Express_Healthcare__February_2018

VOL.12 NO 2 PAGES 64 

Market 

71 st Conference 

of IRIA and 17 th AOCR 

held in Mumbai 

Cover Story 

The Economics 

of Cancer Care 

www.expresshealthcare.in 

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CONTENTS 

Vol 12. No 2, February 2018 

Chairman of the Board 

Viveck Goenka 

Sr Vice President-BPD 

Neil Viegas 

Editor 

Viveka Roychowdhury* 

Chief of Product 

Harit Mohanty 

BUREAUS 

Mumbai 

Usha Sharma, 

Raelene Kambli, 

Lakshmipriya Nair, 

Sanjiv Das, 

Mansha Gagneja 

Swati Rana 

Delhi 

Prathiba Raju 

Design 

National Design Editor 

Bivash Barua 

Asst. Art Director 

Pravin Temble 

Chief Designer 

Prasad Tate 

Senior Designer 

Rekha Bisht 

Graphics Designer 

Gauri Deorukhkar 

THE ECONOMICS OF CANCER CARE 

It is time for healthcare stakeholders to synergise and strategise to navigate the 

complex maze of cancer economics to ensure delivery of affordable and equitable 

cancer care in India | P-20 

Artists 

Rakesh Sharma 

MARKET 

POLICY WATCH 

RADIOLOGY 

LIFE 

Digital Team 

Viraj Mehta (Head of Internet) 

Dhaval Das (Web Developer) 

Photo Editor 

Sandeep Patil 

MARKETING 

Regional Heads 

Prabhas Jha - North 

Harit Mohanty - West 

Kailash Purohit – South 

Debnarayan Dutta - East 

30 

RAY OF HOPE FOR 

ASHA WORKERS IN 

ASSAM 

Marketing Team 

Ajanta Sengupta, Ambuj Kumar, 

Douglas Menezes, E.Mujahid, 

Nirav Mistry, Rajesh Bhatkal, 

Sunil Kumar 

PRODUCTION 

General Manager 

BR Tipnis 

Manager 

Bhadresh Valia 

Scheduling & Coordination 

Santosh Lokare 

CIRCULATION 

Circulation Team 

Mohan Varadkar 

10 

February 2018 

EXPRESS HEALTHCARE 

14 

71 ST CONFERENCE OF 

IRIA AND 17 TH AOCR 

HELD IN MUMBAI 

19 HEALTHCARE 

SABHA TO BE HELD 

IN PUNE FROM 

MARCH 8-10, 2018 

TRADE AND 

TRENDS 

51 

IN INDIA, WE AIM 

TO FOCUS ON 

PROVIDING HIGH 

QUALITY CARE 

36 

THERE IS AN 

EXPONENTIAL 

GROWTH OF 

SCIENTIFIC 

KNOWLEDGE IN 

RADIOLOGY WHICH 

NEED TO BE 

EXPLORED 

39 

‘IT WOULD BE 

TOO EARLY TO 

MAKE ANY 

COMMENT ON THE 

EFFICACY OF THE 

HIV BILL’ 

Express Healthcare® 

Regd. With RNI No.MAHENG/2007/22045. Postal Regd.No.MCS/162/2016-18. Printed and Published by Vaidehi Thakar on behalf of The Indian Express (P) Limited 

and Printed at The Indian Express Press, Plot No.EL-208, TTC Industrial Area, Mahape, Navi Mumbai-400710 and Published at Express Towers, 

Nariman Point, Mumbai 400021. Editor: Viveka Roychowdhury.* (Editorial & Administrative Offices: Express Towers, 1st floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400021) * 

Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act. Copyright © 2017. The Indian Express (P) Ltd. All rights reserved throughout the world. Reproduction in any 

manner, electronic or otherwise, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited.

EDITOR’S NOTE 

Budget or ‘fudge’it, only time will tell 

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's last full 

budget before the 2019 general elections 

seems to be a first step towards universal 

health coverage for Indian citizens. 

This is clearly a precursor to Prime Minister 

Modi's version of Obamacare. 

Kicking off the health section of the Union 

Budget 2018-19, the FM said, “Only Swasth 

(healthy) Bharat can be a Samriddha (prosperous) 

Bharat. India cannot realise its demographic dividend 

without its citizens being healthy.” There is 

criticism that with recent electoral set backs due to 

farmer distress in the rural areas and a restless 

jobless urban youth, most Budget announcements 

this year favoured Bharat rather than India. The 

sub text to most announcements is the creation of 

jobs as an additional spin off benefit. There is also 

an effort to distance itself from the Opposition's 

criticism of being overtly corporate friendly ('suitboot 

ki sarkar') at the cost of the common citizen. 

For instance, the FM prefaces his allocation for an 

additional ` 600 crore for nutritional support to 

TB patients at the rate of ` 500 per month during 

their treatment, with the statement that TB ‘affects 

mainly poor and malnourished people.’ 

There is no fault with this rationale. In fact, a 

focus on bettering health outcomes at the grassroots, 

including both rural and urban poor, is long 

overdue. Centres of excellence in healthcare, both 

in public and corporate, tend to be located in major 

metros. Most urban Indians tend to have more resources, 

hence better access to nutrition and preventive 

health check ups. Most of the salaried population 

can afford self purchased as well as 

corporate sponsored/subsidised insurance cover. 

Thus the FM's announcement to upgrade existing 

district hospitals in the country and create 24 

new government medical colleges and hospitals is 

a good move to strengthen the health ecosystem 

in India's villages and district towns, reducing the 

need to travel to cities for healthcare, except for 

the very serious cases. It will also address the 

dearth of doctors and paramedical staff in India, 

which often hampers healthcare delivery. The FM 

has also increased the limit of deduction for senior 

citizen health insurance under Section 80D, 

from ` 30,000 to ` 50,000 which will enable senior 

citizens to access more healthcare facilities. 

But the centrepiece of the budget’s proposals 

Even if FM Jaitley has 

rectified the mistakes of 

Obamacare,will this 

government have the 

time to implement 

Modicare? 

for health is the a flagship National Health 

Protection Scheme, as part of the Ayushman 

Bharat scheme. Pegged as the ‘world’s largest government 

funded national health programme,’ it 

aims to provide insurance cover to over 10 crore 

poor and vulnerable families, (benefiting approximately 

50 crore family members), providing coverage 

upto ` 5 lakh per family per year for secondary 

and tertiary care hospitalisation programme. 

While major hospitals, diagnostic players and insurance 

companies have hailed these announcements, 

as more business could come their way, 

they are cautiously awaiting details of its implementation. 

Many PPPs have gone south as private 

players allege that payments from government 

tend to get mired in red tape, are disputed, delayed 

and often have to be written off. 

On the primary healthcare side, the FM committed 

` 1200 crore to the existing 1.5 lakh health 

and wellness centres and expanded their coverage 

to include non-communicable diseases and maternal 

and child health services, with free essential 

drugs and diagnostic services. He also intends to 

harness the mandatory CSR funds of corporates 

by inviting them to adopt these centres. 

As industry scrutinises the finer details, there is 

criticism that fund allocation to healthcare hasn't 

really increased that much, with the government 

merely repackaging old wine in a new bottle and 

topping it off a bit. For instance, there are indications 

that Ayushman Bharat will be a consolidation 

of existing schemes under the Jan Suraksha 

framework, with existing schemes like the 

Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) as well as 

schemes launched by individual state governments 

under a common umbrella. 

Funds allocated by the centre for state run 

health schemes often do not get spent, hence this 

could be a good way to monitor and re-distribute 

funds to states and schemes which have a history of 

using health funding efficiently with maximum 

proven outcomes. With the traditional animosity 

between centre and state governments, especially 

those not of the same political colour as the centre, 

this could well turn out to be a prolonged turf 

war. 

Even if FM Jaitley has rectified the mistakes of 

Obamacare, will this government have the time to 

implement Modicare? 

VIVEKA ROYCHOWDHURY Editor 

viveka.r@expressindia.com 

EXPRESS HEALTHCARE 11 

February 2018

Taking healthcare beyond hospitals 

Home healthcare has been able to step in to ensure that hospitals are able to take care 

of their patients beyond the hospital. Dr Gaurav Thukral, Chief Operating Officer, of 

HealthCare atHOME, gives an insight 

With disease burden on the rise in India 

due to ailments triggered by lifestyle 

changes and geriatric population, the 

pressure on conventional delivery of medical care 

systems like hospitals and hospitalisation would be 

tremendous. One emerging option to ease this 

pressure is home healthcare. 

There is a misconception amongst some in the 

healthcare industry that home healthcare is a 

competitor to hospitals. But, at the outright, let me 

say that home healthcare providers instead of 

competing, support hospitals as a step down care 

partner. As hospital crowding, bed limitations and 

burden on doctors increases, home healthcare steps 

in to ensure that hospitals are able to take care of 

their patients beyond the hospital. Hospitals now 

have the option to have their beds available for more 

patients by handing over post – operation cases or 

critically ill but stable patients to a partner which 

continues to provide the patients with quality care 

at the comfort of their home. 

Organised home healthcare industry stands as a 

strong support system for the hospitals owing to 

their investment in world class training for their 

staff and high quality clinical set ups made available 

at patient homes. Along with providing visibility to 

the hospital beyond the hospital by becoming their 

extended arm, home healthcare providers also 

become a mechanism for quick feedback and 

immediate action on it. The importance of closing 

the feedback loop has become critical due to the 

unfortunate rise in mistrust towards hospitals. 

Also, the general perception about home 

healthcare services is having a nurse at home or an 

attendant at home. This is a myth. Home healthcare 

providers now provide numerous oncology, 

immunology procedures at home, ICU days at 

home, emergency handling, care management and 

are looking after lakhs of patients with a high 

customer satisfaction rate. With availability of 24*7 

remote monitoring systems, leaders of home 

healthcare industry are also ensuring continuation 

of expert supervision for the patients from hospital 

to home. 

Some sceptics feel that hospitals may not gain 

financially by sending patients to home healthcare 

providers. That is not the case. It is just the 

opposite. Let me illustrate: 

ICU patients with a prolonged recovery 

trajectory will generate higher revenue for the 

hospital in the initial days of hospitalisation as 

compared to subsequent days – thus, leading to a 

low ARPOB (average revenue per operational bed). 

Home healthcare partners can provide step down 

care right after those high revenue initial days, 

hence, reducing the ALOS (average length of stay) 

for patients and resulting in higher ARPOB. Along 

with being profitable for the hospital, this 

arrangement is more economically viable for the 

patient as well, as with significantly lower per day 

cost in case of services like ICU set up at home, their 

total cost of treatment reduces significantly. 

This proves the point that home healthcare 

providers are partners, not competitors to 

hospitals. Far from being a competitor, home 

healthcare can actually help hospitals build their 

brand and expand their reach. Home healthcare is 

also a solution for handling difficult long-term 

patients who may cause a lot of non-clinical 

problems for the hospital. Hence, a home healthcare 

partner also relieves hospitals of possible legal 

liabilities owing to complications which may arise 

due to long-term hospitalisation. 

More important is patient satisfaction that the 

hospitals gain by sending patients to their homes 

with the same medical environment, medical care 

and attention and the overwhelming joy of being 

with their relatives and near and dear ones. This 

satisfaction is not measurable in terms of money; 

but in terms of the joy and relief that the patients 

get when they are taken care of at home with no letup 

in medical care and the assurance that their 

treating hospital and doctors are just a phone call 

away. 

The partnership between hospitals and home 

healthcare providers is not just profitable for the 

hospital and the individual patient, but for the 

country at large. Through this partnership, more 

number of patients can be treated by hospitals as 

beds get freed. India needs over 6 lakh+ beds to 

cater to the country’s growing population. It is 

impossible to bridge this gap unless there are 

innovative methods like home healthcare and use of 

emerging technologies like wearables and remote 

monitoring. While metros and major cities have 

super and multi-speciality hospitals supplementing 

the efforts of government and medical college 

hospitals, the pinch is felt in tier II and III cities. One 

way out is for hospitals in these cities to increase 

their bed capacity and infrastructure. But that will 

involve huge capital outflows which many hospitals 

can ill afford. The pragmatic way out is to extend 

their reach without building expensive 

infrastructure with a home healthcare partnership. 

Patients residing in a tier III city at a distance of 

around 200 km from a tertiary care centre often 

discontinue their treatment in the middle due to 

rising costs and inconvenience of travel. With home 

healthcare services, step-down care including 

complete ICU setup can be delivered right at their 

home at a reduced cost. 

Along with being a step – down care support 

system, home healthcare care help hospitals treat 

lifestyle ailments like diabetes care, post-op care, 

obesity management and physiotherapy that need 

personal attention and privacy, pregnancies and 

post-delivery care. 

While all this is in existence now, there are 

unchartered areas where hospitals and home 

healthcare would have to work in tandem. One is the 

rise in ailment due to the increase in geriatric 

population - expected to constitute 11 per cent share 

of population by 2025. 

The second is a more worrisome gap in medicare 

– loneliness. Alarmed at the rise of loneliness among 

the aged, the UK government recently appointed a 

ministry for loneliness. This is because loneliness 

can trigger depression and aggravate existing 

ailments. These patients need long-term care and 

can only be managed at home through active 

support and tie-ups with hospitals. Apart from 

medicines, these patients need specialised 

individual care and attention. Treatment in such 

cases can be successful only when hospitals and 

home healthcare providers work as partners. 

In short, home healthcare is a distributed 

hospital which build the existing capacity in patient 

homes to take care of infrastructural gaps in 

existing hospitals. And this infrastructural gap will 

only substantially grow in the coming years. 

Already, leading home healthcare providers have 

successful tie-ups with leading corporate hospitals 

across the country. Such tie-ups also help improve 

patient satisfaction since personalised quality care 

is the key. Add to this are improved safety and 

comfort for the patients and faster recovery 

because of familiar environment and proximity to 

near and dear ones. 

The bottom line is that hospitals and home 

healthcare providers should partner in delivering 

better medicare to the growing demand of a 

population who benchmark medicine with 

personalised service. 

12 


EXPRESS HEALTHCARE

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MARKET 

POST EVENT 

71 st Conference of IRIA and 17 th AOCR held in Mumbai 

The inauguration was graced by Governor of Maharashtra, C Vidhyasagar Rao and members of 

national and Maharashtra State Chapter of IRIA 

Amitabh Bachchan during the inauguration 

Over 200 eminent 

speakers from India 

and other Asian countries 

congregated at Asian 

Oceanian Congress of Radiology 

(AOCR) 2018, Asia’s 

largest radiology and diagnostic 

imaging congress. The 

event held in Mumbai saw attendance 

from radiologists 

and diagnostic imaging experts 

from across the globe. 

The conference began with 

an inaugural ceremony of the 

Indian College of Radiology 

and Imaging (ICRI). Dr Bhupendra 

Ahuja, President, Indian 

Radiological and Imaging 

Association (IRIA), delivered 

the opening remarks and congratulated 

the IRIA and 

AOCR team for organising 

such a huge convention of top 

notch radiologists, technicians, 

and experts from the 

field of diagnostic imaging. He 

highlighted the agenda of the 

conference and shared his insights 

on the ever evolving 

field of radiology in India. 

Dr Vara Prasad, Secretary, 

ICRI, presented the annual report 

of the ICRI. He spoke 

about the new voluntary education 

programmes started by 

ICRI and IRIA to promote advanced 

learning in the field of 

radiology which is made available 

to most professionals and 

radiologists in India. The function 

was followed by an award 

ceremony where many deserving 

radiologists and researchers 

were conferred with 

awards and fellowships. 

The first day of 17 th AOCR 

2018 also saw eminent speakers 

including many international 

experts share global 

perspectives at the conference. 

One such session was 

‘Liver elastography guidelines 

and current state’, held by Dr 

Richard Barr, Radiology Professor, 

Northeast Ohio Medical 

University. He discussed 

the major consequences of 

liver disease. He informed that 

the stage of liver fibrosis is important 

to determine progno- 

14 



sis, surveillance, priorities of 

the treatment and potential 

for reversibility. He pointed 

out that multiple elastography 

techniques are available and 

that the literature supports 

the non-invasive use of these 

techniques to assess liver stiffness. 

Further, he went on to 

say that to obtain accurate 

liver stiffness measurements, 

adherence to strict protocol is 

required. 

Dr Barr also educated the 

audience about the critical 

points to be kept in mind while 

interpreting results and 

thereby acquiring accurate diagnosis. 

He also highlighted 

that both, the patient and 

scanning factors affect these 

results. Concluding the session, 

he elaborated on the multiple 

ways that can help make 

radiologists improve imaging 

results. 

The inauguration of the 71 st 

Conference of the IRIA and 

the 17 th AOCR was graced by 

Maharashtra’s Governor, C 

Vidhyasagar Rao and members 

of national and Maharashtra 

State Chapter of IRIA. 

During the ceremony, Dr Mohanan 

K, 74 th incoming IRIA 

President, said that the association 

would always stand by 

the radiologist members. 

The Maharashtra state chapter of IRIA launched 

the RAKSHA campaign, a nationwide initiative to 

save the girl child.The campaign was inaugurated 

by Amitabh Bachchan who has extended his 

support to the cause. More than 1000 radiologists 

present at event also pledged their support to 

the cause 

He said that IRIA would 

ensure radiologists are trained 

to be the best so that there is 

no encroachment by 'sonoquacks.' 

He also appealed to 

the Governor of Maharashtra 

to give some clarity on levying 

GST on radiology equipment. 

He also opined that there 

should be zero GST on such 

equipment as they are life-saving. 

The Governor praised the 

efforts of radiologists, and calling 

them lifesavers. He stated 

that radiologists play an important 

role in early detection 

of diseases and thereby in the 

reduction of the country's disease 

burden. He also mentioned 

the urgent need to harness 

teleradiology, given the 

lack of radiologists and doctors. 

He rightly pointed out 

that as India is predicted to 

have a huge geriatric population, 

more than that of the US, 

there is an urgent need for effective 

radiology solutions. 

Further, he urged the radiology 

equipment players to 

manufacture advanced radiology 

equipment in India and reduce 

costs. He asked Dr Mohanan 

to make a report on this 

and promised to take it up 

with PM Narendra Modi, who 

is very keen on the ‘Make in 

India’ initiative. 

The Governor lastly highlighted 

the skewed sex ratio in 

the country and the role of prenatal 

sex detection in this 

abysmal situation. He also 

pointed out that female foeticide 

too remains rampant, and 

said that the way forward is to 

change the mindset of the population. 

Moreover, the Maharashtra 

state chapter of IRIA launched 

the RAKSHA campaign, a nationwide 

initiative to save the 

girl child. The campaign was 

inaugurated by Amitabh 

Bachchan who has extended 

his support to the cause. More 

than 1000 radiologists present 

at event also pledged their support 

to the cause. 

The inauguration ceremony 

began with Dr Sona 

Pungavkar, explaining the aim 

and vision of the initiative. 

'Save the girl child' and 

'Laadli' are some of the social 

initiatives to wage a 

war against female foeticide 

which aims at protecting, safeguarding, 

supporting and educating 

the girl child. Similarly, 

these radiologists have also 

joined hands to continue this 

effort. 

Pledging his support to the 

initiative, Bachchan said, 

“During my TB and Hepatitis 

B treatment time, I discovered 

that there was discrimination 

amongst women with 

these conditions. Therefore, 

this subject is very close to my 

heart. So, when I was approached 

to support this initiative 

I couldn’t say no. We 

need to support all women 

who face discrimination because 

of their illnesses and 

medical conditions. We have 

to encourage women for early 

diagnosis of diseases and 

ensure a secured future 

for them. We will fight for 

women of our nation until 

they are completely empowered. 

He also shared his willingness 

to be the voice for this 

cause. 

QUIZ CONTEST 

IRIA/AOCR 2018 

witnessed a lot of 

interesting activities 

to engage and educate 

radiologists across 

the country.The quiz 

contest was one such 

case-in-point. 

20 multiple-choice 

questions were posed 

to the experts. 



MARKET 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT 

The future of radiology is very bright. Embrace new technology. Artificial intelligence is a friend 

and not a foe 

Dr Vijay Rao, President, RSNA 

We will see a lot more advances in the field of molecular imaging, targeted MRI and Ultrasonic 

transducer technologies 

Dr Vara Prasad, Chief Consultant Radiologist, Global Super Speciality Hospital 

The focus on innovations that will change the face of radiology practice in India 

Dr N Chidambaranathan, HOD & Consultant Radiologist, Apollo Hospitals 

Look for the advances in functional MR, molecular diagnostics and BTI. These will further the 

growth of radiology practice and industry in India 

Dr Deepak Patkar, Director Medical Services and Head- Dept of radiology, Nanavati Hospital 

Radiology is an extremely vast field and hence the way for young radiologists is to sub 

specialise by getting into smaller areas like neuro radiology, paediatric radiology, interventional 

radiology in a more detailed way 

Milind Gune, Consultant, ICRI 

Every young radiologist should take a tremendous amount of pride in being a radiologist which 

today is the central pole of every single clinical problem. He should conduct himself with confidence, 

self respect and at the same time with great amount of dedication, completely 

focussing on the chosen subject 

Dr Shrinivas B Desai, Director, Department of Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Jaslok Hospital 

16 



Become clinical radiologists.You should interact with referring physicians and become an irreplaceable 

part of the team. Try to involve yourself in all imaging modalities, of course, you may 

want to specialise in one particular field, but also get interested in ultrasound or do interventional 

radiology 

Harsh Mahajan, Founder, Mahajan Imaging

MARKET 

TAKEAWAYS FROM AOCR 2018 

We see that the customers coming to AOCR have a desire to change, even though some of 

them might not have the means to change as of now. They are looking at all the new 

technologies such as DR in a more aggressive manner. As for the smaller customers, in terms 

of the size of examinations that they conduct, they might not be able to afford these products. 

For them, we have interim solutions and we have displayed them here 

Dilip Bhosale, Country Head -Sales, Agfa Healthcare 

IRIA as a gathering has grown tremendously just as the field continues to evolve. This year, the 

show is even bigger with AOCR happening together, wherein international delegates and 

experts have joined us. This is not just an exhibition or a conference but a learning platform. 

People, both radiologists and equipment players, come to increase our knowledge. This year 

we have also seen some incredible amalgamation of digital technologies wherein people are 

exploring the potential of AI etc 

Praveen Rajgopal, VP- MFAPS, India cluster, Carestream 

We have received a very warm response at AOCR 2018. In fact, after the launch of one of our 

products at AOCR this year, we will be having our first installation of our equipment in Navi 

Mumbai coming March. We have also understood that radiologists from tier II cities are now 

opting for high-end technology solutions just as imaging centres from metros would do. Tier III 

radiologists are still opting for low-cost solutions 

Ratish Nair, CEO, Sanrad 

We see a lot of promise in the Indian healthcare market. AOCR 2018 has been a good platform 

for us to showcase our innovations. In the coming months, we look forward to introduce many 

of our innovative products in India, as well as looking for strengthening partnerships with the 

government. We have received a good response from radiologists present at the AOCR conference 

Chander Shekhar Sibal, Executive VP, Medical Division, Fujifilm 

AOCR 2018 has been a great learning experience, especially for post graduate students. On 

Day 1, there was a very informative film reading session with out-of-the-world cases, which was 

an eye-opener in many ways. For us, it is also a place to catch up with old friends and share 

our knowledge 

Dr Varsha Rathi, Professor, Dept of Radiology, Grant Medical College and JJ Group of Hospitals 

At AOCR 2018, we have focussed on the youth. We have therefore, had an e-poster facility for 

the young students who come to seek knowledge at IRIA conference. We have also started of 

with a green/ e-conference where we will send out research papers, awards etc. on mail. We 

have a special mobile app for them and have received a superb response to this 

Dr Sanjeev Mani, Organising Secretary, AOCR 2018 



MARKET 

GLIMPSES OF AOCR/IRIA 2018 

Latest advancements in radiology and imaging were launched and displayed at the event 

Knowledge sharing galore at IRIA/AOCR 2018 

Delegates and experts interact and network at largest convention of radiologists in the country 

Visitors and experts browse through stalls and check out latest advancements in radiology at AOCR/IRIA 2018 

18 


EXPRESS HEALTHCARE

MARKET 

PRE EVENT 

Healthcare Sabha to be held in Pune from March 8-10, 2018 

THE INDIAN EXPRESS 

Group and Express Healthcare 

will organise the third 

edition of Healthcare Sabha 

in Pune from March 8-10, 

2018. Healthcare Sabha 2018 

will bring together policy 

makers, thought leaders, national 

and international 

health organisations, social 

entrepreneurs, and technology 

and ancillary healthcare 

service providers. 

The first two editions of 

Healthcare Sabha held in 

Hyderabad and Vizag provided 

an excellent platform 

for researchers, policy makers, 

healthcare practitioners, 

public health advocates 

to share and exchange evidence 

drawn from research 

and experiences in health 

development programmes in 

India. 

Over the past two editions, 

public health experts came 

together to share their insights 

on public health policy 

and its implementation. The 

first edition was ”Universal 

Access to Equitable, Affordable 

and Quality Healthcare 

Services to All’ while the second 

edition focused on “Cocreating 

a Manifesto for a 

Healthy India.” 

As India’s public health 

ecosystem continues to 

evolve, the third edition of 

Healthcare Sabha invites 

public health leaders to work 

towards formulating a 

change strategy, built on 

three principles: Prioritise, 

Plan and Practise. 

The central theme of the 

two day event aims to explore 

and debate how India 

can bring in a multi-disciplinary 

and holistic approach 

across the spectrum of public 

health. 

As in past editions the deliberations 

of the speakers, 

panelists and delegates will 

be compiled into an OUT- 

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For more details check: 

http://healthcaresabha.financialexpress.com/ 

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20th 

A N N I V E R S A R Y 



cover ) 

20 


EXPRESS HEALTHCARE

( FOCUS:CANCER CARE 

The Economics 

of Cancer Care 

It is time for healthcare stakeholders to 

synergise and strategise to navigate the complex 

maze of cancer economics to ensure delivery of 

affordable and equitable cancer care in India 

By Mansha Gagneja 



cover ) 

Cancer care is an essential 

component of all health 

systems. The economic 

burden of cancer is 

considerable and is increasing 

signficantly. According to American 

Cancer Society 

Report, the total economic impact 

of premature death and disability 

from cancers worldwide 

was $895 billion in 2008, representing 

1.5 per cent of 

the world’s Gross Domestic 

Product (GDP). This figure 

increased to approximately $1.16 

trillion as per the World Cancer 

Report 2014 by International 

Agency for Research on Cancer. 

Yet, with only limited knowledge 

available, we are 

far from analysing the spendings 

associated with cancer care. 

Considering the immense impact 

of cancer on patients and their 

families, in terms of physical 

health and financial health, there 

is an urgency to identify more evidence 

about the cost efficacy of 

cancer care. 

The India story 

With limited sustained funding 

and only a few centres of 

expertise in India, the domestic 

situation is much worse in 

comparison to the global 

scenario. Indian Council of Medical 

Research (ICMR), in its 2016 

projection, said that the total 

number of new cancer cases is 

expected to be around 14.5 lakh 

and the figure is likely to reach 

nearly 17.3 lakh new cases 

in 2020. Data also 

revealed that only 12.5 per cent of 

patients come for treatment in 

early stages of the disease. 

The fact that often cancer is 

diagnosed only at critical stages 

adds to the already steep economic 

burden that the ailment 

poses on the nation. The situation 

is worsened when people 

with a genetic predisposition to 

cancer, for instance incidence of 

breast cancer in close relatives, 

also feel no necessity to get 

screened. 

The cost angle 

Sandeep Kothari, Vice Chairman, 

Bhagwan Mahaveer 

Cancer Hospital & Research 

Centre (BMCHRC) says, “Cancer 

treatment can turn out to be a 

nightmare in terms of costing. 

One of the major reasons for this 

is wide treatment protocols 

which vary across a broad range, 

depending upon the site of cancer 

and the stage at which it is 

detected. In a country like India 

where a majority of cases are reported 

at the third and fourth 

stage, the treatment can cause a 

hole in the pocket as most often, 

depending on their type and 

stage of cancer, patients will require 

more than one form of 

treatment which leads to 

increase in treatment cost. 

Dr Ninad Katdare, Consultant - 

Surgical Oncology, Global 

Hospitals, Mumbai further 

explains, “Even though numbers 

of cases are rising at an alarming 

rate, the per capita income is not 

increasing proportionately. 

Nor are the patients from low 

socio-economic strata able to 

afford insurance. A s 

urvey done at All India Institute 

of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in 

2011 among patients with the 

most prevalent cancers like head 

and neck, cervix and breast reported 

that the average monthly 

per capita income of households 

was `1749. Half the households 

had monthly per capita income 

of less than `1000.” Another expert, 

Dinesh Madhavan, Director 

Healthcare Services, HCG Enterprises 

pointed out a few other 

factors, including lack of domain 

specific practice among most 

centres and minimum focus on 

innovation which contributes to 

rising cost of cancer care. He 

elaborates that due to lack 

of newer and better indigenous 

technologies for cancer management, 

most of it has to be imported, 

thus increasing dependency 

and multiplying cost. Zoya 

Brar, Founder & MD, CORE Diagnostics 

also highlighted, “The 

recent years have seen a major 

leap in developing technologies 

to screen for and diagnose 

various cancers. Advances in 

pathogen detection, imaging and 

even personalised medicine 

treatments have unfortunately 

also added to the rise in the cost of 

cancer care in the country.” 

Moreover, in a nation like 

ours, insurance penetration is 

relatively modest and most of the 

medical aids involve high out-ofpocket 

expenses. This has a multifold 

negative impact on the financial 

situation of any cancer 

patient adding to the 

existing loss of productivity due 

to the disease 

Loss of productivity 

Although the cost associated 

with treatment of cancer is 

predominant, another considerable 

economic impact of cancer 

is in terms of loss of life and 

productivity. 

Thus, there is an urgent need 

to come up with effective 

measures to battle this beast. 

Fortunately, the multi-faceted nature 

and the magnitude 

of the problem has caught the attention 

of healthcare stakeholders. 

Collaborations to 

conquer cancer 

The loss of productivity and 

life can only be managed by 

innovation and extensive 

research, but escalating costs of 

treatment can definitely be handled 

through joint efforts put in 

by multiple sectors. Agreeing 

with the idea, Madhavan shared 

that the way forward in cancer lie 

in meaningful collaborations between 

public and private 

enterprises or between private 

enterprises. The benefit of this 

and its aggregation will ensure 

that cancer treatment is addressed 

appropriately to create 

better access and outcome that 

leads to a better quality of life. He 

opines, “The next few years of 

collaborative work will need to be 

in research, centralised physics, 

innovation, sharing of resources, 

protocols, data analysis, early detection, 

precision medicine, empathy 

and accessibility. If we ensure 

to work together, the 

current cancer burden of over 1.2 

million plus newly diagnosed 

cancer patients can be better 

managed and ensure the quality 

of life. If not, the burden of these 

1.2 million patients and those 

already under treatment will be 

a stark reality.” 

Empowering the 

public sector 

In 2011, World Bank reported 

through World development 

indicators that India spent an 

estimated 3·9 per cent of its gross 

domestic product (GDP) on 

22 




healthcare (both public and private 

funding) and only 21 per 

cent of which was contributed by 

the public sector. Though the 

contribution is relatively low, the 

sector can be revitalised to improve 

cancer care significnatly. 

On the positive side, the Government 

of India has instigated 

some commendable initiatives, 

for instance the National Cancer 

Grid (NCG). NCG, funded by the 

Government of India through the 

Department of Atomic Energy, is 

amongst the largest cancer networks 

in the world. It aims to 

work towards uniform standards 

of care by adopting evidencebased 

management guidelines, 

which are implementable across 

these centres. Dr Katdare also 

added, “This plan is to bring parity 

of cancer treatment in various 

tiers of the society and provide 

uniform cancer in all parts of the 

country. The public domain in 

the form of the regional cancer 

centres like Tata Memorial Hospital, 

WCI Adyar, RCC Trivandrum 

etc are also doing great 

work. They are also establishing 

many other branches of Tata 

Memorial Hospital in various 

parts of the country.” 

Other central schemes to 

financially support specific 

population groups include 

Health Minister’s Cancer 

Patient Fund (HMCPF) is for patients 

living below the poverty 

line; Health Minister’s Discretionary 

Grants to assist poor patients 

and Central Government 

Health Scheme (CGHS) for retired 

Central Government employees 

& dependents. Even railways 

offers completely free 

travel to cancer patients and air 

concession of 50 per cent is offered 

to patients traveling for 

treatment. Kothari also highlights, 

“Medicines used for the 

treatment of cancer are highly 

expensive and it is extremely difficult 

for many patients to 

afford them. In addition to opening 

exclusive cancer centres 

across states, the Health Ministry 

is also planning to 

reduce the cost of expensive 

medicines, while putting the least 

pressure on pharma companies 

in terms of the price margins. 

This model will result in the government’s 

own retail system for 

cancer drugs, like the Jan 

Aushadhi stores, where generic 

medicines are sold at much lower 

prices compared to the branded 

ones. This way the government 

plans to ensure availability of 

quality medicines at affordable 

prices to all’. Also the government 

has decided to extend 

CGHS kind of model to other 

cancer patients as well.” V Thiyagarajan, 

MD, India Home Health 

Care also informed about the 



cover ) 

recent developments saying, 

“Niti Aayog recently has collaborated 

up with state governments 

with an aim to improve healthcare 

delivery. There has been a 

push for state governments to 

rely on public-private partnerships 

(PPP) to gather funds for 

public health. Consequently, 

there are increasing number of 

initiatives being brought about 

with an aim to improve infrastructure 

and increase awareness 

to ensure early detection of 

cancer.” 

Though the government is 

putting in all these efforts 

through initiatives and schemes, 

there is still a long way to go. Dr 

Katdare suggested, “The government 

needs to improve the 

amount provided for treatments 

in the government schemes like 

MJPJAY in Maharashtra, which 

will make the option economically 

more viable to private hospitals 

and increase the uptake of 

these schemes in private hospital, 

thus increasing the amount 

of patients who can be treated in 

these hospitals.” Dr Vikas 

Goswami, Senior Consultant, 

Dept of Medical Oncology, Fortis 

Hospital pointed out, “The 

biggest public sector contribution 

should be to increase universal 

insurance for cancer care 

and increasing the GDP in 

healthcare.” 

The role of the 

private sector 

India has come a long way from 

where it was two decades ago. 

But many challenges are yet 

to be addressed. The private sector, 

being a vibrant force, 

accounts for 82 per cent of the total 

$30.5 billion health sector expenditures 

in 2003 according to 

one reported survey. Taking into 

consideration the share held by 

the sector, the role of the private 

sector is very crucial. Kothari 

highlights, “In the private sector, 

many not for profit organisations 

like the Indian Cancer Society, 

Mumbai and Cancer Care Wing 

managed by Bhagwan Mahaveer 

Cancer Hospital & Research 

Centre, Jaipur are working 

towards spreading awareness, 

detection and cure of those who 

are affected with the disease. 

These not-for-profit organisations 

conducts early cancer 

detection camps especially for 

24 



LEARNINGS FROM THE GLOBE 

In the US, total healthcare expenditure is pegged at $3.3 trillion and is more than 15 

per cent of its GDP in 2016. Back in 2010, cancer care only constituted $124 billion 

dollars. Similarly, in the UK, the NHS reported that the total cancer care expenditure 

was around 5-6 per cent of total health spending.While many argue that increasing 

care treatment costs could become responsible for increasing healthcare spending, 

it would be unwise to deny that such spending has resulted in better infrastructure 

and access to better treatment methods.As each country has its own legal hurdles 

and policies for healthcare, strategies to tackle cancer vary greatly.With the number 

of uncertainties surrounding India’s healthcare ecosystem, a top-down approach is 

needed where the government intervenes at every level to work towards improving 

infrastructure and more importantly, making such facilities more accessible 

V THIYAGARAJAN 

MD, India Home Health Care 

As per the report of Euro Pancreatic Cancer Index (EPCI) 2014, published by the 

Sweden-based research organisation Health Consumer Powerhouse (HCP)- 

Netherlands comes out top with 879 of a possible 1,000 points, followed by Denmark 

(872), France (812), Ireland (807) and the UK in fifth position. Reason for this is very 

high quality of cancer research. In Finland, there is a long tradition of collecting 

samples in bio- banks, which makes genetic information readily accessible.These 

samples can be linked to comprehensive digital databases of donor health data, 

which benefits cancer research enormously. Bio-bank samples can be used, for 

instance, to examine the molecular features of cancer cells in order to find out which 

treatment works best for different types of cancer.With the help of this model, 

Finland, which was way behind many other European countries in cancer treatment, 

has come a long way and is now leading in cancer research and treatment.This 

research model proved a boon for the patients who were in distress due to higher 

cost of treatment. 

In a country like India where health insurance system is still in its initial phases of 

popularity, majority of patients settle their bills in cash.The research model adopted 

by countries like Finland can help enormously in reducing the treatment cost. More 

and more researches lead to better and cheap methods of treatment.Also, doctors/ 

clinicians, with the help of research papers, can identify the problem at the right 

stage leading to lesser diagnostics and investigations 

SANDEEP KOTHARI 

Vice Chairman – Bhagwan Mahaveer Cancer Hospital & Research Centre 

(BMCHRC) 

Most countries that are ranked by WHO in the top 15 countries in health care 

rankings either follow the Bismarck or the Beveridge Model. Hence, they find 

themselves rated so, since both of them follow a policy that falls under taxation, 

National Health Service, mandatory Insurance and public and private service with 

public taking the lead . India is a highly populated country with a WHO rating below 

150. So it will need to study these models to find out how the public enterprise and 

the private enterprise have worked together to ensure better care and quality of life. 

Any country that has an over dependency on private health is bound to suffer and so 

is the case with public health dependency.There needs to be a fine balance between 

these two like the Yin and Yang. 

DINESH MADHAVAN 

Director Healthcare Services – HCG Enterprises 

underprivileged and also provides 

funds for the treatment. As 

per its latest Annual Report, BM- 

CHRC has spent approximately 

2.4 crores in the last financial 

year on the treatment of those 

patients who can’t afford treatment 

and belongs to the weaker 

section of society. Similarly, Indian 

Cancer Society has spent 

around 87.13 crores on the treatment 

as per its Annual Report of 

2016-17. These initiatives are 

good but there is a dire need that 

other Private players also joins in 

and create a pool which can be 

used for the treatment of cancer 

affected patients. 

Dr Katdare also adds that 

trust aided private hospitals 

need to be regularised and a regular 

audit of number of 

patients treated by them needs 

to be done. This will improve the 

amount of patients treated. 

Additionally, a certain percentage 

can be earmarked for superspecialties 

where treatment is 

costly like cancer and also 

as part of Corporate Social 

Responsibility for treatment of 

poorer patients. For eg. In global 

hospital, we have created affordable 

packages for cancer surgery 

wherein the in and out package 

for an uncomplicated stay is 

almost 30 per cent less than the 

a-la-carte charges. 

Suresh Ramu, Co-founder & 

CEO, Cytecare Hospitals mentioned 

about another important 

segment,"Diagnostics sector 

plays an integral element in providing 

cost efficiency during both 

diagnosis and treatment. There 

is a need to diagnose 

effectively with limited set of 

diagnostic tests rapidly so as to 

start the accurate treatment 

immediately. And even though 

there are vast innovations in 

the technology which can 

reduce the burden of the disease 

through precision and quality, 

these personalised treatments 

are expensive and frontloads the 

cost involved. Governance of 

care is an important aspect 

through which the cost of 

treatment can be 

reduced. We have deployed 

a multi-disciplinary tumour 

board which reviews all the 

patient treatments, and the 

plan of treatment is evaluated 

against the global standard to 

prevent recurrence. If the


recurrence of the disease is minimalised 

or managed, it could 

bring substantial reduction in 

the cost of cancer care." 

sector. Considering India’s vast 

population, crowdfunding may 

also soon be identified as one of 

the key measures that can be put 

to use manage cost of cancer 

treatment. Contribution towards 

building a pool could substantially 

reduce the economic 

burden of cancer. With Government 

aiming to bring down the 

cost of entire healthcare delivery 

system and cancer being a major 

concern on the list, we hope to 

soon reach the affordable cancer 

care in India. 

mansha.gagneja@expressindia.com 

Ramping up insurance 

Despite these improvements, 

one major lag remains in the 

insurance sector, with India’s 

current insurance penetration 

rate standing at 3.42 per cent, 

which is far below the global 

average of 6.2 per cent. Moreover, 

cancer insurance, being a 

novel form of coverage, is a relatively 

new trend in the insurance 

industry. Even though it 

aims to mitigate the cost of cancer 

treatment, the market share 

is very less. Rakesh Wadhwa, 

CMO and EVP - Strategy & Retail 

Assurance, Future Generali 

India Life Insurance Company 

informed, “Insurance works on 

the fundamental principle of 

pooling of risk. With pooling of 

risk comes the effect of 

economies of scale. A large insured 

population shall provide 

an opportunity for providing 

health care for masses at an affordable 

cost. A large insured 

population shall also help health 

care providers to provide 

quality health care at multiple 

locations.” He further suggests,“Considering 

the population 

size, economic profile and 

limitation of healthcare infrastructure, 

In my opinion we 

need a system which is mix of 

government support and active 

participation from private 

healthcare provider. The government 

can come with universal 

health insurance scheme for 

all citizens covering major critical 

illnesses. The base level of 

cover can be provided free for 

people in economically weaker 

section of the society. The insurance 

companies can provide a 

top-up cover insurance to citizens 

charging affordable premiums 

and ensuring quality health 

care.” 

Examining the industry perspective, 

it is evident that the nation 

is far from achieving affordability 

and accessibility when it 

comes to chronic diseases like 

cancer. Having said that, we sure 

are on the path and bringing in 

cost efficiency, but requires effort 

from all stakeholders, be it 

government, hospitals, pharma 

companies or the insurance 



cover ) 

26 


EXPRESS HEALTHCARE


I N T E R V I E W 

Bringing cost efficiency in cancer 

treatment is the need of the hour 

In a wide-ranging interview, Dr Sajjan Rajpurohit, Senior Medical Oncologist, Rajiv Gandhi 

Cancer Institute and Research Centre (RGCIRC) talks about the cancer scenario in India to 

Prathiba Raju. Explains that late detection, lack of awareness and affordable care are the 

main reasons for the high cancer mortality rates in the country 

Cancer has taken centre 

stage and is in an upsurge, 

with more and more people 

being detected with the 

disease, still we don't have 

enough oncologists. Why 

do you think there is a 

dearth of specialists in 

oncology? 

The value of detecting 

cancer early is significant. 

Although the situation has 

improved in recent years, 

India still has one of the 

worst records for both 

identification of cancer and 

survival from it. Late 

detection, lack of awareness 

and affordable care are the 

main reasons for the high 

cancer mortality rates in the 

country. However, awareness 

on cancer has improved from 

what it was ten years ago, 

but still much more needs to 

be done. The number of 

cancer cases are burgeoning 

due to increased 

urbanisation, air and water 

pollution and change in 

lifestyle, like increased use of 

tobacco, preservatives and 

processed food, use of 

alcohol, tobacco, obesity, etc. 

As per a report by EY, the 

prevalence of cancer in India 

is expected to increase from 

an estimated 3.9 million in 

2015 to an estimated 7.1 

million people by 2020. 

There is a significant dearth 

of well-trained oncologists 

across the three streams – 

medical, surgical and 

radiation oncology. India has 

Apart from other non-communicable diseases, 

cancer treatments should be given an impetus 

and more generous funding by the central and the 

state governments 

only about 1500 medical 

oncologists and we would 

require atleast 10,000. 

Atleast one medical 

oncologist is needed for 

100,000 people and we have 

a huge gap. Many medical 

oncologists are present only 

in the urban areas or tier I 

cities. In tier II and tier III 

cities, it is difficult to get a 

medical oncologist and we 

don’t have enough surgical 

and radiation oncologists. 

Cancer being a chronic 

disease, there is an urgent 

need for increased 

oncologists’ presence in tier 

II and tier III cities. For 

example, in Uttar Pradesh, 

apart from Lucknow, almost 

all other districts lack 

optimal oncology facility, 

even AIIMS in Jodhpur does 

not have medical 

oncologists. Government 

needs to lay huge focus on 

delivering the oncology 

facility atleast in tier II and 

tier III cities. 

Can you tell us how the 

oncosurgery has developed 

in the recent years and 

what are the innovations 

which can be expected in 

the next five years? 

As setting up a cancer 

hospital is capital-intensive, 

we have only about 10 to12 

cancer centres of excellence 

pan India which provide 

gamut of quality cancer 

treatment matching the 

world class cancer centres. 



cover ) 

With few centres of 

excellence, many patients 

from the rural, interior 

towns and district wait for 

months together to get the 

treatment. In certain cases, 

a Stage I cancer patient is 

treated when it reaches 

Stage 4 and becomes 

incurable and their lives are 

being put at risk. For 

example, in AIIMS Delhi, the 

average time to begin a 

radiation is four months due 

to huge patient load. There 

has to be a sense of urgency 

and prompt diagnosis is vital 

in cancer treatments. 

If the treatment duration 

extends, it means increased 

rounds of chemotherapy, 

with more side effects. The 

state government should 

ensure that a financial aid be 

given to the cancer patients. 

Though some states are 

doing it, but it should be 

made mandatory. 

Do you think precision 

medicine for cancer care 

will be the way forward in 

cancer treatment? 

Precision medicine is a 

personalised medicine. We 

get information about 

genetic changes in the 

tumour, which can help 

decide which treatment will 

work best for an individual. 

The doctors will go for next 

gen sequencing, check how 

the proteins are formed and 

study the epigenetic changes 

and various other factors, 

which make the tumour 

behave in a particular 

manner. So, it helps them to 

design specific treatments 

for certain forms of cancer. 

Mostly, people with breast, 

lung cancers usually have 

their cancers tested for 

certain genetic changes 

when they are diagnosed. 

Many cancers which have 

high incidence in India like 

gall bladder, stomach and 

pancreatic cancers is still 

evolving. 

Many oncologists are 

trying to move towards 

understanding the basic 

biology of cancer patients. 

Instead of focussing on 

disease, we are now more 

focussed on patients. It helps 

us to detect how and whether 

chemotherapy will work for a 

patient or how much effect a 

drug will have on the patient. 

Precision medicine helps a 

doctor to be more aware of 

the biology of the disease. 

Treatment using precision 

medicine can be expensive. It 

is beyond the reach of 90 per 

cent of our population. 

How are various sectors 

working towards bringing 

in cost efficiency right 

now? 

Bringing cost efficiency in 

cancer treatment is the need 

of the hour, as this disease as 

huge financial implications 

in an individual and his/her 

family. Apart from other 

non-communicable diseases, 

cancer treatments should be 

given an impetus and more 

generous funding by the 

central and the state 

governments. On an average, 

the cost of standard cancer 

treatment in a private 

hospital is ` 5 to 10 lakhs. If 

we involve precision 

medicine, newer 

immunotherapy drugs cost 

will go upto ` 1 crore. 

Tell us about the myths 

which exist about 

chemotherapy? 

Yes, a number of myths do 

exist about chemotherapy. I 

have seen patients who are 

scared, angry and try to walk 

away before the treatment. 

Chemotherapy is nothing but 

the drugs which are infused 

into a patient which work 

against the cancer cells. As 

they are able to inhibit the 

rapidly growing cells, they 

have growth impairment of 

the bone marrow cells, hair 

cells and cells of the gut. 

Chemothrapy induces 

alopecia (hair loss), 

alterations in the mouth, 

lowering of immunity and 

blood platelets, but all those 

side effects are amply 

studied. In the past one 

decade, there has been huge 

advancements. 

Many chemotherapy 

drugs are in part designed to 

prevent nausea and 

vomiting, or reduce their 

severity. Many patients think 

that they have to be admitted 

to hospital, but nowadays 

many chemotherapy drugs 

are taken orally or as an 

injection. There is no 

extended hospital stay, they 

can continue with their 

professional lives. Tolerating 

chemotherapy has become 

easier. Many doctors also 

help the patients to reverse 

side effects. For example, 

many patients worry about 

alopecia. Now, we have 

devices to prevent alopecia. 

But, the flipside of 

chemotherapy is that it is 

less precise as it acts upon 

40 to 50 percent of the 

tumours and the rest will 

require subsequent drugs. 

That is why we are moving 

towards more precise and 

target-oriented drugs. 

Nevertheless, chemotherapy 

is a very important 

component of cancer 

treatment, especially in 

advanced stages. 

Can you give us details 

about the research you are 

involved in? 

With human effort, we have 

come over many deadliest of 

communicable diseases like 

plaque, polio and small pox. 

To a large extent, people are 

able to survive even HIV, 

what is ailing the human race 

is cancer. So, we need to 

really focus on our research 

over cancer. We have long 

recognised that cancer 

occurs mostly in people who 

have less immunity. That is 

why geriatric population and 

people who had transplants 

and are under immuno 

suppressants get cancer. 

However, in the last five 

years, there has been an 

increase in the research on 

the drugs of T cell as they 

directly go and kill the 

cancer cells. Currently, with 

a team of clinical oncologist 

and basic researchers, I’m 

working on a research to 

find, which all are 

immunogenic tumours in the 

body. Besides, we are also 

planning on a project with 

the Indian Council of 

Medical Research (ICMR) as 

well as private bodies where 

we would be doing research 

on Chimeric Antigen 

Receptor (CAR) T cells. 

Tell us about the role of 

immunotherapy in cancer 

and the cost involved? 

I have access to newer 

immunotherapy drugs. So, my 

patients get the advantage out 

of it but the cost of drugs is a 

huge obstacle. A month’s 

therapy could cost around ` 3 

to 4 lakhs. If we see the global 

scenario of immunotherapy, 

five years down the line, we 

will have better drugs and 

lesser use of chemotherapy to 

control and cure cancer. For 

those immuno drugs to be 

affordable in India, it will 

require atleast another 

decade. If the government is 

able to understand and try to 

put a research impetus by 

giving grants for 

immunotherapy research in 

cancer then it might be availed 

in our country much earlier. 

Apart from immuno 

therapy, there is targeted 

therapy which has been 

there for eight years. In 

2000, the first targetted oral 

drug called imatinib was 

launched for chronic 

myelogenous leukemia. 

Since then, we have 60 to 70 

oral targeted drugs across 

various malignancies. So, we 

are not only moving ahead in 

the immunotherapy, but we 

are making our 

chemotherapies more safer 

and tolerable, also moving 

towards getting oral drugs, 

which can treat cancers like 

chronic myelogenous 

leukemia, acute lymphocytic 

leukemia, multiple myeloma. 

Our medical management of 

cancer is becoming more 

precise and target oriented 

with more use for 

immunotherapies and lesser 

use of chemotherapies. 

How can insurance as a 

sector play a role in 

making the patient care 

more affordable and 

accessible? 

Unfortunately, many of the 

insurance players are 

excluding the cancer 

treatments’ basic health 

packages or they cover them 

inadequately. Many of them 

refuse to pay up for cancer 

treatments of people who 

have smoking habits, or 

tobacco use. There needs to 

be a government insurance 

with a corpus of ` 5 to 10 lakh 

for a standard cancer 

treatment. Government 

panels like Central 

Government Health Scheme 

(CGHS,) Employees State 

Insurance Corporation 

(ESIC) are tremendously 

helping people on cancer 

treatment, but only 10 per 

cent of them are covered by 

it. We need a universal health 

insurance against NCDs. 

Of late, the government’s 

move on the regulation of 

drugs is benefiting lot of 

people, but the government 

should ensure that the 

generic drug supplies are of 

quality and must not be 

affected due to price control. 

The government and private 

sector should work in 

tandem. While government 

helps the public with the 

insurance, private sector 

should have packages, by 

which they can 

accommodate people for 

cancer treatments 

immediately. The model of 

the US and the UK can be 

referred, where all the cost is 

borne by the respective state 

governments. 

How RGCIRC is different 

from other cancer 

institutes? 

Rajiv Gandhi Cancer 

Institute & Research Center 

(RGCIRC) is one of the 

largest pioneer private 

cancer institute in India, 

which has treated almost 

two lakh cancer patients for 

the past two decades. There 

is an element of empathy 

towards the patients and the 

family. The cost here is 

affordable. Moreover, all 

advanced treatments which 

are available globally are 

rapidly adopted by the 

centre. 

prathiba.raju@expressindia.com 

28 



POLICY WATCH 

Ray of hope for ASHAworkers in Assam 

National Health Mission,Assam, Health & Family Welfare Department, Government of Assam, has 

recently streamlined the compensation of ASHAs in the state by implementing an online payment 

and monitoring system. Excerpts from a case study 

Being a service organisation 

meant for delivery 

of health services 

through a force of more than 

22000+ employees, employee 

motivation and retention of 

both service delivery and allied 

programme management staff 

is a priority area. 

Action plan for ASHAs 

Accredited Social Health Activists 

(ASHAs) is the backbone 

of healthcare system at 

grass root level. At present 

30,619 Rural ASHAs and 1,336 

Urban ASHAs are working in 

the state of Assam. ASHA receives 

incentive for the activities 

they performed. Regular 

enhancement of capacity, 

proper monitoring of activities 

and timely payment of incentive 

are the basis for success of 

ASHA programme. 

However, due to various 

field level as well as systematic 

issues, ASHA programme was 

not running smoothly including 

irregular payment of incentives 

which resulted grievances 

among ASHAs and de-motivated 

them and large sunk of 

this huge work force became 

inactive. Most of the ASHAs 

ASHAs on an imunisation drive 

were even unaware about their 

entitlement for various activities. 

Lack of proper guidelines 

deprived the ASHAs from their 

due. Due to absence of structured 

monitoring system quality 

of services and capacity 

building programmes were 

compromised. Absence of 

proper monitoring system 

made it difficult to assess the 

performance of ASHAs. 

ASHAs were performing only 

few activities and most of activities 

were remained unaddressed 

which hampered the 

overall implementation of various 

programmes under National 

Health Mission. There 

was an urgent need to streamline 

the entire ASHA programme 

to address the field 

level issues. After rounds of interaction 

with ASHAs and 

other stakeholders and 

through field visit by state level 

officials, field level issues related 

to ASHA programme 

were listed out and a comprehensive 

action plan was prepared 

to streamline the entire 

ASHA programme. Use of information 

technology was 

taken as the platform by implementing 

single window payment 

system to streamline the 

processes in addition to rectification 

of systematic issues. The 

processes for this initiative 

were initiated from April 2015 

and the system was implemented 

from November 2015. 

Challenges faced 

before deployment / 

implementation 

The following issues hindered 

proper implementation of 

ASHA programme in the state: 

◗ ASHAs are not aware about 

the list of activities for which 

they are entitled for incentives: 

There are around 48 activities 

through which ASHAs 

could claim incentive by performing 

their duties. But, during 

round of interactions with 

ASHAs it was observed that, 

most of ASHAs were not aware 

about the activities to be performed. 

ASHAs were performing 

only few activities and most 

of activities remained unaddressed 

which hampered the 

overall implementation of various 

programmes under National 

Health Mission. 

◗ There were no comprehensive 

guidelines: 

Absence of comprehensive 

ASHAs at a training workshop 

30 



guidelines on payment of incentives 

to ASHAs created a lot of 

confusion. Activity wise guidelines 

were issued time to time 

from various programme / 

components. Even all guidelines 

were not disseminated to 

the grass root level. Lack of 

clarity on guidelines and supporting 

documents to be submitted 

along with the claims 

witnessed diversified system in 

each block empowering accounts 

managers to decide the 

supporting documents to be 

submitted compromising the 

overall objective of the programme. 

Even rate of incentives 

paid was not uniform as 

newer guidelines was not peculated 

down to grass root level. 

Due to lack of proper guidelines, 

verification/ validation of 

claims were also not done properly 

by respective programme 

officer which raised question 

on accountability on the 

system. 

◗ Complex system of incentive 

claims by implementing multiple 

claim forms: 

Incentive claim forms were developed 

for each activity separately 

and most of the claim 

forms were very complex for 

ASHAs to fill up. Verification of 

claim forms and documents became 

tedious and time consumption 

job for the accounts 

persons. 

◗ No specific time frame for receipt 

of claim and release of 

payment resulting irregular 

and delay in release of payment: 

Timeframe for submission of 

claims and release of payment 

was not specified and accountability 

was not fixed at any level. 

Irregular and delay in release 

of payment was the major 

cause of grievances of the 

ASHAs. During field visit by 

state officials it transpired that 

neither ASHAs were not submitting 

claims regularly and 

timely nor account managers 

were releasing payments as accountability 

was not fixed. 

Home based new born care (HBNC) voucher distribution 

Home visit by an ASHA 

◗ Multiple window payment 

system: 

As ASHA incentives were 

approved under different programmes, 

so payments were 

released by different programme 

officers. ASHAs used 

to approach each programme 

officers to submit claim forms, 

enquire about status of approval 

and collect separate 

cheques from each programmes. 

It was a tedious job 

for the ASHAs and they have to 

travel to Block PHCs frequently. 

Excuse of insufficient 

fund always resulted prolonged 

delay in release of genuine entitlement 

of ASHAs. Due to 

this complex payment mechanism, 

ASHAs were not interested 

to perform activities with 

smaller amount which compromised 

the overall performance 

of the programmes. 

◗ Lack of transparency in the 

payment system: 

Interaction with ASHAs 

with the accounting staff was 

not formal. There were complains 

regarding issue of red 

tapping and corruption. In 

most cases, programme officers 

were also not involved for 

verification of claims by 

ASHAs. 

◗ Lack of monitoring system to 

assess the performance of 

ASHAs: 

Manual system was implemented 

for the entire process. 

There was no mechanism to assess 

the performance of 

ASHAs. It was difficult to find 

out good performing ASHAs, 

poor performing ASHAs and 

non-performing ASHAs. More 

than 5,000 ASHAs were not involved 

in any activities which 

deprived the entire population 

covered by those ASHAs from 

healthcare services. Programme 

officers were unaware 

about the performance of various 

activities and due to this 

reason most of the activities 

were unaddressed and ASHAs 

could not earned as per expected 

level. 

◗ Lack of digitised ASHA database: 

There was no database covering 

all ASHAs. Only basic information 

of ASHAs was captured 

through Mother & Child 

Tracking System (MCTS) 

which was also not updated. It 

leads to improper planning and 

implementation of the programme. 

◗ Quality of ASHA trainings: 

Though regular trainings 

were organised for ASHAs as 

per guidelines provided by 

Government of India, but question 

of quality of training and 

impact of training was always 

questioned. Proper system for 

assessment and monitoring of 

training was not in place. Impact 

of trainings was also not 

assessed. 

Process followed 

for deployment / 

implementation 

◗ Development of comprehensive 

guidelines: 

Comprehensive guidelines 

on payment of ASHA incentives 

was developed covering 

all programmes and all 48 activities 

were to be performed 

by ASHAs. The guidelines was 

developed in consultation with 

all stakeholders including 

ASHAs, programme officers, 

accounts officers etc. Eligibility 

criteria, claim methods, rate 

and supporting documents to 

be submitted for each activity 

was clearly listed out in the 

guideline to ensure uniform 



POLICY WATCH 

system throughout the state. 

Guidelines were translated in 

all local languages like 

Assamese, Bengali, Hindi, Bodo 

and English and ensured that it 

is made available with all 

ASHAs, all accounts persons 

and all programme officers. 

Distribution mechanism of the 

guidelines up to ASHA level 

was properly monitored and 

documented. All old guidelines 

were inactivated by issuing order 

to avoid conflict. 

◗ Implementation of master 

claim forms: 

Master claim form was developed 

covering all activities 

which simplified the claim 

process. It was also translated 

in all local languages and made 

available in sufficient quantity. 

ASHAs found it simple to fill up 

the claim form as only number 

of claims to be mentioned. 

Name of the activities and rate 

were pre-printed which reduces 

the work and minimised 

mistakes. Implementation of 

Master Claim form also simplified 

the work of accounts persons 

and streamlined the entire 

process. 

◗ Implementation of single window 

system for all claims: 

Single window system for 

submission of claims was introduced 

so that ASHAs need not 

require approaching each programme 

officers separately for 

submission of claims. ASHAs 

need to submit all claims in the 

Master Claim Form and submit 

it to Accounts Manager. 

◗ Fixation of accountability for 

verification of claims: 

After receipt of the claims 

through single window system, 

the claims are verified by the 

respective programme officers. 

It raised accountability and 

ownership of the programme 

officers on their respective programme 

and to ensure proper 

verification and validation of 

claims. 

◗ Fixation of time frame for 

submission of claim and release 

of payment: 

Fixed time frame was defined 

and notified for submission 

of claim, verification of 

claims and release of payment. 

The objective was to ensure 

timely and regular release of 

payment to ASHAs. Timeframe 

was finalised and notified 

after due consultation with 

all stakeholders. 

◗ Opening of bank account of all 

ASHAs: 

It was ensured that, bank 

accounts of all ASHAs are 

opened and registered and validated 

through Public Financial 

Management System (PFMS) 

to ensure authenticity. 

◗ Development of online ASHA 

payment and monitoring system: 

Online ASHA Payment and 

Monitoring System was developed 

in open source platform 

using the in-house capacity of 

National Health Mission, Assam. 

The system was developed 

under 'Health Services 

Monitoring System' and hosted 

in the NHM, Assam server. The 

objective was to use the power 

of information technology to 

create comprehensive ASHA 

database and streamline 

ASHA payment and monitoring 

system. Claims submitted 

by the ASHAs are captured in 

the system and acknowledgements 

are sent to ASHAs 

through SMS. Information of 

approval and release of payment 

through DBT is also communicated 

to ASHAs through 

SMS. This transparent system 

streamlined the ASHA payment 

system by ensuring 

timely release of payment and 

ASHAs are relived to visit accounts 

persons. The system 

also identified good performing, 

poor performing and non 

performing ASHAs. Activity 

wise report up to ASHA level 

helped the programme officers 

for proper monitoring and implementation 

of the programmes. 

The system was integrated 

with PFMS portal for 

release of payment to ASHAs 

through DBT. 

◗ Monitoring of quality of 

ASHA trainings 

ASHA database was created 

with all vital information 

of ASHAs along with bank account 

information, mobile 

number, photographs etc. The 

system is also used for monitoring 

of capacity building 

workshops of ASHAs. Pre-assessment 

and post assessment 

findings of each ASHA is monitored 

through the system to 

evaluate quality of trainings. 

Innovative aspects of your 

project / activity 

◗ Implementation of single window 

payment system: one of 

the major objectives of this approach 

is to implement hassle 

free single window ASHA 

claim system. Development of 

comprehensive guidelines covering 

all programmes and implementation 

of innovative 

Master Claim form simplified 

and made the system hassle 

free. 

◗ 100 per cent Direct Bank 

Transfer (DBT) mode payment: 

One of the major strategies 

of the system is to implement 

100 per cent DBT mode 

payment. The ASHA Payment 

system was integrated with 

PFMS to ensure 100 per cent 

DBT mode payment to ensure 

transparency in the system and 

ASHAs need not required visiting 

accounts managers and 

standing in queue for collection 

of cheque. 

◗ Use of power of Information 

Technology for development of 

ASHA Payment System: ITbased 

online system empowered 

proper monitoring of 

claim and release of payment. 

Now, account managers cannot 

keep the payments pending 

which is reflected in the dashboard. 

Activity wise performance 

could be monitored and 

tracked at all level (state, district, 

block, sectoral, SC and 

ASHA level) by click of a 

mouse. The system also generates 

alarm if payments are 

made more than normal level 

allowing the higher level authorities 

for proper monitoring 

of the system. Dashboard and 

different analytical reports 

helped programme officers for 

proper implementation of the 

programme. 

◗ SMS-based alarms: The system 

send automatic SMS to 

ASHAs during receipt of claim, 

approval and release of payment 

to ensure transparency in 

the system. 

◗ Categorisation of ASHAs 

based on performance: ASHAs 

are categorised as good performing, 

poor performing and 

non-performing based on 

claims submitted. It helped to 

identify the good performing 

ASHAs for nomination of 

awards. Similarly, non performing 

ASHAs were identified, 

motivated, re-oriented to 

improve performance. 

◗ Categorisation of activities 

based on performance: Activities 

were categorised based on 

performance by ASHAs. Low 

performing activities were 

identified and causes of poor 

performance was analysed and 

necessary strategies adopted 

to improve performance. 

Solution / technologies 

implemented 

ASHA payment and monitoring 

system was developed using 

open source technology. 

The system has been developed 

and implemented using 

in-house capacity of NHM, Assam 

and hosted in the NHM 

Server. The system is developed 

under secured user login 

and role-based user access is 

provided to the different 

users. Following modules are 

implemented: i) ASHA Master 

Database: ASHA database 

was created with all vital information 

of ASHAs along 

with Bank Account information, 

mobile number, photographs 

etc. 

◗ Incentive claim: Information 

of incentive claims by ASHAs 

is captured through this module. 

Automatic SMS is delivered 

to ASHAs on submission 

of claims in the system. 

◗ Approval of claim: Information 

of approval of claims is 

captured through the system. 

automatic SMS is delivered to 

ASHAs on updating of approval. 

32 



POLICY WATCH 

◗ Payment process: After approval 

of the claims, payment 

process is generated to enable 

payment through PFMS in 

DBT mode. Automatic SMS is 

delivered ASHAs after release 

of payment. 

◗ Monitoring of ASHA trainings: 

The system is also used 

for monitoring of capacity 

building workshops of ASHAs. 

Pre-assessment and post assessment 

findings of each 

ASHA is monitored through 

the system to evaluate quality 

of trainings. 

◗ Dashboard: Dashboard to 

highlight the ASHA payment 

system. 

◗ Analytical reports: Different 

customised analytical reports 

are generated from the system. 

State, district, block, sectoral, 

sub centre and ASHA wise reports 

can be generated. There 

is option of generation of drill 

down reports from state level 

to ASHA for each activity. Activity 

wise performance reports 

are also available. Report 

of good performing, poor performing 

and non performing 

ASHAs can be generated in 

mouse click. 

Comparison of the 

pre-deployment with 

post-deployment scenario 

Highlighted comparison of predevelopment 

with post-development 

scenario of the system: 

i) Before implementation of the 

system in 2014-15, average 

monthly income per ASHA 

was ` 1188 in 2014-15. After implementation 

of the system it 

has increased to ` 4326 in 2016- 

17. 

◗ Before implementation of the 

system, ASHAs were not 

aware about the list of activities 

for which they are entitled 

for incentives. Now all ASHAs 

are aware about the list of activities 

for which they are entitled 

for incentives. 

◗ Multiple forms used for 

claiming incentives for different 

schemes before implementation 

of the system. Now, single 

Master Claim form is used 

for all activities. 

Swacchata initiative by ASHAs 


system, multiple window payment 

system was followed, i.e., 

ASHAs used to approach each 

programme officers to submit 

claim forms, enquire about status 

of approval and collect separate 

cheques from each programmes. 

But, after 

implementation of the new system, 

'Single Window System' 

has been implemented. Now, 

ASHAs submit all claims together 

using single master 

claim form and need not visit to 

any person as the amount is directly 

transferred to bank account. 

◗ There was no system to track 

good performing, poor performing 

and non performing 

ASHAs. Now, list of good performing, 

poor performing and 

non performing ASHAs could 

be generated in a mouse click. 

◗ There was no method for 

analysis of activity wise performance. 

Now, activity wise 

performance can be analysed 

automatically from the system. 

◗ There was no method to 

check over payment to ASHAs. 

Now, alert messages appears 

for doubtful payment cases. 


system, there was no fixed time 

frame for receipt of claim and 

release of payment. After implementation 

of the system, 

fixed time frame developed for 

receipt of claim and release of 

payment followed. 

◗ Issue of regular non payment 

was major concern before implementation 

of the system. 

Now, payment is regular 

throughout the state. 

◗ Interaction with ASHAs with 

the accounting staff was not 

formal. Now transparent system 

implemented by sending 

automatic SMS to ASHAs. 

◗ Issue of red tapping and corruption 

offend complained. 

Now, after implementation of 

the transparent system, it has 

reduced substantially. 

Benefits derived from the 

solution implemented 

◗ Increase of income of 

ASHAs: Exceptional outcome 

of this initiative witnessed 

sharp increase of average 

monthly income of ASHAs 

from ` 1188 in 2014-15 to 

` 4326 in 2016-17. 

◗ Timely payment of ASHAs: 

ASHA payment system has 

been streamlined and monthly 

payment is released to ASHAs 

as per fixed time frame. All backlog 

payments were identified 

and cleared within three months 

from the date of implementation 

of the system. Now, there is no 

complaint of delay of payment. 

Now, ASHAs used to submit 

claim on time as non submission 

of claim by ASHAs are also categorised 

as non performer. 

◗ 100 per cent DBT mode payment: 

Now, 100 per cent payment 

is made to bank account 

of ASHAs through Direct Benefit 

Transfer only. More than 

` 150 crore payment has been 

released to ASHAs through 

this system. 

◗ Free from non performer: 

Around 5000 non-performing 

ASHAs were identified and 

converted to zero non performer 

within two years 

through motivation, reorientation 

and replacement. It could 

be achieved through monthly 

follow up of non performing 

ASHAs from the report generated 

from the system. 

◗ Transparency in the system: 

The major achievement 

of the system is to establish 

transparency and accountability 

in the system. Interaction 

of ASHAs with accounts 

persons minimised by implementing 

single window system. 

Substantial reduction in 

issue of red tapping and 

corruption. 

◗ Structured monitoring: Using 

the alerts and reports, now the 

administrators and programme 

officers are more empowered 

for monitoring. Using 

the analysis reports and alerts, 

instances of overpayment to 

ASHAs were tracked and those 

were recovered after thorough 

investigation. 

Potential for replicability 

arising from the success 

of your project/ activity 

◗ Cost effectiveness: The initiative 

is cost effective. The entire 

project was managed from the 

available fund and existing human 

resources without any 

hassle. The system was developed 

using in-house capacity of 

National Health Mission, Assam 

using open source technology 

and it is hosted in the NHM 

Assam server, so no extra cost 

was involved. 

◗ Customised solution: The system 

was developed within reasonable 

time of three months 

despite several technical issues 

like integration with PFMS, 

validation of bank accounts etc. 

As the system is developed 

in-house, so it is easy to 

customised and include 

new features without any 

problem. New customised reports 

could be included as per 

requirement. 

◗ Utilisation of PFMS platform 

for DBT payment: As PFMS 

portal is utilised for payment to 

ASHAs through so there was 

no cost involved. As PFMS is 

used by all State and Central 

Government agencies so it is 

easily replicable. 

◗ DBT payment: Establishing a 

DBT Payment System in the 

pursuit of a sustainable development 

and economic growth 

is very important. ASHA Payment 

System develops the e- 

payment system by transforming 

traditional payment 

process to electronic payment 

practices which has broken 

new grounds and has taken a 

global dimension. 

◗ Motivate ASHA, develop 

their economic growth and improve 

health services: After 

payment to ASHA become regular, 

it motivates the ASHA in 

performing their activities regularly. 

It also helps in the economic 

growth of them and 

helped improvement of health 

of the community. 

◗ Transparency: Using the new 

system, the payment process to 

ASHAs became very transparent. 

All the data can be viewed 

anytime using the web-based 

system. 

(Source: National Health Mission, 

Ministry of Health and 

Family Welfare, Government of 

Assam) 




‘PPP IS THE ONLY 

WAY FORWARD FOR 

INDIA TO DEVELOP 

A PAN-INDIA, 

INTEGRATED 

HEALTHCARE 

SYSTEM’ 

Dr Ajay Gupta, Group MD and CEO, Indo UK 

Institute of Health (IUIH) speaks on the 11 

med-cities project and how it would instil the 

UK paradigm of effective and affordable 

healthcare in India, in an interaction with 

Prathiba Raju 

How did you come up with 

the idea of 11 med-cities, why 

did IUIH chose India to 

develop these med-cities? 

My endeavour is to bring in the 

UK way of healthcare, one of 

the best integrated, affordable, 

world class healthcare service 

which can be provided to the 

local community. I met Prime 

Minister Narendra Modi in 

2015 and proposed the concept 

of one med-city, but he was the 

one who suggested to go for a 

pan India initiative. So, 11 medcities 

will be built in Punjab, 

Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, 

Rajasthan, Karnataka, Uttar 

Pradesh, West Bengal, 

Maharashtra, Madhya 

Pradesh, Haryana and 

Telangana. Also, healthcare is 

one of the priority areas in the 

bilateral relationship between 

India and the UK. My aim is to 

be a catalyst and provide Indo- 

UK Institute of Health (IUIH) 

programme, one of the world’s 

largest healthcare initiatives, 

and ensure provision of quality 

healthcare and medical 

education services across 

India. 

What kind of difference will 

the 11 med-cities bring in to 

the Indian healthcare 

system, particularly the 

PHC, CHC and DH levels? 

In India, the healthcare system 

lacks trust, transparency and 

there is no accountability. As 

for National Health Services 

(NHS), UK, it is a trustworthy 

organisation. They believe and 

value in working for patients 

and they focus on providing 

ethical and affordable 

healthcare to all. NHS UK will 

definitely transform the quality 

of healthcare and medical 

education services across India. 

Each med-city will be 

developed in partnership with a 

leading NHS Trust under a 

commercial contract. The 

project will enable smart digital 

hospital solutions and services 

in a big way, including remote 

monitoring. We have already 

partnered with IBM and they 

would be opening 5000 centres 

across India which will provide 

telemedicine. For example; 

before setting up a centre, a 

disease profile of the vicinity is 

done. In Nagpur (Maharashtra) 

we found that many suffer from 

haemophilia. So, the centre will 

My aim is to 

be a catalyst 

and provide 

IUIH 

programme, 

one of the 

world’s 

largest 

healthcare 

initiatives 

be inclined more towards 

catering to such diseases and 

we plan to develop a stem cell 

research centre. The disease 

profile survey is done by 

PricewaterhouseCoopers 

(PwC), our partner in this 

endeavour. 

Another unique and firstof-its-kind 

initiative, which is 

part of the IUIH project is the 

establishment of 5000 mobile 

relocatable units (MRU) 

pan-India, nearly 500 units will 

be functioning in primary and 

secondary catchment areas of 

the 11 med-cities. The MRUs, 

which are designed in Japan, 

are GPS-enabled. In 

Maharashtra, the 500 MRUs 

will serve the population from 

South Madhya Pradesh right 

till Mumbai for five years. 

34 



MRUs will provide facilities 

like X-rays, blood tests. The 

samples of the test done in 

MRUs are sent to Nagpur 

using automated artificial 

intelligence (AI). By June, we 

will have the MRUs around 

Nagpur operational and the 

Nagpur hospital will be 

functional by December 2019. 

Primary healthcare centres , 

operational by the 

Government of India, is only 

one for three lakh population. 

Instead, 10 MRUs will serve 

every three lakh population. 

CANDID MOMENTS 

Can you give us details on 

the med-cities? 

Each med-city project will be 

put up at a cost of ` 1000 

crores, but the Amravati 

centre in Andhra Pradesh will 

be a Rs 1600 crores project, as 

Chief Minister of Andhra 

Pradesh (AP), Chandrababu 

Naidu wanted the IUIH 

headquarters in Andhra 

Pradesh. So, the investments 

will be more with additional 

facilities like an exclusive data 

centre by IBM and 10 other 

med-cities will be maintained 

from Amravati. It is a 13-years 

project, every year two 

med-cities will be constructed 

and the project will be 

completed by 2022. Initially, 

hospitals in the 11 med-cities 

will be functional with 250 beds 

and later it will scale upto 500 

and 1000 beds. The Prime 

Minister's Office (PMO) has 

placed a task force, which is 

headed by Secretary, Health 

Ministry of Health and Family 

Welfare (MoH&FW). The task 

force has 13 bureaucrats as 

representatives from Ministry 

of Railways, Ministry of 

Finance, Chief Secretary of 

states where the med-cities are 

built and a representative of 

Niti Aayog. The task force 

meets every six months. 

Mostly, the challenges, which 

the projects encounter, such as 

land, finance etc. are tackled in 

the meetings. 

What would be the cost 

pattern of med-cities, are any 

medtech companies 

involved? 

Our aim is to make med-cities 

affordable, the costs in these 

med-cities hospitals would be 

below the corporate hospitals. 

For example, a total knee 

replacement in a private 

hospital would be charged at 

Rs four lakhs, but we would 

charge about ` 2 lakhs. We are 

partnering with 40 NASDAQlisted 

medical technology 

companies like Medtronics, 

Zimmer, Biomet, Stryker for 20 

years. They will be 

manufacturing in our sites, for 

example; a CT machine will be 

manufactured in Nagpur, in 

Amravati there will be a SEZ 

set up to manufacture medical 

equipment, this will also 

enhance the Make in India 

programme. Apart from 

hospitals the med-city would 

also have college in which NHS, 

UK will train 5000 doctors and 

25,000 nurses. Later, each 

med-city will have a specialised 

training academy in Nagpur, 

the Zimmer will start the first 

training academy for knee 

replacement, while in 

Hyderabad, Stryker will open 

its academy for hip 

replacement and Medtronics 

in Amravati will have a training 

academy for cardiac related 

issues. The reason for 

imparting one excellence in 

one centre is that we don't 

want to have competition 

within the medtech companies. 

Also, it helps each medcity to 

become a centre of excellence 

Every year, 

two 

med-cities 

will be 

constructed. 

The project 

will be 

completed by 

2022. 

Initially, 

hospitals in 

med-cities 

will function 

with 250 

beds. It will 

be scaled to 

500 and 

1000 beds 

in each expertise. All the 40 

NASDAQ companies will 

contribute 0.5 per cent of there 

CSR funds to IUIH, which will 

be a total of 20 per cent, this 

would be reserved for BPL. 

What are the research 

programs to be launched in 

the IUIH centres? 

We are focusing on three 

types of research programmes, 

first is the transnational, 

research - designing new 

implants, medicines for Asians, 

by the UK universities. Second 

is stem cell research, which is 

currently not done in India, 

while the third is clinical 

research, which will start only 

in the third phase, when 

India develops its clinical 

research policies. 

What is the way forward for a 

robust healthcare segment in 

India? 

Public Private Partnership 

(PPP) is the only way forward 

for India to develop a 

pan-India, integrated 

healthcare system. The new 

National Health Policy (NHP) 

talks about PPP to ensure 

affordable price. As for the 

UK government, with Brexit 

coming, they want to have a 

tie up with India, as it is a very 

big market for them with 

1.2 billion people. With growing 

middle class in the country, 

they foresee more trade 

options. 

What is the investment made 

on the IUIH project? 

The total investment is over a 

billion dollars, of which 

approximately $300 million 

funds are being raised through 

equity. We are also in 

discussion with the UK Export 

Finance, accredited agency of 

UK government, which 

supports such projects for 

about approximately $600 

million. 




RADIOLOGY 


There is an exponential growth of scientific knowledge 

in radiology which needs to be explored' 

Dr Mohanan K, Professor and HOD of Radio diagnosis, Govt Medical College, Thrissur, Kerala, 

has been recently elected as the 74 th President of IRIA. He is the first president from Kerala 

and has a strong agenda for change in the Indian radiology sector. Raelene Kambli catches 

up with Dr Mohanan K to understand his vision for Indian radiology 

We decided to launch the 

RAKSHA programme, a 

nationwide initiative to save the 

girl child 

Congratulations for 

becoming the new 

President of IRIA. I would 

like to know your vision for 

the upliftment of the 

radiology sector in India. 

Thank you! India, being the 

second largest country has an 

immense scope for the 

radiology sector to flourish. 

India has a large number of 

radiologist as compared to 

many countries in the world. 

50 per cent of our radiologists 

are young and so the scope 

for further advancements 

and development increases 

manifold. Also, considering 

that 50 per cent of our 

country’s population is below 

40 years, I feel the sector is 

certainly poised for growth. 

We are at par with any 

country in the world with 

regards to technology, 

competence and efficiency. If 

you take any country from 

the world map, you will see 

that Indian radiologists are 

excelling in their work. Such 

excellence can be applied 

here as well. 

As an association, we will 

work for the promotion and 

progress of the radiologists in 

India. Moreover, there is an 

exponential growth of 

scientific knowledge which 

still needs to be explored in 

this field. However, 

institutions and colleges 

cannot cope up with the 

growing scientific knowledge. 

Therefore, the association 

has plans introduce many 

education programmes, 

workshop and conferences to 

spread more knowledge. 

I am a teacher, so I will 

always give more preference 

to learning and research. 

Tell us about the new 

RAKSHA campaign that 

you have launched. 

I come from Kerala where the 

number of females are high and 

we do believe in empowering 

our girls. And my personal 

agenda is to make India just like 

Kerala. Therefore, we decided 

to launch the RAKSHA 

programme, a nationwide 

initiative to save the girl child. 

The campaign was inaugurated 

by Amitabh Bachchan who has 

extended his support to the 

cause. He has promised that he 

would advocate for this 

campaign and will help us in 

every way to make this 

programme successful. The 

two main agenda under this 

programme is to pledge for not 

doing foetal selection and track 

down culprits who are doing 

this. We as an association have 

also found that a lot of foetal 

selection is done by nonqualified 

people for earning 

money and we will be closing 

working with police forces to 

track them down. I have taken a 

person responsibility on this 

front. 

What are the efforts taken 

by you so far to improve 

radiation safety? 

We have met the chairperson 

of Atomic Energy Regulatory 

Board (AERB) and launched 

the Radiation Safety 

Awareness programme. We 

have requested him to not 

issue license to anyone who do 

not follow the radiation safety 

mechanism. Today, anyone 

can purchase a radiology 

equipment in India. There is 

no norm that one needs to be 

a qualified radiologist to start 

this service. Even an 

Ayurvedic doctor can 

purchase radiology 

equipment, such is the state 

today. We have therefore 

requested the chairman to not 

allow this at least for high-end 

radiology equipment such as 

CT, MRI, PET_CT etc. 

So what about the Clinical 

Establishments Act? 

We the clinical establishment 

act is only passed by the 

Centre and not the states. 

However, it does have such 

provision that only a qualified 

radiologist needs to purchase 

and start a radiology centre. 

What will you do to 

promote research in India? 

Well, I completely believe 

that India needs research 

focussed on Indians and not 

the people living abroad. We 

are going to raise funds for 

research and we will have 

multi-centric studies. 

The number of radiologist 

in India is less in 

comparison to the demand 

of our population. What 

will the association do to 

increase the number of 

radiologists? 

We are in talks with the 

government to sanction more 

number of PG seats for 

radiology and we hope that 

soon we will hear some good 

news on that front too. 

raelene.kambli@expressindia.com 

36 



START UP CORNER 


‘Our main USP is the quality of our services’ 

Dr Anagha Karkhanis, Consultant, IVF and Reproductive Surgery, Cocoon Fertility and 

Dr Rajalaxmi Walavalkar, Consultant, IVF and Reproductive Surgery, Cocoon Fertility, have 

been working towards creating a market niche for their business. They share their vision with 

Raelene Kambli 

What is the vision behind 

setting up Cocoon fertility 

centres? 

Dr Anagha: We were both 

trained in fertility in Europe 

and the UK, and during our 

training period we learnt 

that infertility was a common 

problem in the world. 

Moreover, there are big gaps 

in this field that need to be 

fixed. About one in every six 

couples suffer from infertility 

and yet, only one per cent of 

Indian couples come forward 

for diagnosis and treatment. 

In India, especially, there 

is an immense stigma 

attached with infertility and 

associated medical problems. 

Apart from lack of 

awareness, we noticed that 

there is lack of structured 

approach to management of 

infertility as compared to the 

West. Our vision is to bring a 

systematic approach to 

infertility management at an 

affordable cost. So that more 

and more childless families 

have access to such 

healthcare facilities. Hence, 

we started off with Cocoon 

Fertility centre to provide 

quality services to all. 

A lot of fertility clinics 

claim 100 per cent success 

but during many instances 

it is not true, which results 

in a lot of people losing 

faith in this treatment 

mode. What is the success 

rate that you promise? 

Dr Rajalaxmi: Well, we do 

not promise a particular 

success rate. Our patients 

are therefore counselled to 

understand what it entails to 

get fertility treatment. A lot 

of times people come with 

the hope that they would 

immediately get success in 

their first treatment 

Dr Anagha Karkhanis, 

Consultant, IVF and 

Reproductive Surgery, 

Cocoon Fertility 

procedure. That is where the 

problem lies. Effective 

communication helps us to 

convey the right information 

to our patient and in 

managing expectations. The 

success depends on each 

person’s particular case and 

will be different from the 

person sitting next to you. 

Hence, to fix a particular rate 

for success, makes it too 

general and doesn’t allow for 

individualisation. A person’s 

chances for success with 

treatment may indeed be a 

lot higher or a lot lower than 

average. 

How many clinics do you 

presently have? 

Dr Anagha: The first centre 

was opened in Thane, 

Mumbai and now there are 

three centres including 

Santacruz and Dadar. We 

have two more centres 

opening soon in Pune and 

Western suburbs of Mumbai. 

We hope to expand our reach 

to maximum cities in India. 

What is your strategy to 

scale your business? 

Dr Rajalaxmi :We will focus 

on providing quality care to 

our patients and will 

continue to expand our 

service through 

partnerships. 

What is the investment 

done so far? 

Dr Anagha: We started with 

self-funding. Today, Cocoon 

Fertility is building on the 

existing infrastructure of a 

decades-old family 

establishment, one of 

Thane's most trusted 

maternity homes. Hence, the 

investments have been 

minimal. However, we have 

recently roped in a strategic 

investor, the details of which 

are currently confidential. 

There is immense 

competition in the fertility 

treatment space. What is 

your differentiator and the 

value proposition you are 

offering? 

Dr Anagha: One of our main 

USPs is the quality of our 

services. This ranges right 

from our consultations to the 

quality of our embryology 

laboratory. These positively 

contribute to our excellent 

Dr Rajalaxmi Walavalkar, 

Consultant, IVF and 

Reproductive Surgery, 

Cocoon Fertility 

pregnancy rates. We believe 

in listening to patients 

patiently and educating them 

about every step of their 

treatment. This turned out to 

be our USP. Most of our 

patients tell us that it is the 

first time they feel they have 

been heard, it is the first time 

they understand what the 

issue is and it is the first time 

they have been explained as 

to how it can be sorted. 

Our high success rates are 

attributed to our work 

discipline and the fact that all 

our clinical decision making 

and procedures are done by 

our team of highly 

experienced specialists only. 

Our embryology lab is the 

heart of our Cocoon Fertility 

Centre. This is a state-of-theart 

lab equipped with ultramodern 

gadgets and 

customised air filtration 

system to achieve Grade A 

air purity (EU-GMP). 

With the help of the latest 

equipment and modern 

technology our embryology 

lab is converted into a space 

that is adjusted at the same 

temperature, humidity, 

cleanliness and atmosphere 

of the womb, so that the 

embryos can thrive 

favourably and give positive 

pregnancy results. 

There is a debate that the 

fertility industry is 

misleading women? What is 

your opinion on the same 

and how would you clear 

this air? 

Dr Rajalaxmi : The industry 

is often blamed with claiming 

success rates higher than 

they actually are for 

conducting un-indicated IVF 

treatments or for unclear 

financial implications i.e. 

hidden charges. 

See in any business there 

are good and bad guys. 

Medical treatments are as 

much about trust as success. 

When our work is ethical, 

when we provide the best 

care to our patients, when we 

deal with our patients with 

complete honesty, I don’t 

think we need to fear. The 

trick is to care for your 

patient like you would care 

for a member of your family. 

With this ethos you would 

always do the right thing. 

raelene.kambli@expressindia.com 

38 



LIFE 


‘It would be too early to make any comment 

on the efficacy of the HIV Bill’ 

43-year-old,Kousalya Periasamy was the first woman in India to declare that she is 

HIV-positive and has been fighting it for 22 years. She is one of the founders of Positive Women 

Network (PWN+) which helps other women living with HIV. Periasamy highlights various issues 

faced by people living with HIV, in an interview with Prathiba Raju 

What was the inspiration 

behind starting Positive 

Women Network (PWN+)? 

In 1990s, the status of women 

living with HIV/AIDS (WLHA) 

was appalling. They were 

ostracised from their family 

and community as the stigma 

and discrimination was severe. 

Women were blamed for their 

husbands’ HIV seropositive 

status; however, in reality, 

majority of the women were 

naive, they acquired infection 

through unprotected sex with 

their husbands. Moreover, even 

medically there was not much 

scope to manage the illness, as 

the antiretroviral therapy 

(ART) was not available in the 

country, ensuing higher HIV 

mortality rate. At this point in 

time, I met three other women 

during a preliminary meetings 

of The National AIDS Control 

Programme (NACP) II, who 

had similar ordeal living with 

HIV. While attending the 

programme, we four of us 

realised that a forum is needed 

to fight and stand for the health 

rights of Women Living with 

HIV/AIDS (WLHA) and 

prevent further spread of HIV 

infection among women in the 

general population. We 

established PWN+ in the year 

1998. Initially, we were more 

involved with establishing 

support groups among women 

living with HIV/AIDS, 

predominantly in the districts 

of Tamil Nadu. Gradually, the 

network has evolved into a 

rights-based organisation that 

is actively involved in advocacy, 

research and building 

networks with like minded 

organisations across the 

country, to challenge the status 

quo and bring about a positive 

change in the lives of women 

and children living with 

HIV/AIDS (W/C LHA). 

In the past ten years, 

how has the situation of 

treating people living with 

HIV (PLHIV) changed. 

What are the challenges 

that still exist? 

Within the past decade, a few 

states including Tamil Nadu, 

have shown positive changes 

with regard to stigma and 

discrimination, while majority 

of the states in the country 

where the HIV prevalence rate 

is low, PLHIV still suffer ill 

treatment both from 

community and healthcare 

professionals. Recently, I got an 

opportunity to converse with a 

few women from Kerala, who 

narrated the miserable 

situation W/CLHA are forced 

into, back in their home state. 

Within families, still there are 

thousands of individuals 

unable to disclose their HIV 

status, even to the closer 

circles, due to fear of stigma 

and ill treatment. 

WLHA still have to fight for 

property to which they are 

rightfully entitled. Except for 

providing antiretroviral 

therapy, it has been almost a 

regular story that WLHA are 

denied appropriate healthcare, 

even during emergency 

situations, in both private and 

government hospitals by the 

healthcare professionals, in 

fear of HIV. Poverty and 

unemployment are rampant 

among individuals living with 

HIV/AIDS, pushing their 

households into appalling 

conditions, despite the welfare 

schemes and policies intended 

for PLHA. While the needs of 

women, children and men 

living with HIV are radically 

different from each other, the 

existing policies are being 

indifferent to such differences, 

bluntly address “people living 

with HIV,” taking the 

individuals living with HIV as a 

homogenous group. There are 

critical issues related to 

reproductive health of WLHA, 

not acknowledged in any of the 

treatment guidelines except for 

a pap smear test. 

Is access to medicines easier 

now than before? Are 

antiretroviral therapy (ART) 

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LIFE 

clinics pan-India dispensing 

doses properly 

or are they forcing people 

to either make multiple visits 

for drugs? 

It has been more than a 

decade, since the government 

of India initiated free 

antiretroviral treatment for 

PLHA. ART roll outs are 

spread across India, mostly 

located in district hospitals, 

medical colleges and tertiary 

hospitals. The Link ART 

centres at the community level 

are purposed to improve 

access to ARV drugs, treat 

opportunistic infections and 

encourage drug adherence 

among PLHA. However, as a 

matter of fact, many Link ART 

centres do not appropriately 

follow the guidelines provided 

to them, as a result, many 

opportunistic infections among 

PLHA go untreated. In few 

states, including Karnataka, 

Andhra Pradesh and 

Telangana the Link ART 

centre personnel are not 

properly paid, which in turn 

affects the intended functions 

of the Link ART centres, as the 

workers grow resentful. 

In some states, including 

Maharashtra, Karnataka, 

Andhra Pradesh and 

Telangana the drugs go out of 

stock on a regular basis. 

Therefore, PLHA are 

distributed drugs either once 

in a week or once in every 

15 days, depends upon the 

availability of drugs. 

What are the advantages and 

disadvantages of the 

HIV/AIDS Bill, which was 

passed by the Parliament 

recently? Do you think the 

Bill has helped the HIV 

patients? How? 

The Human Immunodeficiency 

Virus and Acquired Immune 

Deficiency Syndrome 

(Prevention and Control) Bill, 

was passed in April, 2017. The 

Bill is momentous for the HIV 

community as it extensively 

draws upon the issues of 

stigma, discrimination, 

confidentiality and access to 

HIV prevention, care and 

treatment. Nevertheless, one 

of the major concerns raised by 

health activists and the HIV 

community was over Section 14 

of the bill, which states, “The 

measures to be taken by the 

central or state governments 

under Section 13 shall include 

measures for providing, as far 

as possible, anti-retroviral 

therapy and opportunistic 

management to people living 

with HIV or AIDS.” The phrase 

“as for as possible” is 

essentially vague, which may 

lead to negligence and 

indifference on the part of 

healthcare providers. It simply 

indicates that neither the 

central nor the state 

governments are willing to 

take responsibility to provide 

appropriate treatment, 

support and care for PLHA. 

The Bill reflects deliberate 

efforts to safeguard the rights 

of PLHA, enabling them to 

maintain the privacy. However, 

till date, no concrete 

framework has been emerged 

to implement the bill. 

Therefore, it would be too early 

to make any comment on the 

efficacy of the Bill. 

Can you give us the details 

about the Women Resource 

Centre (WRC) for HIV 

women in places where the 

HIV infection rate was high? 

What is the status of it? 

Which are the states with 

high incidence of HIV/AIDS? 

Between the years 2010 and 

2014, PWN+ managed two 

Women Resource Centres 

(WRCs) supported by UNDP, 

in Nagpur and Ajmer, 

respectively. The centre in 

Ajmer continues to serve 

WLHA till date. However, it is 

not funded by the government 

instead by a local trust named 

“Srimathi Sanchan Devi Bal 

Chand Lunawat.” Apart from 

the centre that functions in 

Ajmer, there is no other women 

resource centre in the entire 

country that serves exclusively 

for WLHA. 

In the year 2000, the first 

drop-in centre for WLHA was 

initiated in Chennai by 

National AIDS Control 

Organisation (NACO) and 

State AIDS Prevention and 

Control Societies (SACS), and 

PWN+ was closely associated 

with the project. During NACP 

III, PWN+ further advocated 

the model at the national level, 

to be implemented in other 

states. As a result of the effort, 

six new drop-in centres were 

initiated in Tamil Nadu, 

Mizoram and Rajasthan. 

Nevertheless, all the drop-in 

centres were shut down by the 

year 2013, despite strong 

recommendations put forth by 

the project evaluation 

committee. Eventually, all the 

dropping centres were 

converted into Care and 

Support Centres (CSC) 

for PLHA, a nationwide project 

implemented by NACO and 

Alliance supported by Global 

Fund. 

Followed by the closure of 

women drop-in centres, PWN+ 

repeatedly appealed to NACO 

to allocate at least a small grant 

and a centre for care and 

support particularly for 

W/CLHA. But, our cries have 

reached nowhere. 

NACO, since 2015, has been 

asking the states to collect 

Aadhaar numbers of patients 

to avail antiretroviral 

therapy. To ease the process 

of availing the services, but 

many patients fear that 

compulsory submission of 

Aadhaar card for medicines 

and ART could lead to the 

disclosure of their identity 

and cause social stigma? 

Your comments. 

Apparently this new order has 

created a significant amount of 

distress among people living 

with HIV/AIDS, who avail free 

ART, especially the women. 

This clearly stands in contrast 

to the recently passed 

HIV/AIDS (Prevention and 

Control) Bill, 2017, which talks 

extensively on confidentially, 

stigma and discrimination. 

Many are not getting 

medicines because they are 

scared of there identity being 

revealed. Moreover, this order 

stands in the way of universal 

and free access to ART. Where 

would people, who live on the 

margins of society, like people 

who live on streets and slums 

and rural and tribal 

communities, go if we ask them 

for Aadhaar cards as a 

prerequisite to access ART? 

Do you think it was right to 

merge NACO with the health 

ministry, as the funds to 

states are now flowing 

through state treasuries 

instead of directly from 

NACO to the State AIDS 

Prevention and Control 

Societies? Reasons. 

Earlier, when NACO was an 

independent organisation, 

PLHA were able to influence 

and hold the SACS 

accountable. Post merging, the 

situation is different, making 

people’s participation 

impossible. Previously, 

community involvement was 

encouraged in finding local 

solutions to combat HIV/AIDS, 

but now they all done by the 

‘experts.’ There is no more 

shared accountability in 

combating HIV/AIDS, with 

government taking all the 

power. Nevertheless, as the 

result of continued efforts 

taken by civil society 

organisations, HIV/AIDS and 

health activists, in April 2017 

the policy was amended that 

NACO would directly disperse 

the funds to SACS rather 

through state treasuries. 

Do you think an insurance 

scheme should be 

introduced to PLHIV. Why 

it is important to give 

insurance for PLHIV and 

why do you think insurance is 

not availed? 

Today, while there are 

insurance schemes available 

for pet animals and non living 

entities, certainly we should 

have an insurance scheme for 

PLHA. One of the primary 

reasons behind 

non-availability of an insurance 

scheme exclusively for PLHA 

is the common notion that HIV 

means death. Currently, 

PWN+, in association with 

Church of South India, Social 

Empowerment: Vision in 

Action (CSI SEVA) facilitates 

Life Insurance Schemes 

namely Baghya Lakshmi and 

Jeevan Mangal available to 

PLHA in and around Chennai. 

What is your expectation 

from the upcoming budget? 

We expect four elements to be 

given serious consideration 

and included in the budget. As 

a woman living with HIV, these 

four factors hold paramount 

significance to me. First, 

primary prevention among 

women in the general 

population need to be 

prioritised, second, there must 

be a programme exclusively for 

WLHA, addressing the critical 

issues faced by them, third, 

apart from Prevention of 

Parent to Child Transmission 

(PPTCT), a dedicated 

programme on women 

reproductive health for WLHA 

needs to be budgeted, and 

finally, we need a programme 

that provides comprehensive 

treatment and care for all 

kinds of opportunistic 

infections for women, which 

needs to be budgeted. 

Working in 13 states, what 

kind of help does PWN 

extend to PLHIV and the 

children and adolescents? 

How many lives have you 

transformed? What is the 

road map for PWN? 

PWN+ is extended across 55 

districts in 13 states of India, 

with each state having a 

chapter of positive women 

network with a separate board. 

However, due to lack of 

resources, at present, only 

eight state level networks are 

active, which include Tamil 

Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, 

Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, 

Rajasthan, Manipur and 

Mizoram. Hitherto, we are able 

to impact the lives of more than 

50,000 WLHA across the 

country, through our State 

Level Networks (SLNs) and 

District Level Networks 

(DLNs). PWN+ addresses 

issues around prevention, 

treatment, care and support, 

economic empowerment and 

rights of women and children 

infected and affected by HIV. 

Currently, PWN+ serves 

women and children living with 

HIV/AIDS through 

programmes, including an 

intervention programme for 

women experiencing severe 

side effects of ART, an income 

generation programme for the 

households of WLHA, 

organising primary prevention 

campaigns in and around 

Chennai, talent identification 

and development programme 

for CLHA (Story Writing and 

Drawing) and there are two 

research studies currently in 

progress, one is aimed to 

identify the holistic needs of 

children living with HIV/AIDS 

and the other is on 

reproductive health needs of 

WLHA, based on the study, 

appropriate interventions will 

be planned and realised. 


40 



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Aditya Singh, MD, DaVita Care India in an interaction with Express Healthcare, talks about 

DaVita’s latest offering in dialysis treatment and the company’s growth prospect 

How do you foresee growth 

in the Indian dialysis 

market? 

Less than 10 per cent of End 

Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) 

patients who need dialysis 

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treatment, which is 

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Most of the need gap exists in 

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lack of awareness and 

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1) Diagnosis and 

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government and charitable 

support structure that 

subsidises dialysis as it is an 

expensive life-sustaining 

therapy. In comparison, 

approximately 60 per cent 

dialysis patients pay-out-ofpocket 

for their treatment in 

India. While the government 

has done a commendable job 

in launching the National 

Dialysis Programme, the 

programme needs to be 

revisited to ensure 

outcomes-centric results for 

patients and provision of 

adequate remuneration 

levels to sustainably support 

quality treatment. 

3) Infrastructure and 

trained manpower: 

Significant investment in 

infrastructure and capacity 

is needed along with the 

creation of training 

programmes for dialysis 

therapists and medical 

officers. 

How can hospitals benefit 

by outsourcing or bringing 

in speciality providers? 

Dialysis is a highly 

specialised therapy and 

needs considerable 

expertise; often it is not the 

core competency or focus of 

a hospital, but it is necessary 

to offer a full range of 

services. In this context, a 

speciality dialysis provider 

can add value in the following 

ways: 

1) Standardised and 

industry-recognised clinical 

policies and protocols 

incorporating global best 

practices. 

2) Ability to recruit and 

train dialysis manpower at a 

much larger scale as 

compared to any single 

hospital. 

DaVita envisions building 

the greatest healthcare 

community the world has 

ever seen. What 

opportunities does this 

present for healthcare 

providers and hospitals? 

Hospitals are faced with a 

challenging business 

environment and providing 

quality care requires 

meticulous efforts. DaVita, 

which focusses on dialysis 

care, helps build operational 

efficiencies for healthcare 

providers and creates 

opportunities for clinical 

excellence. DaVita is 

committed to providing 

quality care for their patients 

and achieving high patient 

satisfaction. 




DaVita is a community first 

and a company second. Can 

you please elaborate on the 

community-based 

approach of DaVita and 

how it gets reflected in the 

way patients are treated? 

DaVita, which is Italian for 

‘giving life’, is committed to 

providing quality dialysis 

care in India. A communitybased 

approach forms the 

spirit of DaVita and we take 

pride in the way we care for 

each other, our patients and 

our communities. Our Core 

Values – Service Excellence, 

Integrity, Team, Continuous 

Improvement, 

Accountability, Compassion 

and Ananda – are our beliefs 

and guiding principles that 

enable and encourage us to 

make the right decisions and 

deliver industry-leading care 

to our patient community. 

Our ‘Zero Compromise 

Dialysis’ policy reflects in our 

holistic approach to dialysis 

treatment with extensive 

patient counselling, 

integrated treatment plans 

covering dietary 

management, anaemia 

management, vaccinations 

and other medication 

management as well as 

individualised improvement 

plans for patients. 

As part of giving back to 

the community, we offer 

education about Chronic 

Kidney Disease and ways to 

prevent it via education 

camps as well as running nocost 

kidney screening 

programmes. Bridge of Life 

(BOL) is an international 

non-profit organisation, 

founded by DaVita, working 

to improve health, wellness 

and vitality. BOL’s mission is 

to improve kidney care in 

underserved areas of the 

world. We partner with them 

to help raise funds as well as 

provide volunteers for their 

missions. 

What, according to you, are 

the global practices in 

DaVita which set you apart 

from other dialysis 

providers in India? 

We rely on three important 

parameters to ensure quality 

dialysis services: 

Well-designed policies and 

protocols 

◗ Patient comfort 

◗ Infrastructure 

◗ Policies and protocols: We 

are committed to implement 

global best practices in 

healthcare including topnotch 

infection-control 

protocols. Our operations are 

driven by policies and 

protocols defined by experts 

in nephrology and 

customised to Indian 

conditions. We have a 

dedicated clinical services 

team focused on patient 

satisfaction and tracking 

clinical outcomes. 

Patient comfort: DaVita 

strives to improve patients' 

quality of life by innovating 

clinical care and offering 

integrated treatment plans. 

We believe in attentive and 

compassionate care and have 

several patient comfort 

facilities including dialysis 

recliners and individual TV 

screens. 

Infrastructure: We 

monitor electronic patient 

data in real time, enabling us 

to take corrective measures 

to mitigate harms from the 

physiological changes that 

occur during dialysis. We 

have state-of –the-art 

machines with data-capture 

facility, bringing in expertise 

from DaVita USA and quality 

RO plants. 

How many new 

partnerships are expected 

in 2018? What message 

would you like to share 

with prospective hospital 

partners? 

In India, we aim to focus on 

improving the overall 

standard of dialysis care in 

the country. To that extent, 

we would like to work with 

like-minded and valuealigned 

hospital partners. We 

prioritise quality care over 

rapid expansion and, thus, 

have no numerical target in 

mind; we will open centres 

and work with partners 

based on the above 

objectives. We are invested in 

improving clinical outcomes 

for our patients. 

Any interesting update you 

would like to share with the 

readers? 

Kidney disease is likely to 

affect 1 in 10 Indians. 

However, the awareness 

about its seriousness 

remains low, at only 7 per 

cent of the total population. 

Hence, it is important to 

detect kidney disease risk 

factors early on, so that 

adequate treatment can be 

provided, and progression of 

ESRD can be mitigated. 

Keeping these objectives in 

mind, we recently 

collaborated with ‘Spreading 

Hope’, a non-profit 

foundation, to start a pan- 

India drive on kidney 

awareness and organ 

donation. 

Spread across 11 cities 

covering 9,000 kilometres, 

the initiative was focussed on 

increasing awareness on 

kidney disease through 

classroom-type sessions and 

no-cost kidney screenings. 

Kidney disease is a silent 

killer and there has not been 

enough cognizance about it in 

India. This collaboration is a 

small step towards raising 

the awareness level and 

dispelling widespread notions 

about renal problems. 

About DaVita Care India 

Private Limited 

DaVita Care India Private 

Limited is a part of DaVita 

Inc., a Fortune 500® 

company, and a leading 

provider of kidney care in 

India, delivering dialysis 

services to patients with 

chronic kidney failure and 

end-stage renal disease. As 

of October 2017, DaVita Care 

India Private Limited serves 

over 1600 dialysis patients 

across 25 centers in 13 cities. 

For more information, please 

visit DaVita.in. 

About DaVita Inc 

DaVita Inc., a Fortune 500® 

company, is the parent 

company of DaVita Kidney 

Care and DaVita Medical 

Group. DaVita Kidney Care is 

a leading provider of kidney 

care in the United States, 

delivering dialysis services to 

patients with chronic kidney 

failure and end-stage renal 

disease. As of September 30, 

2017, DaVita Kidney Care 

operated or provided 

administrative services at 

2,470 outpatient dialysis 

centers located in the United 

States serving approximately 

218,200 patients. The company 

also operated 230 outpatient 

dialysis centers located in 11 

countries outside the United 

States. DaVita Medical Group 

manages and operates medical 

groups and affiliated physician 

networks in California, 

Colorado, Florida, Nevada, 

New Mexico, Pennsylvania and 

Washington in its pursuit to 

deliver excellent-quality health 

care in a dignified and 

compassionate manner. 

DaVita Medical Group's 

teammates, employed 

clinicians and affiliated 

clinicians provided care for 

approximately 1.7 million 

patients. For more 

information, please visit 

DaVita.com/About. 

52 




nice Neotech Medical Systems 

launches new products 

THE QUALITY, Reliability 

and Versatility of OxyM 

Blenders are designed as per 

the standard to meet the ICU 

and NICU requirements. 

Dual Flow Meter 

The OxyM Blender with integrated 

flowmeters has been 

specifically designed for use in 

the NICU. 

The 0-15LPM flow meter on 

the left can be used to connect 

to a Resuscitator. The flow meter 

on the right, which can be 

fixed in 0-15, 0-3.5 or 0-1.0 

LPM, can be used to connect 

an infant nasal cannula. 

Bleed Turn ON/OFF 

The OxyM Blender’s unique 

features let turn the bleed required 

for low on and off simply 

by pushing in and rotating 

the right hand flow meter. It 

saves time and reduce frustration, 

because there are no 

parts to disconnect and misplace, 

And the OxyM B is always 

ready to use. 

nice 5010 High/Low Flow 

Blender 

Nice 5010 Cascade Flow Meter 

Versatile dual range blender. 

Ideal for equipment needing 

flows from 2-120 Ipm, yet also 

capable of increased accuracy 

even at a low flow range. 

nice 5005 Low Flow 

Blender 

Perfect for NICU and newborn 

nursery or for a flow of 30 Ipm 

or less. Increased accuracy at 

even the lowest flow range. 

Nice 5005 Cascade Flow Meter 

Applications 

OxyM Medical Air/O2 blenders 

combine compressed Medical 

Air and Oxygen to deliver 

blended pressurised gas at a precise 

oxygen concentration (FiO2) 

firm bye the user. 

Some models are equipped 

with a unique gas bleed ON/OFF 

switch to increase accuracy 

when needed, conserve gas, save 

money and time. 

These blenders are suitable 

for respiratory applications including 

routine therapy, ventilator 

gas supply, Bubble CPAP, 

SiPAP, Resuscitator and critically 

-limited NICU procedures. 

nice Neotech offer different 

models with multiple outlet 

ports that deliver the same 

highly accurate selected FiO2. 

Most models can be customised 

to include the flowmeter attachment 

with a variety of flow rates 

available. 

The blenders contains an audible 

alarm which warns the 

user if either of the gas sources 

changes by more than 30PSI 

from the other. 

Medical air and oxygen 

blenders require a bleed for accuracy. 

The bleed on a blender is 

activated by the knob which is 

placed on the right port. This 

avoids the blended gas being into 

the air when the blender is not in 

use. 

Unique features 

◗ nice 5005 and nice 5010 have 

gas savings ON/OFF bleed 

feature 

◗ Available in very low to high 

flow capability 

◗ Suited to speciality and general 

needs 

◗ Mounting solutions for all 

situations 

◗ All blenders are equipped with 

an audible alarm 

Blender with resuscitator 

◗ To provide continuous supply 

of air and oxygen blenders gas 

for Bubble CPAP and T-Piece 

Resuscitator. 

Provides essential equipment 

for safe and easy 

delivery of neonatal CPAP 

◗ Optimise lung protection and 

breathing support 

Continuous Positive Airway 

Pressure (CPAP) supports infant 

breathing by providing respiratory 

support throughout the 

respiratory cycle. OxyPAP maintains 

the infant’s functional 

residual capacity by helping to 

prevent airway closure. CPAP 

promotes gas exchange in the 

alveoli, which acts to enhance 

airway patency, improve lung 

volume recruitment and maintain 

infant energy reserves, 

without the complications associated 

with endotracheal intubation. 

Optimal humidity (37°c, 

44mg/L) with CPAP is vital to 

support an infant’s breathing 

and protect and protect its developing 

lungs. 

Optimal humidity protects 

the lungs to optimise outcomes 

for the infant by minimising airway 

drying, improving secretion 

clearance, reduce airway constriction. 

Features 

◗ Safe and reliable 

The Unique Bubble CPAP 

generators provides consistent 

and accurate delivery of CPAP. 

The reusable pressure manifold 

with pressure relief valve for infant 

safety The manometer is 

provided to ensure the delivery 

of accurate PEEP. Rotating 

OxyPAP Nice 5060 Bubble CPA 

PEEP adjustment Knob to prevent 

the use error of setting the 

PEEP. Servo control humidifier 

with temperature indication 

with heater wire for humidity of 

delivered gas. 

◗ Easy to use 

Easy to adjust the PEEP setting 

on the Bubble CPAP generator. 

Easy to set modes of humidifier 

Easy to fix the nasal prong 

with the neonates. 

◗ Optimum humidification 

The Bubble CPAP system 

provides respiratory supports 

with body temperature, pressure 

saturated gas to the infant. 

Optimal humidity promotes mucociliary 

clearance and reduces 

the work of breathing. 

◗ Infant nasal prongs 

Contoured nasal prongs 

made from non-reactive silicone 

along with a unique cannula 

body provides stability during 

therapy. The integrated pressure 

monitoring line allows the 

monitoring of nasal prong pressure 

without having lines near 

the infant's face 

Offered in seven different 

sizes, it can be used on a wide 

range of patients from premature 

to new born baby. 

◗ Bubble generator 

Bubble generator provides 

a convenient means to apply 

positive airway pressure, freeing 

the clinician to focus on patient 

care, not the device. This 

design delivers accuracy and 

stability throughout the course 

of therapy. 

The ergonomic design allows 

airways pressure to be easily set 

without the cumbersome time 

consuming tasks normally associated 

with bubble devices. 

Water feeding port allows 

water to be added or removed by 

disconnecting the expiratory circuit. 

Minimum and maximum 

lines clearly visible in highly 

transparent jar with overflow 

container. 

Contact details 

nice Neotech Medical 

Systems 

No 85, Krishna Industrial 

Estate, Mettukuppam, 

Vannagaram, 

Chennai - 600095. 

Tamil Nadu 

Tel: + 91 44 2476 2594, 

2476 4608 

Web: www.niceneotech.com 




Carestream Health unveils new medical imaging, 

healthcare IT products at India’s largest radiology conference 

Carestream invited attendees to explore and advance radiology, through innovative means which 

create a positive impact on patient care 

CARESTREAM HEALTH 

demonstrated its expanding 

portfolio of medical imaging 

and healthcare IT systems at 

the 71 st annual conference of 

the Indian Radiology & Imaging 

Association which was recently 

held in Mumbai. This 

year the IRIA was combined 

with the 17 th Asian Oceanian 

Congress of Radiology, making 

this a not-to-miss event in the 

annals of radiology conferences 

in India. 

CSH_DRXRevolution8 

With the theme explore, invent, 

transform, Carestream 

invited attendees to explore 

and advance radiology, through 

innovative means which create 

a positive impact on patient 

care. 

The company displayed an 

interactive touch wall which offered 

a first-of-its-kind, unique 

experience of Medical Imaging 

workflow. The fascia was once 

again futuristic and revolutionary 

in the true sense, especially 

in world of Indian radiology. 

The interactive touch wall exhibited 

the company’s innovative 

imaging solutions for acquiring, 

collaborating and sharing, 

medical images. 

The acquire interactive wall 

showcased the following products, 

highlighting the key benefits 

of each while displaying 

the workflow; 

The DRX-Evolution Plus, is 

a fully automated, ceiling suspended 

digital X-ray system 

with greater flexibility, extended 

tube column and a high 

performance Carestream generator. 

The forward looking design 

of the DRX Evolution Plus 

is devised to accommodate advanced 

imaging applications in 

the future. 

DRX-Revolution is Carestream’s 

mobile X-ray system 

with a fully automatic collapsible 

column. Powered by a wireless 

DRX detector, this X-ray 

room on wheels drives like a 

dream and providing fast and 

high-quality images. 

The DRX Plus Detector: 

The DRX Plus detectors are 

lighter in weight, faster and 

more reliable than the earlier 

versions of the DRX family. Its 

Ingress protection rating and 

advanced enclosure design 

provides total protection 

against intrusion, dust and 

water. 

The Vita Flex CR System: 

The reason for the Vita Flex 

CR ‘s popularity includes its 

compact size, user-friendly nature, 

option for the radiologist 

to carry out simple repairs onsite, 

and a mini-PACS option to 

view images on the go. 

On the collaborate section 

Carestream displayed its Vue 

drxevolution plus 

Clinical Collaboration Platform. 

Carestream’s healthcare 

IT portfolio includes a Unified 

Core architecture for its Clinical 

Collaboration Platform that 

enhances security and complements 

healthcare providers’ 

existing IT systems. This architecture 

delivers clinical image 

data acquisition, viewing, sharing 

and analytics, and allows 

healthcare facilities to add 

these features as needed. 

Physicians can use the company’s 

Vue Motion universal 

viewer to easily view and share 

patient medical images and reports 

using mobile devices. 

On the interactive Output 

touch wall, the display included; 

Carestream’s Managed 

Print Solutions (MPS) which 

has brought about a revolution 

in the system of ordering, purchasing 

and stocking of X-ray 

films. The system, which operates 

through a dedicated webportal 

designed by Carestream’s 

team of specialists, 

has made the entire process 

completely automatic. 

The Carestream MyVue 

Center Self-Service Kiosk is 

the future of patient enabled 

imaging. This self-service radiology 

kiosk improves patient 

experiences by allowing them 

to print, store or share radiology 

images and reports while 

maintaining their privacy. It 

also helps busy radiology departments 

overcome challenges 

in meeting the expectations 

of growing patient 

populations amid reductions in 

operating budgets and staff 

thus improving workflow productivity 

while reducing capital 

and operational costs. 

The DRYVIEW 6950 Laser 

imagers’ extremely sharp 650 

ppi resolution on every film 

size, provides exceptional image 

quality for general radiography 

and mammography. 

The highlight of the exhibit 

was Carestream’s award winning 

OnSight 3D Extremity 

System which produces detailed 

three-dimensional cross 

sectional images of injuries to 

bone or soft tissue in upper 

and lower extremities. It performs 

both 2D and 3D extremity 

exams which includes 

weight-bearing studies, thus 

enabling physicians to view 

these body parts under natural 

load. A huge advantage to the 

patient is reduced radiation exposure 

which is 50 per cent 

lower than that of standard 

full-body CT. 

“From design features that 

ensure patient comfort and 

convenience, to technologies 

that allow patients to view and 

manage their diagnostic images, 

and X-ray systems that 

enable rapid diagnosis and 

timely treatment, our advanced 

solutions support our 

customers in delivering true 

Patient-Centered Care. This 

focus has enabled us to develop 

products like the MyVue 

Centre Self Service Kiosk, Onsight 

3D Extremity System, 

Vue Clinical Collaboration 

platform and several other 

products. In 2018, we will continue 

to deliver on our promise 

of helping customers do 

their jobs better, faster and 

more cost- effectively,” said 

Sushant Kinra, MD, Carestream 

India. 

Products displayed though 

this interactive touch wall, coupled 

with new products on the 

floor highlighted the company’s 

focus on creating inventive and 

elegant solutions that offer customers 

a smarter way forward. 


www.carestream.in 

54 




Healthcare sector evolution: Innovations and initiatives 

Vivek Tiwari, Founder and CEO, Medikabazaar, gives an insight on how technology can play an 

exceptional role in increasing healthcare access and decrease cost burden 

HEALTHCARE IS going to 

rapidly evolve in India with 

overall healthcare sector is expected 

to touch the revenue of 

$280 Billion by 2020. The sector 

is poised to become the 

largest employment oriented 

sector in the economy with 

workforce in this sector expected 

to be at 7.4 million by 

2022. It is a high time that government 

should realise this 

neglected sector as a greater 

economic development activity 

at national level. The healthcare 

is traditionally seen as social 

sector with lesser government 

focus with low 

percentage of GDP spend on 

healthcare. 

In the last decade or so, the 

consumer spend has shifted 

from curative to preventive 

healthcare with greater awareness 

on health and fitness and 

with more diagnostic labs and 

preventive check up clinics 

coming up in the country. With 

rising incidence of chronic and 

non-communicable diseases 

burden in India, the healthcare 

spend is likely to go very high in 

the near future as well. Our 

country still is majorly not represented 

by health coverage especially 

in tier II and tier III 

cities and even with the efforts 

taken by the government lately; 

the poorly penetrated health 

coverage is going to be a 

greater challenge for healthcare 

affordability. 

As per industry experts, the 

answer to decreasing the burgeoning 

healthcare cost burden 

lies in bringing systematic efficiency 

in the healthcare sector 

with focus on cost management, 

efficiency and operational 

excellence. The basic 

challenge equation is time and 

cost management leading to efficiency 

in output. There are 

traditionally three cost challenges 

healthcare institutions 

must start looking at; cost reduction, 

cost elimination and 

cost avoidance. 

The key factors for healthcare 

sector growth and sustainable 

efficiency will be adoption 

of technology and setting 

up a seamless patient data 

management record. The advent 

of mobile technology and 

e-commerce growth in India, 

the healthcare sector is also 

witnessing growing interest of 

entrepreneurs willing to take 

up the challenge in building up 

innovative and cost effective 

digital platforms for patient 

data record management, 

telemedicine, medical appointment 

tool, diagnostic or medical 

test enrolment and hospital 

supplies / procurement 

platforms. The basic challenge 

The key factors 

for healthcare 

sector growth 

and 

sustainable 

efficiency will 

be adoption of 

technology 

and setting up 

a seamless 

patient data 

management 

record 

still lies with adapting of these 

technological platforms in tier 

II and III cities and rural areas 

with biggest challenge of costing. 

Also with rising focus on 

technology adoption in healthcare; 

the demographic shift will 

fuel the growth of this sector. 

The way technology had 

changed the consumer landscape 

of banking and telecommunications 

industry, it is yet 

to create such disruption in 

healthcare sector. India still 

needs to witness the likes of 

telecommunication and BFSI 

revolution in healthcare. Today 

more than half of the population 

do not have access to primary 

healthcare in the country 

and with technology, this can 

be provided at half of the cost 

of traditional solution. 

The core idea is to have 

healthcare access should be 

without an excessive burden on 

the masses. The main aim is to 

create an access with an adequate 

level of affordability with 

special attention to the vulnerable 

groups such as children, 

women, disabled and the aged. 

Some of the provisions made 

during Union budget 2016-17 by 

the government of India for 

promotion of Indian healthcare 

industry have been well accepted. 

National dialysis service 

programme to be initiated 

in all the district hospitals to 

accommodate the increasing 

demand of dialysis sessions has 

been well accepted in the dialysis 

fraternity. Under the national 

health assurance mission, 

government will provide 

citizens with free drugs and diagnostic 

treatments as well as 

insurance cover to treat serious 

ailments. The E-health initiative, 

which is a part of Digital 

India drive launched by the 

Indian government, aims at 

providing effective and economical 

healthcare services to 

all. The E-health initiative programme 

aims to make use of 

technology and portals to facilitate 

people maintain health 

records and book online appointments 

with various departments 

of different hospitals 

using eKYC data of 

Aadhaar number. 

In the nutshell, technology 

has an exceptional role in increasing 

healthcare access and 

decreasing cost burden on 

healthcare. The government has 

to take more initiatives to boost 

this sector with inclusion of both 

private and public sector. 


Boston Ivy Healthcare 

Solutions 

Mumbai 

www.medikabazaar.com 

One Day we will beat Cancer 

Help us make it sooner 

Support, Volunteer and Donate at 

www.springhopefoundation.com 

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youtube.com/channel/UCy4yXkBUhdzyNHO_t8cR1Ig 

facebook.com/SpringhopeFoundation 

twitter.com/springhopeCF 




DiaSys India completes three 

years of service 

WITH GREAT pleasure, 

DiaSys India announces the 

completion of three successful 

years. During this short journey, 

the company has made 

memorable and notable accomplishments 

in the backdrop 

of very challenging economic 

environment in our 

country. 

Shifting manufacturing 

unit to spacious, state-of-theart 

Mahape premises in March 

2017 shows the commitment 

for providing high quality indigenous 

products. DiaSys India 

has launched many exciting 

products during these 

three glorious years and improved 

services in a bid to 

strive for perfection in every 

domain. It registered close to 

20 per cent annual sales 

growth over last year. The 

company employs 180+ employees 

in different functions 

located at various geographical 

locations. 

The company said, “Thanks 

to all our distributors who 

stood with us at all times, gave 

us constructive feedback and 

remained committed to our aggressive 

growth plans.” 

Road map ahead 

Increased awareness amongst 

DiaSys India has launched many exciting products 

during these three glorious years and improved 

services in a bid to strive for perfection in every 

domain. It registered close to 20 per cent annual 

sales growth over last year.The company employs 

180+ employees in different functions located at 

various geographical locations 

people, high percentage of affordable 

population, reimbursements 

by insurance companies, 

exponential jump in life 

style related ailments has 

made IVD industry rise rapidly. 

The company has listed key 

enablers for meeting ambitious, 

comprehensive agenda 

for strengthening our position 

in Indian market: 

◗ DiaSys India now takes this 

opportunity to announce 

launch of its newest and most 

exciting systems in DiaSys India 

product portfolio – 3 part 

(respons r3H) and 5 part (respons 

r5H) differential haematology 

analyser. With this 

launch, the company has announced 

its foray in haematology 

segment. 

◗ Innovative technological advancements 

are rapidly changing 

healthcare landscape. DiaSys 

India proudly boast 

existence of research and development 

centre in 

India. 

◗ DiaSys India RnD is fostering 

innovation and is set to launch 

in-house developed product 

range starting with Electrolyte 

analyser by third quarter of 

this year. 

◗ The art of diagnostics is infinitely 

creative and it inspires 

us to continuously improve 

quality of the products. 

Through regular investments 

and employing skilled manpower, 

DiaSys India seeks to 

accelerate the introduction of 

processes, technologies, and 

regulations required to continuously 

roll out high quality 

products from its manufacturing 

unit located in Mahape. 

◗ This is also helping DiaSys 

India build sustainability into 

its products and operations. 

The company is adding 45 new 

employees in DiaSys family for 

strengthening all our company 

functions. 

◗ DiaSys India Urine portfolio, 

Rapids, POC are set for higher 

growths this year through focussed 

approach and dedicated 

resources for doctor 

clinics in tier II and tier III 

cities. This will help doctors offer 

right and quality treatment 

to needy patients on time. 

◗ DiaSys India completely 

understands the dynamic nature 

of systems in labs. Customer 

needs systems to be 

functional round the clock to 

meet normal and emergency 

workload of patients. The 

company has decided to improve 

after sales service as 

satisfied customers will help it 

in brand building and profit 

generation. A lot of emphasis 

is being given to recruitment 

and technical training of engineers 

this year. 

With our expertise and experience, 

we are clear on: 

◗ Arenas 

◆ Where will we be active geographically 

and product wise? 

◆ Who will be our core customers 

and what it takes for us 

to retain them? 

◗ Differentiators: 

◆ What different will we do 

from our competitors? 

◆ How will we win? 

In short, with right blend of 

products and aggressive people, 

DiaSys India has embarked 

on an exciting journey 

with passionate commitment 

for profitable growth and giving 

paramount importance to 

customer satisfaction and 

patients’ welfare in India. 

HEAD OFFICE 

Express Healthcare® 

MUMBAI 

Douglas Menezes 

The Indian Express (P) Ltd. 

Business Publication Division 

1st Floor, Express Tower, 

Nariman Point, Mumbai- 400 021 

Board line: 022- 67440000 Ext. 502 

Mobile: +91 9821580403 

Email Id: douglas.menezes@ 

expressindia.com 

Branch Offices 

NEW DELHI 

Sunil Kumar 



Express Building, B-1/B Sector 10 

Noida 201 301 Dist.Gautam Budh 

nagar (U.P.) India. 

Board line: 0120-6651500. 

Mobile: 91-9810718050 

Fax: 0120-4367933 

Email id: 

sunilkumar@expressindia.com 

CHENNAI 

Kailash Purohit 



8 th Floor, East Wing, 

Sreyas Chamiers Towers 

New No 37/26 (Old No.23 & 24/26) 

Chamiers Road, 

Teynampet 

Chennai - 600 018 

Mobile: +91 9552537922 

Email id: kailash.purohit@expressindia.com 

BENGALURU 

Kailash Purohit 



502, 5th Floor, Devatha Plaza, 

Residency road, 

Bangalore- 560025 

Board line: 080- 49681100 

Fax: 080- 22231925 

Mobile: +91 9552537922 

Email id: kailash.purohit@expressindia.com 

HYDERABAD 

E Mujahid 



6-3-885/7/B, Ground Floor, 

VV Mansion, Somaji Guda, 

Hyderabad – 500 082 

Board line- 040- 66631457/ 23418673 

Mobile: +91 9849039936 

Fax: 040 23418675 

Email Id: e.mujahid@expressindia.com 

KOLKATA 

Ajanta Sengupta 



JL No. 29&30, NH-6,Mouza- Prasastha 

& Ankurhati,Vill & PO- Ankurhati, P.S.- 

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56 



REGD. WITH RNI NO. MAHENG/2007/22045, POSTAL REGD. NO. MCS/162/2016 – 18, PUBLISHED ON 8TH EVERY MONTH, 

POSTED ON 9TH, 10TH, 11TH EVERY MONTH, POSTED AT MUMBAI PATRIKA CHANNEL SORTING OFFICE, MUMBAI – 400001

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