Dialogues on Primary Healthcare – Episode 05

An initiative by the Centre for Primary Healthcare @BHS and the Centre for Healthcare @IIMU

Dialogues on primary healthcare is a series of conversations, aimed to generate an evidence and experience informed discourse on practice and policy of primary healthcare in India. While there is reasonable evidence that health systems founded on strong primary healthcare are effective, resilient and cost-effective, there is not adequate understanding on how to design and build such systems.

The series invites speakers who have deep experience of practicing, researching or policymaking on primary healthcare, and its different aspects. They share evidence and insights from their own research and practice and discuss their implications on larger primary healthcare ecosystem in India.

Episode 5: Diagnostics in Primary Healthcare

Date: May 30, 2025

Time: 5:15 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Diagnostics in primary healthcare play a vital role in early disease detection, effective treatment planning, and ongoing patient management. COVID-19 pandemic taught us the importance of timely and accurate diagnosis, highlighting not only timing but also equitable access to diagnostic testing. However, concerns remain on the capability of the service provider and accuracy of the diagnostic results. Facilitated by advancing digital technologies, point of care diagnostic tools are finding their ways not only to primary care units but also to patient’s homes.

Strengthening diagnostic capacity—through affordable technologies, trained personnel, and supportive infrastructure—enhances the quality of care, supports disease prevention, and acts as a critical step toward achieving universal health coverage.

As the first point of contact in the healthcare system, do the primary care providers rely on diagnostic tools to make timely and accurate clinical decisions? In this episode drawing up on their own work, Dr Mikashmi Kohli and Dr Varsha Shridhar will discuss the importance and use of diagnostics in primary healthcare.

Speaker 1:

Dr Mikashmi Kohli, Senior Manager, Evidence and Policy at FIND

Dr. Mikashmi Kohli is a public health expert with over 10 years of experience in TB diagnostics and evidence-based medicine. She holds a PhD in Molecular Medicine from AIIMS, New Delhi, and has completed a postdoctoral fellowship at McGill University with the Pai Global TB group. She has contributed to multiple WHO guideline groups, supporting global policy development through evidence synthesis using the GRADE process. Dr. Kohli has authored several Cochrane reviews with the Cochrane Infectious Disease Group, that have informed WHO TB diagnostic policies. She serves on WHO expert committees for prequalification of TB diagnostic tools and leads the update of target product profiles. She has also contributed to the Lancet Commission on diagnostics, focusing on care cascades and cost modelling to support implementation strategies in global health.

Speaker 2:

Dr Varsha Shridhar, Director and Co-founder of Molecular Solutions Care Health

Dr. Varsha Shridhar holds a PhD in Molecular Virology and Microbiology from the University of Pittsburgh and has completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Maternal and Child Health at Magee Women’s Research Institute. After training in childbirth education and perinatal counselling with Lamaze International, she returned to India to work as an antenatal and postnatal counsellor in Bangalore. In 2016, she co-founded Molecular Solutions Care Health LLP (MSCH) with the motto “Access to All.” MSCH began as a diagnostic and device development company and now operates in clinical infectious diseases, primary care diagnostics, and environmental surveillance. The company has pioneered wastewater-based disease surveillance, holds several patents, and has collaborated with state and local governments in India. Dr. Shridhar champions a philosophy of radical collaboration focused on intentional, non-transactional partnerships and long-term impact over quick fixes.

Moderators:

• Dr Pavitra Mohan is the co-Founder and Director at Basic Healthcare Services. He has worked at UNICEF’s India Country Programme for nine years, leading its child health programs across India. He holds M.B.,B.S. and an M.D. in Paediatrics from Delhi University and a master’s degree in public health from the University of North Carolina
• Prof Prakash Satyavageeswaran is Co-Chair, Centre for Healthcare and Faculty in Marketing Area at the Indian Institute of Management Udaipur. He has done his Post Graduate Program in Management and Fellow Programme in Management (PhD equivalent) from Indian School of Business. His prior experience is in marketing/ social marketing in corporate and public health contexts. His expertise is in strategy formulation based on quantitative and qualitative research.