Need to radically reform health sector, says Vice President Naidu

The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic must be seen as an opportunity to radically reform the health sector by effectively harnessing the power of technology and artificial intelligence powered tools, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said on Saturday. "Disruption caused by the pandemic must be seen as an opportunity to radically reform our health sector," Naidu said.

The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic must be seen as an opportunity to radically reform the health sector by effectively harnessing the power of technology and artificial intelligence-powered tools, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said on Saturday. Addressing an event of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) online, he called for the digitisation of health records and creation of a national platform to facilitate collection of comprehensive healthcare data across the country.

This, Naidu said, will ensure that all stakeholders in the health sector are digitally connected. He felt that the analysis of data collected can produce valuable information, which can be used to improve the effectiveness of the health system. "Disruption caused by the pandemic must be seen as an opportunity to radically reform our health sector," Naidu said. The vice president opined that as the world's second-most-populous country with a track record of rapid economic growth, India faces both unique challenges and unprecedented opportunities in the sphere of public health.

Asserting the need to deliver quality healthcare to all irrespective of where one is living, Naidu said that healthcare and medical facilities should be accessible and affordable for all. He cautioned that these challenges are not simple enough to be tackled by the government alone and called for concerted and coordinated efforts from both the private and public sectors. Naidu asked private sector players to strengthen the hands of the government in its quest to deliver quality healthcare to the last citizen.

Observing that countries with strong primary healthcare systems have better health outcomes, the vice president emphasised the need to strengthen India's primary healthcare system. "The private sector must collaborate with various state governments in establishing state-of-the-art primary healthcare facilities in each district”, he said.

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