How do you bring healthcare closer to where people live? The challenge faced by most Indian hospitals and clinics, especially in rural areas, today is not just lack of access to healthcare technology, but also expertise. So, focusing on healthcare technology products alone is not going to improve accessibility and affordability.
People often complain about poor infrastructure facilities at local hospitals and clinics. But the truth is even with the available infrastructure, there is so much you can do to improve the lives of people living nearby. All you need is just the right support and guidance.
At GenWorks, that is what we are trying to do by building partnerships with other private players in four core areas: critical care, renal care, women’s wellness, and oncology. As a healthcare technology products company, we believe that we have a better chance of realizing our vision of a ‘healthier India’ through such collaborations.
For instance, if you can provide services of specialized experts in areas such as critical care, cardiac care, guidance in cancer care, treatment and planning through technology enabled connected care, to hospitals and clinics in remote areas, with the help of other private players, then all that a hospital would need is just a few equipments, which we can provide. The local doctors and paramedics at these centres can then be trained to use these machines, which in turn can be supervised remotely, by specialists sitting somewhere else.
This kind of collaborative approach can be more beneficial to patients as they will be able to seek treatment for most of their problems locally, instead of travelling hundreds of kilometres, often giving up their livelihood and other commitments, in search of a specialist doctor elsewhere.
In emergency situations such as a cardiac arrest or the delivery of a baby in distress, such immediate long-distance travel can be dangerous or may even worsen the situation. But if you can stabilize the patient first, through connected care, then such risky travel can be avoided. In most cases, patients can be treated at the local facility itself. Only 20 per cent of the patients need to be moved to a larger hospital.
At GenWorks, we do everything from a customer perspective. We undertake periodic market surveys as well as gain insights from our team that works with people at the grassroot level.
Recently, we conducted a series of breast cancer screening programmes at various districts in Tamil Nadu. Around 700 women came for the screening. Using our AI (artificial intelligence) enabled screening device, that detects changes in breast tissues and tells us whether the changes are normal or abnormal, we were able to tell that around 2 per cent of the women who came for screening required immediate cancer treatment such as chemotherapy. Through technology, we also isolated another 12 percent of women, who needed lifestyle changes and periodic monitoring every six months.
Managing Director
CEO, GenWorks
Previously, breast cancer screening meant going for mammography, which was a painful and even expensive procedure. Only people who showed symptoms went for mammography and by then it would be too late. The fact that state governments are also actively involved in bringing healthcare to where people live is helping us in our mission.
As a technology service provider, with a team size of 650 people, we are constantly looking at potential areas to disrupt in healthcare. Our customer centric teams have their ears to the ground.
Healthcare is something that will become better only if it is available closer to where you live. The same can be said about all the four care areas, including renal care, which we have identified to collaborate with our partners. Making healthcare accessible and affordable is something that can be done only by creating an ecosystem. And that is what we are trying to do by building partnerships.