A revolution in the treatment and diagnosis of disease in India

The year 2020 has been a year unlike any other year in our history. It has impacted the fabric of our society and life – but most importantly it has changed the healthcare industry forever. The healthcare sector suffered a major financial setback along with all other sectors during the unprecedented crisis last year and drastic efforts need to be made to revive it.

Its clear that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital health and virtual care around the globe, and this will be seen through this decade. Healthcare providers will be seen embracing technology as never seen before.

IoT has opened up a huge world of possibilities in medicine: when connected to the internet, ordinary medical devices can collect invaluable additional data, give extra insight into symptoms and trends, enable remote care, and generally give patients more control over their lives and treatment.

The healthcare sector’s role in providing care and relief to people in such tough times cannot be discounted. Preventive health and wellness have never been so meaningful than the current times when building immunity against diseases is most imperative.

Dr Dangs Lab has introduced several smart health checks, from basic to comprehensive, including inflammatory markers and make digital reports available the same day.

We have imbued innovation by setting up India’s first ever successful COVID-19 drive through centre for RT-PCR sampling with minimum interaction and maximum safety. Friendly staff to greet the anxious patients, QR codes for instant feedback are some of the unique features of this facility.

Effective infection control is the need of the hour and prevention of cross infections will remain topmost priority as we service our walk-in or home collection patients. Ours is a fourth generation state-of-the-art technology fully automated robotic lab to provide accurate and reliable results as per 15189 international standards. We stay committed to further innovations keeping quality and patient centricity in mind this year.

The COVID crisis exposed a glaring gap in terms of our dependence on imports of COVID vaccines but Indian scientists worked hard, proved themselves to be their best and made indigenous vaccine, saving on huge foreign currency. However, by the end of the year we also realized that a crisis is actually the mother of innovations, when many Indian manufacturers came forward and managed to manufacture ventilators at very low costs. Giving us the hope that many other advanced medical equipment like MRI machines, CT scanners, ultrasound machines, dialysis machines, and so on can also be manufactured locally. The expectation therefore from the government will be to encourage public private partnerships with a clear roadmap to manufacture all medical tools and equipment in India in the next few years.

India’s healthtech market is estimated to reach USD 21 billion in 2025 on the back of telemedicine and preventive healthcare growth.
In summary, Indian healthcare sector will experience a major shift in many aspects and moving towards digital solutions, preventive care, enhanced awareness, utilization of advanced technologies such as digital pathology and molecular diagnostics, shift from doctor centric to patient centric care in an environment where there is an enhanced awareness about health. It is important to note that accessible, accurate and affordable care will reach to a larger segment of the Indian population. The key stakeholders including government, healthcare providers, and the industry will play a crucial role.