Apollo Hospitals has organised the 9th Edition of the International Patient Safety Conference (IPSC) and the 10th International Conference on Transforming Healthcare with Information Technology (THIT) on 13th & 14th February at Taj Palace, New Delhi.

The International Health Dialogue is addressing critical issues in patient safety, with global experts on the subject and more than 2000 delegates from 30 countries.

"Based on data, a health map with hotspots can emerge. A proactive planning system is required for those areas where we do not have healthcare services. A public private unification should come up, something similar to what was done during COVID-19. For instance, if one wanted to take a vaccination, one could use CoWIN app and either go to a government centre or a private one. We need to find a way to do something similar for everything in healthcare. That is what we are requesting to the government. India has a great potential. We have to translate this potential into systems to help us in disease prevention and cure. But of course, you can’t cure by code, human touch is always required", said Dr Sangita Reddy, Jt. Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group.  

Speaking about the challenges centered around the country’s univesal health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (AB-PMJAY), Dr Sangita pointed out, "Health inflation is typically higher than the general inflation, yet the price for the reimburemenets for the AB-PMJAY have not been majorly revised for the last 4-5 years. There have been slight tweaks. So, on a scale, large hospitals will not be able to take up this scheme. But the good news is that now the government is looking at standard pricing structures. We have submitted our data to the Health Ministry, and FICCI and NATHEALTH are also working on building a more acceptable standard."

This year’s THIT’s theme is centred on the “Butterfly effect in action', examining different aspects of Digital Health along with accompanying standards and policies.

Dr Preetha Reddy, Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Group, said, “The THIT conference provides a platform for healthcare and IT entrepreneurs, professionals and students to get insights into how the healthcare business is getting disrupted by medical technology and innovation and the necessity to keep up with this transition."

Image Caption- Dr Sangita Reddy, Jt. Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group (L), with Dr Sujoy Kar, Chief Medical Information Officer & Vice-President of Apollo Hospitals