CHENNAI: Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group, said the notion that healthcare is only available to a few will change as indicated in the Union Budget on Wednesday. He said this at a symposium on interstitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension and lung transplantation on Saturday.
The symposium was organised to provide a core knowledge exchange platform for distinguished cardiologists and pulmonologists from around the world to highlight the latest advancements and updates in the field of heart and lungs diseases.
“The usual comment that only one section of the population is receiving good healthcare probably will not be true in the next year as we have seen in the Budget,” said Reddy. “Government has announced 500 million.”
The Centre has announced the world’s largest public health programme when it spoke of providing a health insurance cover of up to Rs 5 lakh to 100 million poor families, the benefits of which are expected to be spread over to 500 million citizens.
Reddy further said that the healthcare industry was bullish on the Budget primarily on two fronts - the government’s intent and the industry’s capability.
“The healthcare industry is happy in two ways,” explained Reddy. “We (the healthcare industry) are able to do anything as we are well trained. Also, the government has an intention to provide healthcare to the rural population and those living in remote areas. And these people deserve good healthcare as much as anyone else.”
Inaugurating the one-day symposium, Dr. Reddy stressed the importance of scientific advancement in medicine and healthcare.
“The need of the hour is to have a robust scientific approach to identifying the challenges prevalent in India in dealing with the patients afflicted with cardiac and Interstitial Lung Disease,” he said, adding: “This collaborative effort by Society for Advanced Heart and Lung Disease and Apollo Hospitals will be a step towards creating a permanent solution to the increased ILD cases in our country.”