Promoting Positive Change

The 17-billion dollar healthcare global business, GE Healthcare has recently ushered in the Age of Early Health in India through its annual ‘Early Health Summit’. This year, the summit was held at Bangalore from September 25-26, 2008, with a slew of sustainable, replicable initiatives. The company also announced its tie up with NICE Foundation, Manipal Heart Institute, Grameen Health and VIVUS to elicit new healthcare initiatives. These included designing models for sustainable healthcare in maternal infant care, diabetes, IP care and cardiac care, mobile cardiac screening facilities and providing healthcare facilities to four billion people globally. The summit was organised with a view to spotlight the key emerging trends, challenges and opportunities in healthcare.
Eminent industry spokesperson from the healthcare delivery segment, government bodies and independent bodies during the event addressed various aspects of improving the healthcare system in India. According to these experts, Indian healthcare providers are facing increasing demand for more and better quality services from patients and enhanced performance and profitability from shareholders. The spread of awareness about the importance of quality healthcare delivery and increased knowledge about the different disease areas hence becomes vital in helping improve the standard of healthcare in the region.
The Indian healthcare industry in the recent times has seen an increasing trend in terms of improving the healthcare delivery sector. With increasing demand for quality services various efforts have been made to introduce newer and better solutions. Speaking on the 21st Century imaging and its relevance for the country, V Raja, President & CEO, GE Healthcare India, said, “Today, diagnostic imaging and monitoring play a pivotal role in the early detection of life-threatening diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, which are the biggest killers in India and its neighboring countries. Imaging and clinical monitoring is bringing in new efficiencies and cost savings for healthcare providers and better outcomes for patients by detecting diseases early.”
He further added, “There is an unprecedented need in India and neighboring countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka to extend the provision of good quality and affordable healthcare to the masses. Technological developments that until now have been the preserve of wealthy developed nations and the fortunate few, need to become widely available, affordable and sustainable, if countries such as India and her neighbors are to reap the benefit of their potential.”
According to WHO, among the biggest obstacles to improved health outcomes are inadequate health delivery and finance mechanisms that place the heaviest burden on those least able to pay. For this purpose, GE Healthcare recently rolled out a series of Public Private Partnership projects with Indian state government and a series of innovative product solutions to make good quality healthcare affordable to the masses.
The summit debated the growing healthcare divide, role of public private partnerships and new innovations, replicable healthcare models that will perk up the healthcare system. Molecular Imaging Leader and Scientist, GE Healthcare, Jean Luc Vanderheyden presented new imaging technologies like molecular imaging that can guide early health in the near future. He said, “Molecular imaging is one of the disruptive technologies that will change the way that care is going to be delivered and GE Healthcare is leading the way. It is a powerful technique that takes advantages of advances in biology, chemistry and technology as well as discoveries in gene and protein sciences.”