The role of education in Indian healthcare, ET HealthWorld

By Hans-Erhard Reiter

It is common knowledge that patients with good health skills are “empowered” patients. This means they understand what doctors tell them and can apply the instructions and feedback given by their doctors in their daily lives. Empowerment also means that patients will have access to their own health data and can duly protect themselves by getting timely medical help.

Taking this into account, patient empowerment And Data protection can simply be seen as different perspectives on the same topic: a population capable of taking responsibility for their own health and well-being. We have implied that empowerment requires the availability of information to be able to make informed decisions about individuals’ lifestyles, what does or does not have a positive impact on people’s health, and what to do if a person’s health spirals out of control. that is, if people have health problems of one sort or another.

It can also be inferred that empowerment and data protection are closely linked: information must be available, but it must be available to the right people at the right time while ensuring that personal data does not fall into the hands of of people who have no rights. to access this data. We can divide patient empowerment into different categories that need to be addressed: awareness and literacy, assessment of the individual’s health status, decision-making, self-management and digital literacy. While data protection can be described in technical terms, it also has a very important behavioral component: Data protection starts with:
1. understand rights, understand
2. safe practices, requires a certain degree of
3. Cybersecurity awareness, and includes
4. educational aspects to build trust between the health system and the patient population.

We immediately see the development of a system of great complexity in which we must take into account the cultural context which complicates the Indian health system due to the diversity of its population, its languages ​​and its levels of literacy. Accessibility presents significant challenges ranging from the unequal availability of health professionals to the lack of means of communication depending on the region.

Although central and regional governments are launching a large number of initiatives aimed at improving access and solving pressing problems in the health system, the sheer size of the country means that measures take time to filter down to the health system. the most remote villages and their inhabitants. personal health. Despite all the challenges, India is on the right track to develop a more transparent and comprehensive healthcare system. People can get advice online, search and find doctors online, and cross-reference the information provided to them during consultations with information readily available on the Internet. The versatile medium (the the Internet) also allows patients and/or caregivers to obtain a second opinion remotely.

Continued investment in education will prove highly effective in increasing patient empowerment while creating awareness about data protection and respective practices in the Indian healthcare system. Conversely, without adequate education, we will not see the empowered patient who assumes responsibility for a healthy lifestyle, nor will we see the relationship between patient and caregiver evolve towards a more active role of the former in the overall healthcare environment. Additionally, if data is not properly protected, people will not trust the “system” and participate by sharing their own data. But the sharing of data – duly anonymized – is crucial for the future development of health sciences as a whole, through the analysis of medical events that occur according to demographics, locations, seasons, etc.

The key elements that will resonate with government initiatives and improve the patient experience can be summarized as follows:
1. Awareness of the collection and storage of health data, with easy and protected access
2. Availability of Internet Communication Facilities Infrastructure
3. Availability of equipment (smartphones, tablets and/or computers)
4. And finally, the availability of trained staff to support users (doctors and patients and/or their caregivers)

Finally, what role does education play?

The younger a person is in life, health education the better: children should start learning the basics of a healthy lifestyle very early. Adults must step forward as role models and the long term effect will be a lasting improvement in the general well-being of the Indian population. Along the way, tobacco, alcohol and other “social drugs” must be denigrated in the media so that their consumption ends up being ridiculed and becomes socially unacceptable.

With a healthy lifestyle, the consumption of medicines and the number of hospitalizations will decrease and, eventually, the total cost of health will begin to decrease instead of steadily increasing, while at the same time, health and overall well-being will improve. Health education must permeate all aspects and phases of life.

Hans-Erhard Reiter, Founder and Executive Chairman, Linkedcare CHC Pvt Ltd, member of NATHEALTH

(DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and ETHealthworld.com does not necessarily subscribe to them. ETHealthworld.com shall not be liable for any damage caused to any person/organization directly or indirectly).