Genomics can help drive cutting-edge innovation in the sphere of healthcare, Microsoft India president Anant Maheshwari said while speaking at the 9th International Conference on Transforming Healthcare with IT on Friday.
“We have to pivot harder to think about prevention, prediction, accessibility and affordability. All at the same time. These cannot be individual pieces that work in different directions. Microsoft Premonition is robotics and genomics coming together where you can look for pathogens, for signals in the environment to identify if there is disease around and whether it can be communicated. Genomics will help apply solutions and prevent the spread of disease,” he said.
Touching upon the organisation’s commitment to accessible healthcare, Prathap C. Reddy, chairman of Apollo Hospitals Group, said it was important to build a model of global collaboration with a platform where healthcare stakeholders from all over the world can converge for dialogue. He also said collaboration was important to tackle the barrage of non-communicable diseases.
Mark Britnell, Global Chairman and Senior Partner for Healthcare, Government and Infrastructure, said India faces a workforce challenge. He pointed out that without the required numbers in workforce, quality healthcare would remain an issue.
Later in the day, a debate between doctors on the topic ‘Technology Trumps Touch’ ensued.
While Shaveta Dewan, associated vice-president and head (quality and medical services), Medanta-The Medicity, argued that it was the man behind the machine or technology who is the brains, Harish Pillai, CEO of Aster India, argued that robust technology makes things work as time was a critical resource.
