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Can IT be the game changer for healthcare in India?

By Benny Thomas | Wednesday, 02 December 2009, 23:52 Hrs | 1 Comments

Though, the trend shows that Sinha may be right in his observations, there is a point that even the medical professionals raise. "We prefer writing things on a paper because the necessary infrastructure is not available in India, for people to access the information," says Naresh Shetty, a Medical Practitioner in Bangalore. Shetty believes that Indian IT firms need to start concentrating on developing solutions, which are easily available for all the medical facilities in India. "Some of the software solutions available today in the market are quite expensive for a country like India, hope companies come forward to develop solutions that are priced for our market," adds Shetty.

Shetty's view is shared by Samuel Paul, a Junior Doctor at a private Bangalore hospital, who believes that going forward only technology can fill the vacuum in the Indian healthcare. Paul says, "There needs to be a combined effort from the government as well as the private sector to improve the 'health' of healthcare in India."

Ciber, which develops healthcare solutions among other solutions, is also bullish about this space, especially after Obama's announcement. The company that derives a majority of its revenue from U.S. market is also looking at the opportunities in India. "Currently our main focus in India is on the retail and financial services space, but we are also looking to get into healthcare," says Raghurama Kote, President of Ciber India. Kote feels that there are a lot of loopholes that needs to be fixed before the demand in healthcare solutions picks up in India.

With both the medical community and the service providers confident that healthcare in India can change by implementing technology, a much needed push from the government can make it a reality sooner rather than later. Is the Ministry of Health listening?

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