India can lead healthcare industry: Dr Devi Shetty

BANGALORE: Come 2016, India will perform the largest number of procedures on the human body in a year, outdoing all other countries. This is Dr Devi Shetty's thought on the healthcare scenario in India six years from now.
Addressing cardiac surgeons at an international conference on thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, Narayana Helath City chairman Dr Shetty said: "At present, America is the leading country in the number of procedures.In six years from now, we will do twice what they do now."
In ten years, millions of people in India's slums may not have water to drink or proper shelter, but they will have access to high-tech medical care, he added. "The seed is already sown. What we need are technical skills. We produce 32,000 doctors every year, compared to 15,000 in the US. Karnataka alone has more nursing schools than the whole of US. We have the potential to grow," he asserted.
Hpwever, the one missing link is lack of affordability. This is where the government has to come in. Citing the success of micro health insurance programme Yashasvini, Shetty said: "The government should become a health insurance provider rather than a healthcare provider. India is the best place to start this programme because of the awareness among youth."
US has a trillion dollar helathcare industry. "They will need professionals and most of them will come from India. This is an opportunity for us," Dr Shetty added.