Healthcare technology needs going beyond quick-fixes

New Delhi, 8th December, 2016: Scaling up pilot projects in the area of technology-enabled health care delivery requires a concerted effort that involves going beyond the quick-fixes and working towards a sustainable health solution that can help tackle the rising burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases in the country.

This is the recommendation of a new report entitled, “Landscape of Technology enabled Health care in India”by The George Institute for Global Health. Researchers evaluated a large number of initiatives and several health care apps in the area of m-health that have been launched in the market.

The report, which was released at a Consensus Conference on Technology Enabled Health care organised here today, argues that bringing many of these projects to scale will require a generation of robust evidence that can work in a variety of geographical contexts. “While the Digital India campaign being implemented by the Government of India offers tremendous potential for strengthening health care delivery, accessability & affordability, more robust evidence is required of what works and what does not in different community settings.”, said Dr. Vivekanand Jha, Executive Director, The George Institute for Global Health India

The conference drew renowned experts from the healthcare industry and government health officials who deliberated on topics related to the potential of technology enabled healthcare in India. It was noted by experts that smartphones and tablet devices are being increasingly used to screen and monitor high-risk conditions and so presented a real opportunity to tackle the rising disease burden.

Addressing the conference Chief Guest, Shri Rajendra Pratap Gupta, Advisor to the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare said,“Technology and Healthcare are inseparable and in fact complement each other.mHealth is an integral part of the Digital India campaign launched by the Government of India and we belive that it has the potential to revolutionize healthcare delivery & access in India.We believe that the role of mHealth is in preventive, promotive and curative care, which is why we have launched apps focusing on areas like blood donation, general public health, vaccinations, hypertension management under the Digital India vision.”