Vinod Kumar1, Arun H.S Kumar2
1Department of Pedodontics, Navodaya Dental College, Raichur, Karnataka, India.
2Stemcology University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
DOI: 10.4103/0976-9668.262960
ABSTRACT
Accessibility of quality and affordable health care is essential to the well-being of any nation but more so in developing countries such as India. Advanced diagnostic imaging (ADI) is an essential component of today’s quality health care; however, it is not affordable to the majority of the citizens. Despite a 137% raise in the union budget allocation for health care in the year 2021–2022 compare to previous year, India still lags behind its health-care expenditure as compared to several major developing economies [Figure 1]. Even in terms of quality index and accessibility to health care, India is ranked 145 among 195 nations (2018 data). It is recommended that spending 10% of its GDP on health care may be optimal for India. While the self-reliance efforts in the pharmaceutical sector has led to availability of affordable and quality medicines, a similar trend in the medical device manufacturing sector is only gaining momentum recently. ADI is one such medical device sector which has contributed to the quality of health care through better and quick diagnosis, as evident from its utility in rapid and reliable diagnosis of the severity of COVID-19 and other life-threatening diseases. Advances in imaging technology have enhanced the quality of images obtained while minimizing the associated diagnostic errors and have considerably improved diagnosis and quality of health care. Magnetic resonance image (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) are two such ADI modalities which continue to play a vital role in providing quality health care despite the issue with their affordability. One approach to address the affordability issue of these ADI is by becoming self-reliant and developing indigenous technology. India is specifically well placed to address these issues considering its global excellence in the area of software development, manufacturing, technological capabilities with competitive prowess, and resilient mind set to deliver when needed. Read more…
