Budget 2018-19 should drive preventive healthcare

As they say, prevention is better than cure. And this saying is literally true so far as the healthcare industry is concerned.

As Arindam Haldar, CEO, SRL Diagnostics says, the healthcare industry has high hopes from the Union Budget 2018-19. Just exemption from GST would not suffice to address all the issues of the industry, he feels.

Speaking specifically from the perspectives of the diagnostics industry, Mr Haldar has additional suggestions for the benefit of the segment as a whole, which the government could consider while formulating the Union Budget for fiscal year 2018-19.

Set up an autonomous body to regulate services : Diagnostic laboratories that throw up fake reports or provide misguided results cost not only money but take a toll on public faith as well.

The government is in the process of standardizing the diagnostics sector. So far, it has met only partial success only 1 % of the diagnostic laboratories have been accredited so far. If it can budget to set up an autonomous body to regulate the quality of diagnostic services as a whole, much more can be accomplished.

Build better primary healthcare centers :  By allocating funds in the budget to achieve this goal the government can help kill two birds with 1 stone. Firstly, the present burden on the secondary and tertiary health clinics gets reduced. Secondly by driving awareness programs through these primary healthcare centers, diseases can be detected and tackled early thereby driving down costs as well.

Invest in the diagnostics industry to focus on early diagnosis : With an early diagnosis in hand, the industry can boost up productivity and eliminate the need for tertiary treatment itself.

Have sounder health insurance policies :  Non communicable diseases are responsible for more than 50% of all deaths in India. Ye the health insurance policies cover only invasive procedures like surgeries and in patient care. If the schemes can be tweaked to cover both outpatient care and pre-existing diseases as well, a more comprehensive & affordable health insurance coverage can be provided.