Dialogues on Primary Healthcare – Episode 04

Technology in Primary Healthcare

An initiative by the Centre for Primary Healthcare, BHS and the Centre for Healthcare at IIMU

Dialogues on primary healthcare is a series of conversations, aimed to nurture 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 inadequate understanding on how to design and build such systems.

The Dialogues on Primary Healthcare 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 the implications on larger primary healthcare ecosystem in India.

Episode 4: Technology in Primary Healthcare

Date: February 7, 2025

Time: 5:00 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.

Technology plays a crucial role in enhancing primary healthcare by improving accessibility, efficiency, and quality of services. Digital tools such as electronic medical records (EMRs), telemedicine, and mobile health applications enable seamless patient management and remote consultations, bridging gaps in care delivery, particularly in underserved areas. Technology also facilitates data-driven decision-making and streamlines supply chains, ultimately strengthening the overall primary healthcare ecosystem.

In this episode, drawing up on their own work, Dr Shrey Desai and Dr Anthony Vipin Das will discuss the pros and cons of the use of technology in primary healthcare space.

Speaker 1:

Dr Shrey Desai, Director-Research & Physician, SEWA Rural

Dr. Shrey Desai has been serving as Director-Research and Physician at SEWA Rural since 2010.

SEWA Rural is a voluntary development organization involved in health and development activities in rural tribal area of South Gujarat at Jhagadia since 1980. Dr. Desai holds an MD in Internal Medicine from Saint Barnabas Medical Centre, Livingston, New Jersey, and a Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.

With extensive experience across three continents, Dr. Desai has contributed to the digital health domain as a researcher, developer, advisor, public health practitioner, and clinician, particularly in tribal communities. SEWA Rural has been an integral member of a multidisciplinary team that developed, implemented, and scaled a groundbreaking digital health intervention. This initiative, now adopted by the Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Union Territory governments, has been scaled statewide, impacting the lives of 300 million people. SEWA Rural is also part of a multidisciplinary team that is developing Artificial Intelligence solutions for public health in India.

Speaker 2:

Dr Anthony Vipin Das

Chairperson, Fernandez Innovation Forum

Dr. Anthony Vipin Das served as a Network Associate Director and Consultant Ophthalmologist at the L V Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad for 14 years. He trained at Kakatiya Medical College, Warangal, and the Duke Eye Center, Durham. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons and Physicians, Glasgow. He built and deployed eyeSmart EMR, an Electronic Medical Record and Hospital Management System developed in-house at LVPEI that has checked in over 14.1 million patient consultations across 316 centers in 6 countries. This digital transformation of LVPEI is featured as a case study in Harvard Business Review. His research focuses on big data and the application of data science in eye care and created the ‘AEye’ pipeline at LVPEI. He co-founded the LVPEI Center for Technology & Innovation in collaboration with the Camera Culture Group, MIT Media Lab. He is a TED Senior Fellow and named among the Top 35 Innovators under 35 years in the world (TR35 2012) by MIT. He is a recipient of the 75@75 UK Achievers Honours from the UK Government. He is a Chevening Scholar from the St Cross College, University of Oxford, UK and a fellow of the Australia India Youth Dialogue (AIYD) 2023.

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 Vedha Ponnappan is Co-Chair, Centre for Healthcare and Faculty in Marketing Area at the Indian Institute of Management Udaipur.