AMCHAM’s 7th Annual Healthcare Conference with the theme ‘Evolving Models of Healthcare Delivery in the Digital Era’ was held on September 20th, 2019 at Westin Mindspace in Hyderabad.

The Inaugural session began with Mr. Shashi Reddy, Chairman – Hyderabad Chapter, AMCHAM giving an overview on the day’s program. Consul General Joel Reifman was the guest of honor and he said the theme of the conference was in line with the U.S-India partnership of providing accessibility and affordability healthcare both in the urban and rural areas. Mr. Kaivaan Movdawalla of Ernst & Young showcased the healthcare delivery landscape in India and the three key imperatives to provide universal healthcare to all. He spoke on the rising dual disease burden – communicable diseases and non-communicable diseases.

The first panel ‘Sustainable Healthcare Delivery Models to Ensure Inclusiveness’ had panellists from various walks of life with Mr. Movdawalla of EY as the moderator. The panellists were Mr. Sarang Deo, ISB, Mr. NS Vishwanath, Mfine, Mr. Hari Thalapalli, Call Health and Mr. Ambuj Chaturvedi, Medtronic. They discussed how technology would give more options and the qualitative factor was more important than the quantitative factor. It is not about price control only but also about process and quality control. Challenges include information asymmetry, quality of care and customer behaviour. Medical support and capability can be achieved only through technology. Technology is an important way to bridge access to rural areas and help in continuity of care.

In the second session ‘Patient Centric Models,’ Mr. Srikanth Potturi, EY, moderated. The panellists were Dr. Pramod Gaddam, Fernandez Foundation (dealt with challenges), Mr. Matruprasad P, Medtronic (dealt with the technology aspect) and Mr. Murali Rao, EY (dealt with privacy issues in a patient centric model). A patient centric model is about keeping the patient in the centre, lowering costs and getting the best medical outcomes. Technology enables us to connect all stakeholders. Technology has been an enabler but patient privacy is important. Empathy for the patients was stressed.

In the third panel ‘Make in India – A Case for Frugal Innovation,’ Dr. Ambuj Chaturvedi was the moderator with panellists Ms. Nita Sachan, Cyient, Mr. Arun Shankar, PAREXEL, Mr. Renu John, IIT Hyderabad and Mr. Kartikeya Misra, Government of Andhra Pradesh. The panel discussed how technology plays a role from a standpoint of Make in India. Technology should be made simple so that the last mile person could use it. The panel discussed how academia should come to the forefront to support technologies for medical innovations. Train the human resource base on the what industry requires so that talent for AI, ML would bring healthcare to a really different level. Government and industry could work together to bridge gap.