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Health insurance must common amid a Covid slide to help India overcome a poor global ranking in patient safety, said KIMSHEALTH Chairman and Managing Director, MI Sahadulla.
Even while improving its personalised health index, the country ranks 66th in the world rankings on patient safety, the 2002-founded multi-specialty hospital group’s chief pointed out, stressing on the need for people to go in for medical cover in a big way.
“We would splurge on luxuries such as cars, mansions and jewellery, but would refrain from investing some ₹15,000 a year on annual family health insurance,” Sahadulla noted, ahead of a two-day international conference by the Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organisations.
Kochi will host the 6th international Conference of Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organisations (CAHOCON 2022) between April 2 and 3, with focus on ‘Building a Culture of Safety in Healthcare’. “We need to create better public awareness on medical cover as a necessity,” he said.
Ill-effects of the pandemic
Sahadulla, who is also the Chairman of the CAHOCON-organising committee, said health cover has become essential in today’s world, which is recovering from the ill-effects of the pandemic. “The Coronavirus has taught us the need to become conscious of the pitfalls in medical care,” he noted. “Healthcare delivery was never perfect even in advanced countries, but Covid-19 has underscored the vitality of guarding against health risks.”
Besides low awareness, healthcare suffers from an under-reporting of medical errors and insufficient training for the hospital staff, he said. India, unlike the West, is not equipped with strong statistics that can enable the country go for a futuristic healthcare policy.
Hospitals should refrain from making doctors with just an MD as their consultants, he said, emphasising on job experience and excellence besides good communication skills. “In the new age, hospitals must go for automation so as to minimise medical errors.” Exemplary infrastructure, too, is a prerequisite to patient safety in a hospital, he added.
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