🚑 Fixing Healthcare One Startup At A Time
Our healthcare industry currently has too many problems. But can startups solve these issues?
"Health is Wealth."
But you can’t really be healthy if you don’t have wealth.
Yes, in a country where 55 million people in 2017 (more than the population of South Korea) were forced into poverty because of medical expenses, healthcare is a luxury instead of a necessity.
And this is not the only problem that the Indian healthcare industry is facing.
Lack of Access
23% of the Indian population cannot afford healthcare costs.
But the sad part is even those who can afford it, cannot access good healthcare.
Only 37% of the Indian population residing in rural areas can access in-patient hospital facilities.
Umm, why?
Probably because India spends only 2.1% of its GDP on healthcare services. In comparison, a country like the UK spends 12.8% of its GDP on healthcare.
So, access to hospitals is limited.Â
And the number of doctors in these hospitals is further limited.
Yes, despite the fact that every second child you knew wanted to be a doctor, very few actually manage to achieve this dream.
We only have 0.7 doctors per 1,000 people, instead of the WHO average of 2.5 doctors per 1,000.Â
If we managed to increase even one primary care physician per 10,000 people, we would be able to reduce patients' death rate by 5.3%!
But how can we do this with limited resources?
Well, as usual, startups have come to our rescue.
Are Startups Our Saviours?
While these startups cannot increase the number of doctors we have, they can increase their reach through telemedicine.
Yeah, doctors cannot really work from home but they can still reach your homes via telemedicine for consultations thanks to startups like Practo, iCliniq, and mFine.
mFine even allows you to book tests and order medicines from its platform. Basically, it works exactly like a small hospital that lives on your phone.
And that's not all. Tele-ICU startups like SpringerHealth and Cloudphysician are also helping doctors monitor more ICU patients remotely.
On average, a doctor can monitor 10-12 ICU patients. But thanks to telemedicine, they can now monitor 60-80 patients at the same time.
Telemedicine has gained popularity during Covid, but more and more people are realising that this could be the forever solution to address the lack of healthcare accessibility.Â
This is why this sector is growing at a CAGR of 39.6% and is set to be worth $10.6 billion by 2025.
Plus, the low costs of telemedicine could help Indians save $10 billion by 2025.
And with big-tech companies like Google developing tech that could diagnose diseases with just an image and turn your phone into a stethoscope, telemedicine has a very bright future.
But for certain diseases, you do need a physical checkup.
This is where startups like Zoctr come in. Zoctr allows you to book doctors’ appointments, order medical equipment, hire caregivers for at-home care, all from one platform.
And for those who have to go to the hospital for serious stuff like surgeries but don't want to spend a lot of time there, you have startups like Critical Care Unified.
Critical Care Unified provides patients with equipment and caregivers that can take care of patients who need monitoring after surgery or such treatments. Keeping these patients in the hospital for continued treatment is often very expensive and stressful for families.
CCU helps cut such extra costs and a lot of hassle for the patient and their families.
These are just a few startups making a difference in the healthcare world.
There are many others that are trying to solve literally any healthcare problem that you have.
However, no system is without flaws. And when it comes to health, even minor flaws can cause major problems.
For instance, in the telehealth industry, problems like patient data leaks, misdiagnosis, and miscommunication could lead to serious issues.
Do you remember Theranos? Yes, the US company made false claims of revolutionising blood testing technology and threatened the lives of its customers (you can read all about it here).
And this sector is as of now not fully regulated. So, the government needs to step in and create more regulations that can monitor this industry and help it grow further.
What are your thoughts about healthcare startups? Do you think they can solve our healthcare woes or should the government take more responsibility? Let us know!
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