Healthcare professionals have stressed the urgent need for better infrastructure in India for the growth of the healthcare sector, which needs one trillion US dollar funding for next 20 years to grow exponentially.
Addressing healthcare leaders in the 1st India Health Conclave 2008, organized by Technopak Advisors, a leading unique services organisation offering advisory and implementation support to healthcare companies in India, Steven J Thompson, vice-chairman, John Hopkins Heath System, USA singled out that the healthcare sector in a developing country like India should incorporate international best practices if it aims to become a global player.
The growing demand for quality healthcare and the absence of matching delivery mechanisms pose a challenge and certainly a great opportunity. We stand at the threshold of an exciting opportunity to design and engineer sustainable healthcare delivery systems, develop numerous commercially viable and customisable delivery formats for the growing, demanding and health conscious Indian populace, said Arvind Singhal, chairman, Technopak.
The conclave, "Opportunities and Investment in Indian Healthcare Delivery" held in Mumbai, India, brought together over 300 of the healthcare industry's premiere thought leaders and top companies from around the world to address key issues.
India is way behind when it comes to healthcare workforce and infrastructure. 600 medical colleges and 1500 nursing colleges need to be set up to the average level of current world scenario. Healthcare IT, US $3 billion opportunity in India today will grow to $16 Billion by 2013, according to industry reports.
Healthcare, which is a US $40 billion industry in India, is expected to reach over US $80 billion in the next five years. The private sector today accounts for over 80 per cent of this spending. India needs an immediate investment of US$ 82 billion to make up for the back-log. An additional US $465 billion is needed to catch up with demographic shifts as well as improvement in healthcare indicators in the next 10 years (i.e. by 2018).
The growing demand for the quality healthcare and the absence of matching delivery mechanisms pose a challenge and certainly a great opportunity. India's rapid growth has brought about a "health transition", in terms of shifting demographics, socioeconomic transformations and changes in disease patterns - with increasing degenerative and lifestyle diseases and altered health seeking behaviour.
The Indian price and human resources advantages have already made Indian shores the new haven for medical value travel, we are witnessing a classic case of demand far in excess of what healthcare providers can deliver, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Currently, it is estimated that over 90 per cent of the private healthcare is being serviced by the unorganized sector. This preponderance of the unorganized sector is due to the absence of affordable, convenient and quality healthcare delivery systems. This is expected to undergo a sea change in the coming years. The opportunities afforded at the current juncture are attracting a large number of established players as well as new entrants.