Today, Indian healthcare stands at a crossroads, ready for change. The path to achieve this holistic goal hinges on collaboration, where all health industry stakeholders come together, deliberate, cooperate, and work in tandem to bridge vital gaps in service delivery. Both public and private stakeholders need to rethink how to address systemic issues, invest, and rebuild healthcare infrastructure as a strategic asset.
The Med-Tech industry is a critical pillar of India’s healthcare ecosystem, contributing to innovation, economic growth, and global competitiveness. The Government of India has significantly supported this sector through initiatives like Make in India, the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, and the establishment of medical device parks, driving advancements in research, development, and domestic manufacturing. The Indian medical device market, valued at $15.35 billion in 2023, has the potential to scale up to $200 billion with the right policy interventions.
Healthcare in India is nascent with spend at ~4% GDP, significantly trailing most other countries. It is expected to scale to ~6% by 2030 on the back of govt.’s push on strengthening healthcare delivery post COVID and increase in private spend to cater to an ageing population with higher incidence of lifestyle diseases.
Healthcare infrastructure in India is fast catching up. Over time, India has witnessed 5- 6x surge in facilities delivering high-quality care at a significantly lower cost vs. other nations, however, there is still substantial headroom to expand the network of high-quality units. This expansion has led to a strong inflow of medical tourists in addition to servicing domestic demand. The trend likely to accelerate with govt’s push for “Heal in India” - program to promote medical value travel (MVT) into India by setting up an integrated MVT portal that will streamline the care journey of patients seeking healthcare.
The healthcare landscape in India is fast evolving and requires innovative technologies including digital health tools to integrate with traditional practices in a seamless and interoperable manner. The NATHEALTH Foundation – as a collaborative CSR and through the collective participation of its partner network – is contributing to this transformation by three key programs i.e., Digital Health Masterclass, Health Nexus Accelerator, and the Patient Safety Initiative that aim to digitize the health systems all the way to Tier II and III cities, accelerate start-up driven innovations into scale-up ready industry solutions, and institutionalize patient safety practices through awareness, policy advocacy, and industry best practices.
The objective of this session is to share the key achievements and learnings from the NATHEALTH initiatives followed by expert deliberation on ideas to drive a force multiplier effect and catapult these into self-sustainable future programs that yield benefits to all the stakeholders.
The Indian healthcare industry is complex, with a wide range of organizations like hospitals, diagnostic centers, and medical technology companies. The industry is required to adhere to multiple compliance standards set by both the central and state governments, such as the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), and State Ministries.
Although there have been efforts to make the rules simpler and more business-friendly, the healthcare industry still faces challenges with increased compliance burden that limit how it can grow and improve.
