INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON “BEST PRACTICES IN HEALTH CARE MANAGEMENT

Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship (XIME), in partnership with Association of Healthcare Providers of India (AHPI) organized a two-day International Conference on "Best Practices in Healthcare Management'' at XIME Bangalore, Electronic City on 8th & 9th March 2018.

The conference aimed to highlight innovations in Healthcare Delivery Systems in India and several foreign countries. The conference also deliberated on the Healthcare Delivery System for the Hospitals of the Future. The event was inaugurated in the august presence of several dignitaries including Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty, Chairman, Narayan Healthcare; Mr. Sanjeev Malhotra, CEO, Nasscom Centre of Excellence – IOT; Rev. Fr. Alexander Lobo, Principal, St. John’s College; Prof. J Philip, Chairman, XIME Bangalore; and Dr J Alexander, IAS (Retd.), Chairman, XIME Kochi. The event started with the prayer song and ceremonial lighting of the lamp.

The first keynote address was delivered by Dr. Devi Shetty, Chairman, Narayana Healthcare. He emphasised on the importance of technology in the field of medicine. He talked about the Electronic Health Record System which is the key technological advancement as well as hindrance for the US healthcare system. The second keynote speaker was delivered by Prof. Mukesh Kapila, Professor of Global Health and Humanitarian Affairs at University of the Manchester and Former Director, WHO; who spoke on the “Non-communicable diseases-why business as usual won’t do?” He explained and urged the audience to Demystify, Democratize and De-medicalize the healthcare sector with new entrepreneurial ideas and conscious efforts.

Three leading hospitals from the country were invited to showcase their innovations in Healthcare Delivery Models. Dr. Ajaikumar, Chairman & CEO, HCG Ltd, talked about the value-based healthcare delivery in non-communicable diseases such as cancer and how it can be achieved. Dr. Shakti Gupta, Medical Superintendent, AIIMS, talked about the importance of governance structure and growth of AIIMS across the years. He talked about a research conducted on the understanding of the demographics of patients visiting AIIMS which gave an insight as to where the healthcare industry should focus and who their target consumers are. Dr. Naveen Thomas, CEO, Bangalore Baptist Hospital talked on the development and various initiatives which the hospital undertakes in collaboration with international bodies to achieve better rural healthcare delivery.

Afternoon session talked about the facets of Law, Ethics and Communication in Healthcare. Dr. George Cheriyan, CEO, American Medical Hospital, Bahrain told the audience that around 4,00,000 deaths occur in a year because doctors don’t follow necessary hygiene protocols. Prof. Sadhvi C. Kanth from National Law School, deliberated on how medical law came into existence and also about the various aspects of the medical jurisprudence. Dr. Alexander Thomas, President AHPI talked about the importance of communication in the medical field, and elaborated on the adverse consequences when communication fails. Dr. Murali Srinivasan, Chief of Clinical service, Manipal Hospital talked about the importance of physician engagement and the various innovative ways of patient engagement in a healthcare system. In the next session, Dr. Jaume Ribera, Director, Centre for Research in Health Innovation Management, Spain, discussed on the theme of ‘Future Trends in Healthcare: Impact on the roles of Health providers and managers’. He showcased a study on “Hospitals of the future”, involving two leading European Public Hospitals. 

Day one concluded with the session where three Healthcare start-ups showcased their innovations in Healthcare. Mr. Milind Naik, CEO, Chitsak, discussed about their innovative, low cost, comprehensive assessment of Non-Communicable Diseases, which can in 10 minutes asses over 20 health indicators. He highlighted how this can become a diagnostic tool for the masses in rural settings. Mr. Ashim Roy, Co-Founder & CEO, Cardio Track showcased their innovation in Cardio diagnostic and how it could be a game changer in the diagnosis of cardio vascular diseases. Ms. Chitra Rajakuberan, Content & Publishing Lead, Tacit Key, showcased their knowledge.

Day two began with deliberations on managing innovation in healthcare. The first speaker of this session was Prof. Magda Rosenmoller, Centre for Research in Health Innovation and Management, ICSE Business School, Spain. The speaker talked about the operational excellence framework and the objective of the healthcare sector including knowledge and patient experience. She shared her insights from Europe, South American and other settings she has been working over the last few decades. The second speaker was Ms. Vera Siesjö, Country Director-Access Health International, Philippines. She talked about the various innovative multi stakeholder initiatives undertaken by her organization to increase access to quality healthcare for the masses.

Conference with an aim of showcasing business model innovation required to reach the masses, had planned a session on Compassionate Healthcare Models. Dr. G Chandra Sekhar, Vice Chairman, L V Prasad Eye Institute and Dr. Ashish Katewa, Director, Sri Satya Sai Sanjeevani Hospitals, Raipur showcased how they have altered their business model to be able to deliver high quality medical services to the poor at low or no cost. The next topic of conference was ‘Enablers of Good Practices in IT, BT, QC and AI in healthcare’. Mr. Suraj Kumar, Head Business Area, Diagnostic imaging of Healthcare, Siemens started his speech by focusing on the applications of technology for enablement of quality healthcare. He spoke about the three major reasons for digitizing healthcare: Improving patient experience, expanding precision medicine and transforming care
delivery, which would enable a smooth transition towards digitizing healthcare when paired in harmony. Ms. Nidhi Mathur, COO of Niramai Health Analytix Pvt. Ltd. deliberated on the critical issue plaguing our women, i.e. low detection rates for early detection of Breast cancer in India. Mr. Guru Prasad S, General Manager of the Healthcare division of Bosch, India started with an overview about the healthcare Industry of India by talking about the paradigm shift due to the technology disruption, contribution of the healthcare sector towards GDP, rising healthcare investments and increasing public - private partnerships. 

Dr. Rajeev Ahuja, development economist, who was formerly associated with Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation and World Bank, spoke about Evolution of Healthcare policy in the country with critical insights on the New Healthcare Insurance Policy of the current government. He pointed out the importance of the successful cooperation of private, public healthcare organizations and insurance companies to develop healthcare frameworks that will help all sections of the people fairly. Dr. Rajeev concluded that it is difficult to narrow down to one healthcare model and instead the models should be tweaked according to the needs of the people. Ms. Latesh Sen, GM, Costing and Business Analysis, Radiant Healthcare Pvt. Ltd, spoke about Activity Based Costing and features of affordable Healthcare. Dr. Sarang Deo, Executive Director, Max Institute of Healthcare Management, spoke about the Operational Innovations for Hospitals of the future. He brought about the importance of digital technology in improving healthcare accessibility in a cost-effective manner. Mr. Sandeep KM, GM, Sales and Marketing, Sakra World Hospital, spoke about Ideal Hospitals of the future. He deliberated on the changing landscape of hospitals and highlighted the key points of differentiations for the future hospitals.

Two distinguished dignitaries addressed the audience during the Valedictory Session of the International Healthcare Conference. Mr. Rajendra Pratap Gupta, who is currently the Advisor to the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, first addressed the audience. He spoke in detail regarding the Roadmap to Implement the New Healthcare Policy 2017. He was in the team of policy makers and spoke to the audience about the process of policy drafting along with the implementation of the same. He explained how the new policy revolved around one motto: ‘Healthcare for all’. Dr. Thuppil Venkatesh, who is currently the Professor Emeritus at St. John's Medical College, Bangalore spoke on ‘Building Excellence in Healthcare Management’ and emphasised with the help of various case studies. This was followed by a Q&A session where delegates asked extremely insightful questions. The session ended with the Vote of Thanks and the Prayer Song sung by the students of XIME.