CERRITOS CA – Southern California Pan IIT Alumni Association along with The Indus Entrepreneurs TiE SoCal held a Healthcare Forum primarily aimed at lifting the veil from President Obama’s healthcare reform. The highlight of the event was an enlightening talk by Dr. Ananth Director of IIT Madras on the role of engineering & technology in healthcare.
Arun Kiri Events VP SoCal Pan IIT Alumni Association threw the event open by welcoming the attendees and introducing President of the SoCal Pan IIT Alumni Association Smita Bagla who also acted as Moderator for the panel dealing with ‘ Demystifying Obama’s Healthcare Reforms.” An IIT Kanpur Alumnus Bagla is Sr. Advisor Amritt Inc. Panelists Bhoopi Kohli President at Financia Inc Sajid Sindha Director Special Projects DaVita Shankar Rao VP United HealthCare and Mimi Grant President Adaptive business Leaders Organization made a sincere attempt to crack the code but at the end of the day it was clear that a lot of what the reform entails will only be realized once it actually takes off in 2014.
The discussion focused on flushing out the details problems in implementation the costs gaps in the system role of technology in the new system the legal aspects and future trends in healthcare.
Attendees were informed that some of the provisions had already come into effect as of Sept. 23. As of now insurers would be forbidden from placing lifetime dollar limits on policies and from denying coverage to children because of pre-existing medical problems. Parents would be able to keep older kids on their policies up to age 26.
Kohli emphasized that ironically the amount spend in lobbying could take care of healthcare needs for all. Health reforms in California started 18 years ago so California does not face the same problems faced by other states. The problems in implementing the reforms he said were money gaps in the system and an aging population. Gaps in the system arose as there was a disconnect between the provider receiver and payer of care.
Shankar Rao highlighted the huge cost implications of covering millions of uninsured. Healthcare differs from state to state. The diversity of marketplace and diversity of players makes it a very difficulty system to comprehend. This will also impact the manner in which the reforms will play out. Insurance companies want status quo to remain and are resisting implementation of the new policy. But the reforms will broaden the market with 32 million new customers of which 25 million will come from the Midicaid marketplace. Individual and employer mandate will be the source of insurance. Insurance exchanges will provide a transparent marketplace. Coverage will improve with 27 to 37 percent more healthcare benefits. To cut costs he suggested decrease in spending on ‘evidence based medicine’ like mamograms colonoscopies and rather become accountable care organizations who add value rather than become extinct.
Sajid Sindha dealt with Electronic Health Records EHR which houses information on patients medical records insurance billing among others.
The EHR segment in very crowded with many players. Software providers Service providers Value Added partners and Clinical users are all involved in EHR. At present there are roughly 300 EHR companies in the market which is 1 to 2 billion growing at a 15 percent rate. With implementation of the reforms 50 to 100 K new jobs will be created in this segment. The switch over to EHR will be done through a system of tax bonuses and penalties. If implemented by 2014 medical practitioners will gain 44000 tax bonuses.
Mimi Grant spoke on the legal aspect of the reforms and the Medical Laws Ratios. She said consultants and lawyers are really gaining a lot of this!
Director of IIT Madras Dr. Ananth set the mood for the second panel discussion on role of Engineering and Technology in Healthcare. He focused on the strides made by IIT Madras in education and research highlighting the setting up of the IITM Research Park built on 12 acres close to the campus. Education and research to be truly profitable should bring together ‘unlike minds’ from different cultures and disciplines rather than just ‘brilliant minds’ he emphasized.
The research park is yet to be inaugurated and consists of a cross section of 35 companies 18 of which are already working. They work on a credit system to ensure that interaction with IIT-M takes place constantly. IIT – M has made strides in healthcare technology examples of which are medical devices like the Diabetic Foot. Telemedicine has also been developed which helps in reaching out and remotely monitoring healthcare of rural populations. Cost effective medicine is another big area where contributions have been made.
Ananth underscored the fact that research funding in India is improving and in fact is “ very good.” Possibilities are many but use and practicality should be given priority rather than just mere ‘originality’. Despite all this engineering and healthcare have a long way to go in India.
The second panel was moderated by Anurag Bist CEO Ashmar. The panelists Santosh Kookal Strategic Marketing Director St Jude Medical Dr. Subbu Murthy President Time Warper Inc Dr. Pushkar Hingwe Senior Manager Algorithms Intuitive Surgical Inc. and France Helfer CEO Epicardial Technologies Inc discussed a wide range of topics related to the strides made by technology in healthcare and the future of technology in healthcare. From endoscopes in the 1980s which allowed for minimal invasive surgery to the more sophisticated robotic surgeries of the present day technology is breaking new ground in healthcare. Cost investment and ethical issues were also discussed.
Panelists opined that technology aimed at early diagnosis and prevention would greatly improve the quality of life. Technology can help in semantic modeling and predictive analysis where physicians can do more for the consumers. When physicians are behind engineering the technology it is truly beneficial. Technology should be intuitive and user sensitive.
Varun Uttamchandani TiE SoCal Executive Director made a pitch for the upcoming TiECon 2010 on October 16 which will discuss Prospering in the new Decade.”
