Vitamin I for Healthcare

JAIPUR, INDIA: An interview with Vishnu Gupta, Director and CIO, Jana Core Health Solutions India Pvt Ltd. gives us a quick diagnosis of what is happening right with IT in the industry as he distills his observations and experiences from the sector.

Share some highlights from your industry and organization with IT’s progress this year?

There is a challenge of adoption of new technology as per industry growth. This year hopefully outlook should be better in financial contours and we expect IT to gain in tandem. Lot of vigor though is expected in healthcare industry as a whole, specially with government impetus and attention to progress.

So the sector is more IT-savvy than before?

Yes, healthcare is in a vibrancy phase and with so many government scheme and policies around, a lot is bound to change.

Speaking of government thrust, US’ penchant for EHRs (Electronic Health Records) and then Obamacare as a wave has changed the connotations of IT in this space. Or not?

Yes, people have started thinking of EHRs in a new way. In India, the progress that way is still in silos but people are thinking of applying IT’s potential in a collaborative sense. Here, we have seen many small ideas getting incubated fuelled by VCs. It seems that healthcare itself is very IT-centric industry given all the equipments and processor-power underneath. Infrastructure —lag notwithstanding, I can confidently say that the sector is in good shape.

IT can help fill some gaps now?

Using IT can definitely address some gaps, and can do wonders with examples like Telemedicine. My project tries to solve logistics part of healthcare issues. The beauty is that consumers have started demanding technology answers in this sector.

Does that mean that user-demand can be a bigger catalyst than compliance for this sector?

Yes, and that’s an interesting change, despite compliance being a factor. The level of standards and records is changing. Consumers are savvy and are open and eager for contemporary answers for their healthcare needs.

What’s the latest in technology that you feel can be put to use?

I am excited about wearable technology as it can facilitate immediate records, instant results to patients and lot of information pace that is critical in this industry.