Digital Healthcare Revolution in India
India is among the few countries that has emerged as one of the fastest-growing digital economies over the past few years. The Indian healthcare sector has adopted digital transformation to improve quality and accessibility. The digital healthcare market in India stood at US$ 116.61 billion in 2018 and is expected to increase at a CAGR of 27.41% to US$ 485.43 billion by 2024.
In an effort to facilitate the digitisation of the country’s healthcare systems, India released a National Digital Health Blueprint in January 2020, which provides a detailed framework for a “Federated National Health Information System.” This brief makes a case for expanding the scope of the blueprint to include digital therapeutics, digital diagnostics, and telemedicine. It proposes a “National Digital Health Blueprint 2.0,” with diverse elements of a futuristic digital health ecosystem, representing the interplay of new science, new actors, and technological innovations. It recommends a list of policy levers and value principles that can help design a suitable policy framework.
In an effort to facilitate the digitisation of the country’s healthcare systems, India released a National Digital Health Blueprint in January 2020, which provides a detailed framework for a “Federated National Health Information System.” This brief makes a case for expanding the scope of the blueprint to include digital therapeutics, digital diagnostics, and telemedicine. It proposes a “National Digital Health Blueprint 2.0,” with diverse elements of a futuristic digital health ecosystem, representing the interplay of new science, new actors, and technological innovations. It recommends a list of policy levers and value principles that can help design a suitable policy framework.
Launch of National Digital Health Mission
The biggest issue of patients in India is to find the best available doctor and services. In August 2020, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, established the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) with an aim to provide the necessary support for integration of digital health infrastructure in the country. Under the mission, a digital infrastructure comprising Health ID—an ID used to uniquely identify people, authenticate them and thread their health records; Digi-Doctor—a comprehensive repository of all doctors practicing or teaching modern/traditional systems of medicine, health facility registry and patient health records; and Electronic Medical Records—a digital version of a patient’s treatment history from a single facility. Amid government’s rollout of the National Digital Health Mission, private digital healthcare companies are making an entry into the sector. For instance, Medix Global, a London-based innovative digital health management solutions provider is setting up a pan-India digital infrastructure for tele-medicine and offline medical solutions including diagnosis and early disease detection services related to chronic diseases such as cardio-vascular, diabetes management, cancer and stroke. These also include health risk assessment, genetic testing, biomarker testing, personalised screening tests and personalised prevention plans. The company will also invest US$ 20-30 million in innovative medical tech start-ups with focus on India through Medix Ventures, a venture capital fund of the Medix Group to promote digital med-tech solutions.
The government has also developed a National Digital Health Blueprint (NDHB) to transition into integrated digital services in a comprehensive and holistic manner. The blueprint’s key features include a five-layered system of architectural building blocks, Unique Health Identification (UHID), privacy and consent management, national portability, EHR, applicable standards and regulations, health analytics, and multiple access channels such as a call centre, the Digital Health India portal and MyHealth App.
The government has also developed a National Digital Health Blueprint (NDHB) to transition into integrated digital services in a comprehensive and holistic manner. The blueprint’s key features include a five-layered system of architectural building blocks, Unique Health Identification (UHID), privacy and consent management, national portability, EHR, applicable standards and regulations, health analytics, and multiple access channels such as a call centre, the Digital Health India portal and MyHealth App.
COVID-19 and Telemedicine
In the pandemic times, remote consultations powered by tele-medicine platforms have redefined the healthcare experience especially in rural areas with high dependency on unqualified medical practitioners. This provided effective medical care and access to trained professionals at 30 per cent lesser cost than a traditional visit to a nearest hospital. Smartphones and improved internet connectivity in rural quarters of the country has given as opportunity for medical professionals to rise to the occasion and engage directly with their patients, monitor and measure their course of treatment.
There were only about three million households who were comfortable ordering on e-pharmacy portals like Netmeds, 1mg, and Medlife pre-COVID-19. But the addressable market was around 30 million to 35 million households. COVID-19 was a catalyst, and numbers grew exponentially. The post-COVID-19 forecast is that approximately 60 million to 65 million households will place orders on e-commerce portals by 2025.
There were only about three million households who were comfortable ordering on e-pharmacy portals like Netmeds, 1mg, and Medlife pre-COVID-19. But the addressable market was around 30 million to 35 million households. COVID-19 was a catalyst, and numbers grew exponentially. The post-COVID-19 forecast is that approximately 60 million to 65 million households will place orders on e-commerce portals by 2025.
Creating a conducive digital healthcare ecosystem
The future of healthcare in India as the trend suggests will be entirely driven by technology. The creation of a digital healthcare ecosystem will bring a complete gamut of healthcare products and services under one roof. Integrated and personalised health solutions, will bring various service providers such as hospitals, e-pharmacies, insurance companies and more together; as the need for care will begin from pre-diagnosis stage all the way to treatment and chronic disease management.
With the right regulatory environment and government’s focus on the digital movement in the country, it will create a favourable atmosphere for health tech companies to weave their product offering into the existing framework for effective and efficient patient-centric ecosystem.
With the right regulatory environment and government’s focus on the digital movement in the country, it will create a favourable atmosphere for health tech companies to weave their product offering into the existing framework for effective and efficient patient-centric ecosystem.
Section - 5
We have reimagined the ways how the process of new age policy making would be.
Over the last decade, the government has taken a more professional approach to policy making.There has been a movement away from policy advice by generalists to one informed by concepts of risk, management, and delivery of services.
Our approach to policy advisory incorporates the perspectives of ministers as well as civil servants, since policy is the responsibility of both parties, and a product of their joint efforts. Bureaucrats, members of standing committees, joint parliamentary committees and opinion leaders can be persuaded to take a more proactive and participatory role in the emerging grey areas in policy dialogues.
Over the last decade, the government has taken a more professional approach to policy making.There has been a movement away from policy advice by generalists to one informed by concepts of risk, management, and delivery of services.
Our approach to policy advisory incorporates the perspectives of ministers as well as civil servants, since policy is the responsibility of both parties, and a product of their joint efforts. Bureaucrats, members of standing committees, joint parliamentary committees and opinion leaders can be persuaded to take a more proactive and participatory role in the emerging grey areas in policy dialogues.
Section -6
India remains a complex market. It is best to view India not as a single market, but as a series of interconnected regional markets where the regulatory and investment climate changes from one state to another.
Many states have created investment cells to attract business and have framed policies around them but the lack of coherence between the launch of new policy initiatives and policy stewardship leaves a lot to be desired. While most of the state civil servants acknowledge that they have to be innovative in their approach, there is a lack of clarity over what this means in practice. The ensuing implementation of reform policies is therefore likely to be heavily shaped by the culture. It has been the case that few states in India, receive the new policy ideas like Smart City Mission and Ayushman Bharat very attractive and scalable yet difficult to implement due to logistical and legacy issues.
To correct such perceptual anomalies and resistance, policy discussion needs to be tailored to the culture and existing economic opportunity present in the state.
Many states have created investment cells to attract business and have framed policies around them but the lack of coherence between the launch of new policy initiatives and policy stewardship leaves a lot to be desired. While most of the state civil servants acknowledge that they have to be innovative in their approach, there is a lack of clarity over what this means in practice. The ensuing implementation of reform policies is therefore likely to be heavily shaped by the culture. It has been the case that few states in India, receive the new policy ideas like Smart City Mission and Ayushman Bharat very attractive and scalable yet difficult to implement due to logistical and legacy issues.
To correct such perceptual anomalies and resistance, policy discussion needs to be tailored to the culture and existing economic opportunity present in the state.
Section -7
Many companies have attained stepladder growth by identifying the winds of change in policies, which sometimes open up new business models. Those companies are also able set the agenda for future industry reforms through sustained dialogues.
Policy agenda might be construed as a specific policy ask, but this is not always the case. Moreover, a good policy agenda is accomplished only after several revisions, lengthy discussions, and healthy debate. Therefore, in the best interest of industry, leading companies deliberate, discuss and voice their concerns to the policy makers and parliamentarians.
Given the potential for a seismic shift in our nation’s political and regulatory landscape, we believe; these are times when close attention should be paid to regulatory developments. In times to come, when regulatory supervision is only going to increase, more proactive companies would continue to bear the fruit of favourable and accommodating rules.
Policy agenda might be construed as a specific policy ask, but this is not always the case. Moreover, a good policy agenda is accomplished only after several revisions, lengthy discussions, and healthy debate. Therefore, in the best interest of industry, leading companies deliberate, discuss and voice their concerns to the policy makers and parliamentarians.
Given the potential for a seismic shift in our nation’s political and regulatory landscape, we believe; these are times when close attention should be paid to regulatory developments. In times to come, when regulatory supervision is only going to increase, more proactive companies would continue to bear the fruit of favourable and accommodating rules.
Section -8
The ripple effects of a tumultuous 2020 are likely to be even more enduring and impactful than the forces that initially triggered them. In the aftermath of Covid the government is determined to build the economy through incentives like PLI schemes to boost domestic manufacturing, amending FDI regulations, setting aside startup funds, accelerating digital transformation, building infrastructure and going ahead with its ambitious disinvestment and asset monetization plans.
All of this would entail administrations pulling regulatory and legislative levers to implement its priorities. We are here to help your business along with implications for how to respond to shifts. Numerous companies and hyper growth startups have been a beneficiary of our advocacies and interventions.
All of this would entail administrations pulling regulatory and legislative levers to implement its priorities. We are here to help your business along with implications for how to respond to shifts. Numerous companies and hyper growth startups have been a beneficiary of our advocacies and interventions.
Section - 9
We have reimagined the ways how the process of new age policy making would be.
Over the last decade, the government has taken a more professional approach to policy making.There has been a movement away from policy advice by generalists to one informed by concepts of risk, management, and delivery of services.
Our approach to policy advisory incorporates the perspectives of ministers as well as civil servants, since policy is the responsibility of both parties, and a product of their joint efforts. Bureaucrats, members of standing committees, joint parliamentary committees and opinion leaders can be persuaded to take a more proactive and participatory role in the emerging grey areas in policy dialogues.
Over the last decade, the government has taken a more professional approach to policy making.There has been a movement away from policy advice by generalists to one informed by concepts of risk, management, and delivery of services.
Our approach to policy advisory incorporates the perspectives of ministers as well as civil servants, since policy is the responsibility of both parties, and a product of their joint efforts. Bureaucrats, members of standing committees, joint parliamentary committees and opinion leaders can be persuaded to take a more proactive and participatory role in the emerging grey areas in policy dialogues.
Section -10
India remains a complex market. It is best to view India not as a single market, but as a series of interconnected regional markets where the regulatory and investment climate changes from one state to another.
Many states have created investment cells to attract business and have framed policies around them but the lack of coherence between the launch of new policy initiatives and policy stewardship leaves a lot to be desired. While most of the state civil servants acknowledge that they have to be innovative in their approach, there is a lack of clarity over what this means in practice. The ensuing implementation of reform policies is therefore likely to be heavily shaped by the culture. It has been the case that few states in India, receive the new policy ideas like Smart City Mission and Ayushman Bharat very attractive and scalable yet difficult to implement due to logistical and legacy issues.
To correct such perceptual anomalies and resistance, policy discussion needs to be tailored to the culture and existing economic opportunity present in the state.
Many states have created investment cells to attract business and have framed policies around them but the lack of coherence between the launch of new policy initiatives and policy stewardship leaves a lot to be desired. While most of the state civil servants acknowledge that they have to be innovative in their approach, there is a lack of clarity over what this means in practice. The ensuing implementation of reform policies is therefore likely to be heavily shaped by the culture. It has been the case that few states in India, receive the new policy ideas like Smart City Mission and Ayushman Bharat very attractive and scalable yet difficult to implement due to logistical and legacy issues.
To correct such perceptual anomalies and resistance, policy discussion needs to be tailored to the culture and existing economic opportunity present in the state.
