Nov 23 2024 to Nov 23 2024 6 p.m.

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

Indian healthcare is at a critical crossroads.

There has been significant improvement in the control of morbidity due to communicable diseases. On the other hand, non-communicable diseases have become a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Simple community based interventions like sanitation, clean water supply, vector eradication and vaccination under nationwide program initiatives helped control communicable diseases. Similar strategies do not exist for non-communicable diseases, where the prevailing paradigm is the reactive use of expensive curative services. To some extent, the burden on patients who paid for such services out of pocket has been reduced by increase in capacity and supply of curative services under schemes like Ayushman Bharat.

However, in a system where providers control the levers of consumption, for-profit providers are incentivized to artificially stoke consumption until demand once again catches up with supply, setting up a vicious spiral of inflation in healthcare costs. Scaling up such a supply led healthcare system, in order to make healthcare universally accessible, is a recipe for unsustainable increases in healthcare costs.

The book Mission Possible takes a hard look at the realities of Indian healthcare and provides a way out of the unsustainable trajectory it finds itself in. Instead of considering the pieces of healthcare in isolation, it promotes a systemwide analysis of the problems. Based on their analysis, the authors have not hesitated to propose radical structural changes in the current system, while providing commentary on why these changes are necessary and how they could be realized.

A panel discussion with the authors Swami Subramaniam and Aparajithan Srivathsan along with Meena Ganesh (Founder, Portea), Ashok Vellodi (Physician) and Arvind Kasturi (Professor, Community Health, St Johns Medical College) will be followed by a Q&A Session.

Tea/ Coffee will be served from 5:30pm onwards.

In collaboration with the UHC Dialogues

Speakers
Meena Ganesh
Founder, Portea Medical

Meena is the Co-founder & Chairperson of Portea Medical, India’s leading home healthcare company with over 3,000 employees across 20+ cities, providing a full range of in-home geriatric, chronic, and post-operative care. She is also a partner at Growthstory.in and co-promoter of start-ups like Bigbasket, Bluestone, HomeLane, and Verloop.io.

With a career spanning companies like TutorVista, Pearson, Tesco, and Microsoft, Meena holds a PGDM from IIM Calcutta and a Physics degree from Madras University. She serves on the boards of Pfizer India, Hitachi Energy, and Axis Bank, where she chairs the NRC and is a member of several committees. She also founded the Home Healthcare Association and the non-profit Bahaar Foundation, supporting micro-entrepreneurs in healthcare and agriculture.

Recognised by Forbes Asia’s 50 Over 50 (2022) and Fortune India’s Most Powerful Women in Business (2015-2021), Meena has received multiple awards, including the ET Start-up Award in 2016 and the Kempegowda Award from BBMP.
Ashok Vellodi
Physician

Dr Ashok Vellodi is a pediatrician. He completed his MBBS from the Armed Forces Medical College in Pune, and his MD in paediatrics from AIIMS Delhi. He moved to the UK in 1979 and has lived there since, retiring from the NHS in 2016. He has published over 100 papers in peer-review journals. For over 30 years, he has been working with colleagues, support groups, and families all over India, conducting clinics and CMEs. Recently he has become interested in the health of the tribal communities of India, particularly the effects of climate change. In January 2024 he organized a webinar on the effects of the Anthropocene on the tribals of the Western Ghats and two webinars on malnutrition in tribal children.
Arvind Kasturi
Professor, Community Health, St Johns Medical College

Dr. Arvind Kasthuri serves as the Chief of Medical Services, Professor of Community Medicine, and Mentor for the Senior Citizen Health Service (SCHS) at St John’s Medical College & Hospital in Bangalore, India. His work focuses on advancing healthcare for the elderly and bridging the gaps in geriatric care through institutional and community services.

In 2005, Dr. Kasthuri founded the Senior Citizen Health Service, which provides essential services like rural geriatric clinics, village senior centers, and home health care for individuals above 60. His efforts extend to numerous states, including Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Jharkhand, where he has contributed as a trainer, evaluator, and resource person for community health programs.

A dedicated educator, Dr. Kasthuri has won the “Teacher of the Year” award at St John’s four times. The SCHS was honored with the Vayoshreshtha Samman by the Government of India in 2021 for its impact on elderly care. Currently, he is leading the establishment of the St John’s Geriatric Centre, a 150-bed facility dedicated to elder care, training, research, and community services.
Swami Subramaniam
Physician Scientist

Swami Subramaniam is a physician scientist who spent most of his career in the biopharmaceutical industry. He co-founded Aurigene Discovery Technologies, headed business development for a Danish biotech, and spent several years in in R&D in Merck (MSD) and Abbott Nutrition.

He currently heads Ignite Life Science Foundation, a science philanthropy with the mission of “Making Science Work for India”. He is the author of two books – Mastering Sleep, the science behind sleeping well and Healing Hands – the biography of a plastic surgeon who set up the worlds largest hand injury service at a Government hospital in Chennai.
Aparajithan Srivathsan
Hospital Strategist

Over the past three decades, Srivathsan has built world-class solutions for India’s healthcare needs with a ringside view of private healthcare, health insurance, and health-tech. He is a hospital strategist and health systems tinkerer. He believes in the ability of technology to democratize access to healthcare and the need for tech-enabled frontline community health workers to take healthcare into the community. He believes in the promise of India as a hub for global medicine and an innovator of solutions that can be applied to healthcare globally.