4 Key highlights from the healthcare panel at TechSparks 2021
India’s healthcare system found itself under the spotlight during the pandemic. Technology emerged as a key factor in elevating the sector, with many entrepreneurs leveraging new-age technologies to make a difference.
To deep-dive into the sector and understand what today’s healthtech entrepreneurs have to say, TechSparks 2021 saw a panel discussion on ‘Tech save: Merging healthcare with innovation for rapid growth’, powered by SAP. Leaders like Geetha Manjunath, Founder and CEO, ; Anu Acharya, Founder, ; Vishal Gondal, Founder and CEO, ; Gaurav Agarwal, Co-founder, ; Sunil Thakur, Partner, Quadria Capital and a SAP spokesperson were all part of the event.
Here are the key highlights:
Digital is the future for the sector
All panellists agreed that today technology is ruling the sector, with Gaurav pointing out that the digital adoption happened overnight. Quadria’s Sunil explained that the government's push towards digitisation and commercial compulsions have led to more investments in technology. Echoing similar sentiments, Niramai’s Geetha felt that digital transformation is critical to the sector. “I feel technology-enabled healthcare with some of these smart systems can actually bridge the gap between the rural and urban ecosystems,” she added.
Rise of preventive healthcare
Both Vishal and Anu felt that preventive healthcare as a segment is seeing a tremendous rise. “We are seeing a change over the last one and a half years with new technologies, like genomics," Anu said. Vishal added that the pandemic made people think about their own protection. “I think whether it is data analytics, wearables, or online platforms like 1mg or even genomic information, customers want it all to protect themselves,” he explained.
Innovations transforming healthcare
While India’s healthcare sector undergoes changes thanks to constant technological innovations, the panellists discussed what their ventures aim to solve. Anu explained that Mapmygenome has been able to provide customers with integrated services that allow them to get value from personalisation of not just the genomic data, but also integration of other data. Gaurav added that while 1mg started out with pharmacy solutions, they are progressively bringing in more and more outpatient care services. Niramai leverages Thermalytix, an intelligent computer-aided diagnostic tool that helps detect cancer. And Vishal spoke about how GOQii is creating an impact through gamification. He said, “We created an entire rewards ecosystem called GOQii Cash, where you’ve literally mined this cash by becoming healthier.”
Technology adoption in the future
Technology will continue to play a critical role in enabling better healthcare for rural India, as per SAP’s spokesperson. He said, “We will see a lot of cost optimization drives, whether that happens to group procurement, to technology enabled procurement, rationalisation companies, or it happens to aggregators like 1mg, but we will see a lot of cost rationalisation that happens beyond the large hospital chains.” Adding to that, Sunil says that investors are looking at various new models in the sector such as workflow management model, AI model, data analytics and clinical intelligence.
To watch the entire discussion, click here - Techsparks - Navigate The New. The video has been recorded and it is available to view on-demand.
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