Medical device sector has urged the government to urgently focus on the three major access barrier issues in the country which are currently hindering the growth of the industry. The industry strongly feels that this is the only way to address the issues relating to undiagnosed and untreated patients with various heart ailment in the country.
The three main access barriers that are affecting the industry today are high expenditure or cost related barriers, geographic access and lack of awareness about the latest technologies.
Kaustav Banerjee, country manager, St Jude Medical pointed out that these access barriers are not only affecting the industry in general but also putting the patients at risk as they end up suffering in the end due to lack of availability of affordable health care.
Explaining further he informed, “Medical technologies are relatively new concept in India, but are gaining momentum significantly. The regulatory environment is in its formative stage and the Indian regulators are helping to set up an environment which encourages patient safety above all. However, there are still some gray areas that need to be highlighted. As of now there is an urgent need to focus on affordability as high cost is a major issue to reckon with. There is also lack of awareness amongst patients about the needs to be addressed along with problems related to accessibility or geographic access barriers.”
He informed that though the affordability related access barrier is gradually changing with governments initiative in improving the reimbursement for the underprivileged and also because there is a growing awareness on private health insurances. Banerjee pointed out that the issue of affordability is something which the government and the industry should work together with. He said, “Both the government and the industry should synergise with each other so that it will help in the development of technologies that help to better manage chronic illness and ultimately reduce the cost of healthcare.”
Further he suggested that the geographic access barrier can also be addressed gradually with the improvement in health infrastructure in tier II and tier III cities. “To help with the awareness-related barriers, we are working towards creating awareness through our structured education curriculum. We aim to educate referral physicians about the symptoms and potential treatment options for cardiac problems such as arrhythmia, heart failure, sudden cardiac arrest, heart valve repair and replacements etc.,” Banerjee added.
He stated that St Jude will always support the government in its initiatives that is aimed at improving quality standards of medical technologies that are being marketed in India as such measures will serve to enhance patient safety in the country.
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