With the aim of providing a platform for educating and enabling open discourse on the state of tomorrow’s healthcare systems, leading health sector management University, IIHMR, concluded the 23rd edition of its flagship annual event, Pradanya 2018, with power-packed debates on breakthrough technologies, transformations, innovations and discoveries and their impact on current a future models of medical service delivery.

Speeches were imparted by some of the most prominent minds in the sector including Dr Indu Bhushan, CEO, Ayushman Bharat: National Health Protection Mission, Shri Naveen Jain, Mission Director for the National Health Mission, Government of Rajasthan, Dr. Anil Agarwal, Health Specialist, UNICEF Rajasthan, Dr. Chandrakant Lahariya, Technical Officer, Health, Care & Access, WHO, India, Dr. Chirag Trivedi, Director and Head of Clinical Study Unit, Sanofi India and many other health industry leaders. The conference saw participation from executives and management officials from government, private, social and development sectors, healthcare providers, academia researchers as well as students of health, hospital, pharmaceutical and rural management.

The theme for this year’s event was “Re-imagining Healthcare: Yesterday’s Dream, Tomorrow’s Reality”. A wide range of topics covering vital questions of inclusive health and equitable access in light of Ayushman Bharat, the country’s strides in achieving SDGs in rural development, drug and vaccine discovery and its role in reducing disease burdens, trends in patient centered care, the new wave of healthcare technologies that are predicted to change the face of medical practice and service delivery. Conferences play a major role in disseminating best practices and knowledge of cutting edge systems while broadening feedback loops in the churning of ideas and furthering social and economic progress.

“Access to healthcare in India is marred by huge costs of Out-of-pocket expenditure which pushes 7% of India’s households into poverty every year. When the affected victim is the sole bread earner in the family the cost is even more debilitating. About 70% of India’s population resides in rural areas but the majority of tertiary healthcare services, which are the costliest, in terms of OOP expenses, are in urban areas. Poor people need more expensive health services than the top 40% income-bracket of society. The awareness levels, willingness to submit to clinical diagnosis at the primary healthcare level and access to secondary or tertiary healthcare services is lower among the most disadvantaged. Some states have been running very successful public healthcare programs of their own. Our aim is to amalgamate all these services into one but not force this model upon anyone. That is why we have been careful in choosing healthcare service providers that fit into the model, that are willing and prepared to serve. There is no rigidity in the model and we are open to feedback”, said Dr Indu Bhushan, CEO, Ayushman Bharat, Government of India.

Singled out by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare as an Institute of Excellence for Training and Capacity Building, IIHMR University specializes in healthcare management, research, education, training and institutional networking. It has many well-known alumni working in both the private and public sector, leading organizations and running programs. For its significant contribution to health and hospital management education, it has received several Leadership Awards.

“While the Ayushman Bharat identifies 59 lakh beneficiaries in Rajasthan, we already serve 90 lakh beneficiaries. The Ayushman Bharat is a great scheme in concept but, as a responsible agent of change in Rajasthan, we have faced real issues in implementation including limitations in reaching out to the correct beneficiary and insurance fraud perpetrated by both the receiver and the provider of services. Nonetheless, insurance coverage to universalize healthcare access is a step in the right direction and we are grateful for the accommodation of visions that the PMJAY has provided us with. There remain challenges to costing and rate fixation for the 1350+ procedures covered among private hospitals and consideration of their specific infrastructure expenses.” Said Shri Naveen Jain, Managing Director, NHM.

“This conference has been a source of great inspiration for people committed to the cause of providing inclusive healthcare for all and managing change in society. I am sure that our students are better prepared to face career challenges now than before. I thank Prof. S D Gupta, Dr. Indu Bhushan, Shri Naveen Jain and all the illustrious luminaries who have helped enrich this debate and motivated our future leaders”, said Dr. (Prof.) Pankaj Gupta, President, IIHMR University, Jaipur.

IIHMR has become a major destination for training and capacity development in leadership and strategic management, hospital management, disaster management, quality management, project management, health management information systems, health economics and finance.

“It has been my pleasure to bear witness to such an enlightening discussion by deeply committed personalities to the cause of healthcare service delivery in India. My personal experiences with Dr. Indu Bhushan and others have taught me to trust the government in making the right choices in leading transformative programs. I believe that the audience at this year’s conference and all stakeholders present will take back a rich template of practices from the discourse that took place at IIHMR today and in the past 3 days. I thank Shri Indu Bhushan Ji and all the other guests for enriching our experience with their words of wisdom”, said Dr. S D Gupta, Chairman, IIHMR University, Jaipur.