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DAISPORA                                                                                             Since the pandemic, we have seen public interest in  good health and                                                                                                                                                                                     Early diagnosis is only possible where healthy people have regular health





                                   FEATURE                                                                                              preventative care grow exponentially.                                                                                                                                                                                                                    screenings to ensure asymptomatic illnesses aren’t missed. For those of us lucky

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 to have the ability to keep ourselves and our families in the best possible health,

                                                                                                                                        The Indian healthcare industry                                                                                                                                                                                                                           an annual health check is now highly recommended after the age of 30. An
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 annual cholesterol check can identify the early signs of heart disease and allow

                Navigating healthcare in a post pandemic world                                                                          grew past 370 billion                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    you to control or reverse the progression. There are a variety of incredibly
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 effective cancer screens, especially relevant where there are genetic factors


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 checking herself at home is associated with a 99% survival rate - this falls to 86%
                Good health is something most people only think about when they don’t have it.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   involved. Early diagnosis of breast cancer by something as simple as a woman
                It usually takes a major life event, to yourself or a loved one, to bring the                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    for stage 3 diagnoses. A visit to your physician and a few quick tests could quite
                importance of health to the front of our minds; especially at our age. However,                                         dollars in 2022.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         literally save your life.
                                                                                                                                        It is predicted to grow over                                                                                                                                                                                                                             funding for those less fortunate sharply into focus. Whilst our government and
                all of that changed in 2020, when our world came to a standstill in the early
                stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 The pandemic brought the limitations of our healthcare infrastructure and


                I have worked in healthcare services in India for over a decade. My business is                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  the industry as a whole does its best to invest in its growth and future, keeping
                largely focused on health screenings and assessments, i.e., preventative rather                                         600 billion dollars                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      yourself in good health plays a significant part in reducing the burden on an
                than therapeutic care. As a result of this, my clients are large companies and                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   already stretched system.
                governments, rather than people. My clients are institutions who would be so
                adversely affected by a health event (for example, a shipping company who                                               by 2024.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Inarguably the pandemic has had a lasting impact on healthcare systems around

                would lose tens of millions of dollars were someone to develop tuberculosis on                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   the world, ranging from a backlog of elective and non-urgent procedures to
                board a months-long voyage), that it is more cost effective to screen every                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      reduced immunity in the population due to lengthy social distancing measures.
                employee embarking on one thoroughly than to risk that outcome. In essence,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Hopefully, the change it has wrought in how we view the importance of our
                my work is to identify hidden risks to otherwise healthy people; and guide them                                         Simply put, the pandemic brought health to the front of our minds. People are                                                                                                                                                                            health, and the steps we take to protect it, can somewhat balance the scales.
                to specialists to either prevent or delay the illness they are likely to suffer from                                    more concerned about their health, and more likely to seek the knowledge
                in the future.                                                                                                          required to make educated choices about their treatments. Infection control,

                                                                                                                                        i.e., the practice of sanitization (originally only used in clinical settings), is now
                                                                                                                                        the norm across many industries (for example, at your salon or local cafe); and
                                                                                                                                        vaccination protocols and risk to others are now considered when allowing
                                                                                                                                        people to return to workplaces and schools after an illness.


                                                                                                                                        A better focus on preventative healthcare doesn’t just protect you and your
                                                                                                                                        family, it also protects society. Nowhere is this clearer than with vaccination.

                                                                                                                                        Our country’s eradication of Polio is such a global success story, the grassroots
                                                                                                                                        campaign to achieve it is being used as a model in African countries fighting
                                                                                                                                        polio today. A battle won largely by a 10 rupee vaccination administered for free
                                                                                                                                        by the government to children multiple times before they turn 2 years old.
                                                                                                                                        Something as simple as an annual flu vaccine (especially for yourself and other
                                                                                                                                        carers if you are the parent of a young child), can offer significant protection
                                                                                                                                        from seasonal maladies.
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