Healthcare set to boom on growing consumer awareness

NEW DELHI: Preventive healthcare industry is looking at robust future, thanks to growing awareness and desire among consumers to live healthy. Already, routine health check-ups are on the rise, across hospitals and local clinics. According to a recent CII-McKinsey study, the domestic healthcare market is expected to grow significantly and its contribution to GDP will touch 8.5 per cent over the next ten years, up from 5.2 per cent at present.
And, this figure does not include contribution from the pharmaceutical industry to GDP.The study predicts that spending on healthcare will more than double to Rs 2,00,000 crore from Rs 86,000 crore at present. In the US, healthcare already accounts for 13.7 per cent of GDP, more than the IT industry. ‘‘Today the buzzword is wellness, from the earlier idea of getting cured from illness.
This has created a huge growth potential for the consumer healthcare industry,’’ says Ratan Jalan, CEO, Apollo Health and Lifestyle. Adds Vidur Kaushik, CEO, SRL-Ranbaxy, ‘‘The stress and demands of professional life have led to a realisation among people about constant monitoring for well-being.’’ The result: Consumers increasingly prefer regular health check-ups as a precaution against cardiac arrests, diabetes, cancer and metabolic disorders. However, according to experts, the only factor that could curtail the growth of this industry is affordability. A large number of people among the middle class feel that these check-ups are costly. But Kaushik argues: ‘‘People are realising that hospital treatment cost for such diseases is much higher than the prevention cost.’’ Industry experts believe that the government can help the vast majority by helping cut costs, particularly lowering import duties on equipment.
Import duties on certain equipment (primarily related to heart problems) is about 60 per cent (40 per cent basic plus 4 per cent SAD and 16 per cent CVD). It is only in case of check-ups and tests of HIV-AIDS, diagnostic equipment is exempted from the duty. The study projects that over time people will end up spending less on treatments of emerging lifestyle diseases like (cardiac), (though it will grow in absolute terms) and more on preventing them through routine check-ups. All this is expected to have a positive impact on the growth of private investments in the preventive healthcare industry. The study suggests that there is a strong need for greater government-private cooperation.
The areas that need urgent attention to evolve a dependable set of rules for the nascent industry are: Creation and adoption of accredition standards, promotion of health insurance and collaboration with the private sector on policy issues.