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Pharma & healthcare look for support to build cyber security infrastructure, incentives to digitise drug retail outlets in Budget 2018
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Nandita Vijay, Bengaluru
February 01 , 2018
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Incentives for cyber security infrastructure, retail pharmacies to adopt
digital technologies, prioritise R&D, increased allocation for non
communicable disease prevention and treatment are some of the
expectations for the pharma and healthcare industry from Union budget
2018 to be announced on February 1.
In last year’s budget, the
government announced setting up of CERTFIN which was a much needed
initiative. We hope to see specific action points that will align with
the digital transformation that India is undergoing. This budget must
support development of cyber security infrastructure by focusing on
people, process & technology. The expectations are benefits for
local organizations to help increase qualified cyber security
professionals, set up local compliance for data security & to waive
off taxation for home grown cyber security technologies, said KK
Mookhey, Founder & CEO, Network Intelligence.
According to
Gagan Singh Bedi, managing director, AstraZeneca Pharma India, “The
single most important recommendation from industry remains that of
increasing healthcare spend as share of GDP especially to address the
high disease burden in the country. Impetus also needs to be provided to
research & development to encourage innovation in India which
currently stands at a meager 0.69% of GDP. Effective implementation of
the National Health Policy 2017 is needed for prevention and management
of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, asthma, heart diseases
and cancer which is now becoming the leading cause of mortality in our
country.”
From a fiscal perspective, the government will need to
examine taxation and pricing policies, to ensure that we strike the
right balance between what is feasible for the healthcare sector and
what is best for the consumer, to deliver quality healthcare, said
Huzaifa Shehabi, COO, Saifee Hospital.
Suresh Satyamurthy , CEO
Tarnea Technology Solutions said that pharma retailers play a huge role
in providing affordable healthcare to the masses and these ‘Good Health
Warriors’ need to be armed with the latest digital technologies. The
industry usually asks for tax reductions but its impact on price is
temporary. But a digitally-enabled pharmaceutical value chain will
result in permanent removal of inefficiencies which could save the
industry over Rs.5,000 crore and unlock over Rs.40,000 crore in capital. Digital Pharma needs to be on-board with the Digital India vision of the government.
Abhishek
Shah, Co-founder and CEO, Wellthy Therapeutics said that the government
needs to step up allocation for prevention and treatment
non-communicable diseases which is the single biggest cost in
healthcare. NCDs contribute to 61% of all mortalities annually. Now WHO
estimates that these will cost India almost $5 trillion dollars by 2030
and we have to stem the tide now. Universal healthcare(UHC) needs to be
the next bold move by the government. In India, 62% of all healthcare
expenses are still out-of-pocket, making UHC more of a need than a
luxury. In the last decade, China, successfully expanded its UHC from a
negligible number to 900 million with 95% coverage.
Shireesh
Sahai, CEO, Wolters Kluwer India said that the government can play a
significant role in both improving access to affordable healthcare and
ensuring that the medical education system is world-class. Although
there are a number of impactful initiatives in digital health, we still
need investment in skill building. The government’s support to
institutionalize digital technologies can be integrated with the
healthcare delivery practices.”
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