts outline key healthcare reforms

Bengaluru: Medical experts, doctors, and patient representatives gathered to deliberate on critical issues in the country’s healthcare system on Saturday. The sessions organised by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), a voluntary organisation of Indian physicians, and Patient Safety and Access Initiative of India Foundation (PSAIIF), a coalition comprising patients, consumer organisations, physicians and other stakeholders for patient safety, explored ways to enhance collaboration between doctors and patients. 

“We are organising this forum so that advocates, experts from the medical side, and representatives from the patients’ side, can all discuss how we can bring universal health coverage in India, improve insurance policies and patient data security,” said Prof Dr S Srinivasa, President, IMA Karnataka state branch.

The former state president of IMA Karnataka Dr Madhusudhan Kariganuru explained that this was also to convince the court about the “pitfalls in bringing the consumer protection act to healthcare sector”. 

“We are deliberating on how to make the system better because patients should not suffer. We are discussing about how to expand insurance coverage for chronic non-communicable diseases because they aren’t covered under insurance,” he said.

The deliberations are set to form the basis of a draft joint declaration and recommendations to stakeholders such as the government and insurance companies. The draft was drafted on Saturday night. It will be presented and signed by the participants of the deliberations on Sunday.