Ayushmaan Bharat offers affordable and quality healthcare: Sten H Vermund

According to PriceWaterhouseCooper's report on 'Reimagining the possible in the Indian healthcare ecosystem with emerging technologies', the majority of India's population is still in the rural areas, while only 34% is in urban centres.

Despite this, 67% of India's doctors provide services to the urban population. Hence, modern health care in rural settings may be inaccessible and there are many challenges in the "last mile delivery" of healthcare, says Sten H Vermund, dean, Yale School of Public Health, while talking to Education Times about the socio-economic disparities in rendering effective healthcare in India.

"But then, Indian healthcare has advanced considerably within the last 15 years with an enormous increase in health expenditures. The government has focussed its efforts on the regulation of the price on drugs including treatments for cancer, which are now over 80% cheaper. These efforts towards improving the health and wellbeing of India's rural population will help bridge gaps and make the delivery of healthcare more equitable," he says.

Cost and quality concerns

Vermund is also optimistic about Ayushmaan Bharat to address quality, cost and accessibility issues. "With this new approach, the government is working to provide protection to the most vulnerable of the Indian population by giving affordable and quality healthcare. Industry and the public sector, including academia, are playing a crucial role," he says. Vermont highlights the need for public private partnerships, saying it can help improve quality, and accessibility of the Indian healthcare service.

Global scenario

On a global scale, the challenges in healthcare are no different with accessibility and affordability remaining the key concerns, he says. "One way we can improve is by finding innovative methods to transform the existing model, says Vermund.

In keeping with Yale's role in health promotion and prevention of disease, the university has an ecosystem of faculty and students from across disciplines to focus on principles of entrepreneurship and innovation. "These interdisciplinary approaches are particularly effective as we focus on underserved communities in the US and low-resource countries," says Vermund.

For instance, Yale School for Global Health is collaborating with the Bangalore-based business accelerator CoWrks Foundry and the RMZ Foundation on a Sustainable Health Initiative to develop up to 10 startups focused on infectious and vector-borne diseases. Looking at the health scenario, Vermund's feels Indian and global institutes need to balance theory with practice to help students address pressing challenges.