India’s medical device industry urges the country to prepare for medtech

Omar Ishrak, Medtronic’s new chairman and CEO, has big plans for India. He recently told MedCity News that he considered it the ’biggest hole’ in Medtronic’s global operations. The company plans to build an research and development center in India.

India’s medical device industry itself already knows the opportunity that awaits. And leaders there are urging the country to streamline its health system to accommodate medical technology by focusing on solutions for three areas that could hinder the growth of the industry.

St. Jude Medical county manager Kaustav Banerjee recently said the three barriers to medtech success in India are high costs, a lack of access geographically, and a lack of awareness of the latest technologies. St. Jude is also keen to cash in on India and the rest of Asia. It has opened technology training facilities in China and Malaysia and has another planned for Japan.

India’s healthcare system is largely based on patient pay, and high costs limit accessibility of medical devices for many patients. Banerjee believes that the government and medical industry should work together to reduce the cost of healthcare, something that is already beginning to take place as the government improves reimbursement for low-income patients, in addition to an increase in awareness of private health insurance.

Lack of geographic access to medical care in certain areas of India is also a barrier. Distance to medical care facilities, lack of usable roads in certain remote location and limited transportation can all serve as a hindrance. This barrier to access can be addressed by making improvements to health infrastructure in smaller cities.

Finally, lack of awareness of potential solutions to various medical problems is an access barrier, one which is being addressed by the medical devices industry itself.

’To help with the awareness-related barriers, we are working towards creating awareness through our structured education curriculum,’ Banerjee told Pharmabiz.com in a story published Tuesday. ’We aim to educate referral physicians about the symptoms and potential treatment options for cardiac problems such as arrhythmia, heart failure, sudden cardiac arrest, heart valve repair and replacements, etc.’