HEALTH SECTOR

Health as one of the Fundamental Human Right, has been accepted in the Indian Constitution. Although Article 21 of the Constitution requires the State to ensure the health and nutritional well being of all people, the Federal Government has a substantial technical and financial role in the sector. Due to growing importance of healthcare industry, it has been conferred with the Infrastructure status under section 10 (23G) of the Income Tax Act, The Indian healthcare sector constitutes: Medical care providers: physicians, specialist clinics, nursing homes and hospitals and Diagnostic service centers and pathology laboratories, Medical equipment manufacturers, Contract research organizations (CRO's), pharmaceutical manufacturers, Third party support service providers (catering, laundry) Before independence the health care sector was in dismal condition with high morbidity and mortality rates and prevalence of infectious diseases. Since independence emphasis has been put on Primary Health Care and India has worked continuously to improve its health care system in the last several decades. Considerable progress has been made in expanding the public system and reducing the burden of disease. But the government funded facilities were not enough to meet to the growing demand of population, whether it was primary, secondary or tertiary care, which necessitated the need for alternate source of funding in the healthcare sector. Post Liberalization, in the 1980's the entry norms for Private players in the Health services industry was relaxed by the Government. The private healthcare facilities are owned and run by for-profit companies, non-profit or charitable organizations. The entry of private sector has opened a gamut of opportunities for India in terms of Medical Equipment, Information technology in health services, BPO, Telemedicine and Medical and Health Tourism. An estimated 100,000 "Medical Tourists" visited India last year, representing a 20 per cent jump over the previous year. Today the healthcare industry has emerged as one of the most challenging sectors as well as one of the largest service sector industries in India with estimated revenue of about $ 30 billion (FY 2005) constituting 5% of the GDP. The Indian Health Services sector is estimated to be around Rs. 750 billion with hospitals accounting for more than half of this. The sector has had a growth of over 12% p.a. in the past four years and is estimated to grow by 170% by 2012. Though the private sector has been responsible in bringing about the desired changes in the health industry, the health sector performance requires much improvement in comparison with other emerging economies, including most comparable nations in the region. Deficiencies persist with respect to access, affordability, efficiency, quality and effectiveness, despite the high level of overall private and public expenditure on health. To bring in the desired changes for a healthy growth of healthcare sector, a well-defined partnership between the government and the private sector is essential. To catalyze the desired changes in the Healthcare industry, FICCI has a Health Services Committee with representative from the industry. The purpose of the Committee is to develop an agenda for Health Services Reforms and recommend a framework for Public - Private Partnership to enhance quality healthcare in our country. Members of the Committee: Chairman Mr. Shivinder Mohan Singh, CEO & Managing Director, Fortis Healthcare Limited & Escorts Heart Institute & Research Centre Limited, New Delhi. Co-Chairman Mr Anjan Bose, Senior Director, Medical Systems, Philips Electronics India Ltd, New Delhi Members Dr. Anupam Sibal, Group Medical Director, Apollo Group of Hospitals, New Delhi. Dr. Narottam Puri, President -Medical Education, Fortis Healthcare Limited, New Delhi. Brig Joe Curian, Group President – Operations, BGS Global Hospital, Bangalore. Mr V Raja, President and CEO, South Asia, GE Healthcare, Bangalore Lt. Gen H Lal, Director General, FICCI Quality Forum, New Delhi Rev. Father Arthur Pinto, Director, Holy Family Hospital, New Delhi. Dr. A K Mukherjee, Director General, Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, New Delhi. Dr. Girdhar Gyani, Secretary General, Quality Council of India, New Delhi Ms. Sumedha Sen, Director - Sales & International Business, Fortis Healthcare Limited, New Delhi. Dr. Vivek Desai, Managing Director, Hosmac India Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai. Dr Rajiv Yeravdakar, Director, Symbiosis Center for Healthcare, Symbiosis International University Pune Dr. C M Bhasin, Chief Executive (Projects & Consultancy), Fortis Healthcare Limited, New Delhi Mr. Ashok Pradhan, Chief Executive officer, Batra Hospital and Medical Research Centre Dr. Deepak Shukla, Director (Administration), Pushpawati Singhania Research Institute, New Delhi. Dr. Kalyan S Sachdev, Medical Director, Privat Hospital, Gurgaon. Mr.Vibhu Talwar, COO, Moolchand Medicity Mr Vishal Bali, CEO, Wockhardt Group of Hospitals Mr T R Grover, Senior Vice President (Corporate Relations), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd., New Delhi Dr Arvind Chaturvedi, Medical Director & Professor of Radiology, Head, Dept of Radiology and Imaging Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute, New Delhi Mr S S Sodhi, CEO, Dr BL Kapoor Hospital, New Delhi Shri Yogendra Durlabhji, CEO, Durlabhji Hospital, Jaipur Mr Daljit Singh, President-Strategy & Organizational Development, Fortis Healthcare Limited & Escorts Heart Institute & Research Centre Limited,New Delhi Dr Vikram Chhatwal, CEO, Reliance Health, Mumbai Mr R Basil, CEO & MD, Manipal Hospital, Bangalore. Dr B Somaraju, Chairman & MD, Care Hospital, Hyderabad Dr. Rajesh Bhalla, Director-Medical Services, Dharamshila Hospital & Research Centre, Delhi Dr. Pervez Ahmed, Executive Director - Medical Operations, Max Healthcare Ltd, New Delhi Objective of the Committee Focus on few critical issues in health sector that would impact the nation as a whole. Develop an action plan that would work towards inculcating the spirit of cooperation amongst various players in the sector. The Committee has further been divided into sub-committees, each responsible to work on the issues identified by the Committee. Sub-Committee on Public Private Partnership Convener- Dr. Rajesh Bhalla, Member FICCI Health Services Committee Members Dr. Kalyan S Sachdev, Medical Director, Privat hospital,Gurgaon Dr. A K Mukherjee, Member- FICCI Health Services Committee Rev. Father Arthur Pinto, Member- FICCI Health Services Committee Sub-Committee on Health Insurance Convener- Brig. Joe Curian, CEO, S L Raheja Hospital, Mumbai Members Ms. Sumedha Sen - Member-FICCI Health Services Committee Dr. Rajesh Bhalla- Member-FICCI Health Services Committee FICCI has also been entrusted with the responsibility of setting up a Working Group and coordination of the UK - INDIA Joint Economic and Trade Cooperation (JETCO) Programme by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Department of Commerce, Government of India. The aim of the collaboration is to enhance trade and investment opportunities between the two countries in the sector.