Uma Ratnam Krishnan, Managing Director, Optum India, in conversation with Mugdha Kalra, CNBC-TV18
In a significant step towards addressing the complex challenges facing modern health care, CNBC-TV18 and Optum have joined forces to launch Health X Conversations. This pioneering platform aims to foster impactful conversations and drive actionable solutions for creating a more flexible and progressive health care ecosystem. The initiative comes at a time when technological innovation and a growing awareness of the need for accessible, affordable, and quality outcomes-driven health care have taken centre stage.
The Health X Conversations, that entail a series of panel discussions, expert talks and campus engagements to inspire the health care leaders of tomorrow, was launched with a curtain raiser episode, featuring Uma Ratnam Krishnan, Managing Director, Optum India, in conversation with Mugdha Kalra, CNBC TV18. The in-depth conversation covered the need to address the triangle of cost, access, and quality and outcomes. Uma called out another universal truth – the relationship between a clinician and the patient is the most sacred thing in health care and the focus must be on enhancing this interaction so that the clinician can spend more time truly listening to the patient.
Other important points that were discussed include the role of technology and the need for the right talent to bring in transformative ideas that leverage technology to meet the rising demand for preventive care, personalized wellness, and better health care outcomes, in the interest of a healthier and more inclusive tomorrow.
Breaking Barriers to healthcare with technology and innovation
“Affordability is the key to access”, said Uma. Toward this goal, technology and innovation are helping advance value-based care by giving providers the tools and information they need to better coordinate care for patients and deliver better outcomes at a lower cost. Technology is helping people access the care they need when they need it, in high-quality, low-cost settings. And technology is helping improve price transparency with tools that help consumers save and optimize on everything from prescription drugs to surgical procedures.
Telemedicine has revolutionized access to care by enabling patients in remote areas to consult specialists, which, as Uma pointed out, reduces caseloads at clinics and hospitals. With this, the center of gravity for health care is increasingly moving out of large hospitals and towards our homes. And the convenience is here to stay. Technology is key to this shift, also playing a crucial role in helping educate and empower frontline workers as well as the communities at large. Big data and advanced analytics can help advance preventive care and mobile and wearable technology can be harnessed at scale and speed to also support preventive care, and for health monitoring, evaluation of interventions, at-home and continuous care and more. “At Optum, we are involved in every single of these areas”, Uma concluded.
Expect more such insights on the larger impact of health care innovation during the Health X Conversations.
Empowering Consumers through Innovation and driving better healthcare outcomes
Another critical area, where health care is witnessing a fundamental shift, is the consumerization of health care. Technology hasn’t only changed the way health care is delivered, but also how patients receive it. “I want control over what I choose, whether it’s longevity, whether it’s wellness”, Uma said, summarizing the proactive mindset of modern consumers.
At Optum, unique capabilities in clinical data and analytics to make it easier for clinicians to focus on caring for patients – providing evidence-based tools to help make real-time decisions and lessen the time spent navigating authorizations and claims. Integrated platforms and data help physicians deliver more personalized, outcome-driven care, to an ecosystem of virtual care and services that wrap around the needs of patients. For physicians, technology enables value-based care – giving them the tools, insights, and actionable knowledge to help their patients live healthier and more independent lives – while improving health outcomes and lowering costs.
“We are fundamentally focussed on creating better health care outcomes and innovation is what drives us culturally”, said Uma. Apart from establishing smarter and better integrated health care systems, development of digital health also promises leaps in awareness and education. Speaking about the collaborative potential of digital health care, Uma added, “These are really platforms for a series of interactions between consumers, health care providers, and governments. And that’s got to really develop.”
In Search of New Health Care Pioneers
Beyond establishing the principles of a smarter, more equitable health care system, Health X Conversations will seek to inspire future leaders of this new paradigm. A series of panel discussions, expert talks and campus engagements will spotlight transformative ideas that leverage technology to meet the rising demand for preventive care, personalized wellness, and better health care outcomes, in the interest of a healthier and more inclusive tomorrow.
“We’re looking at talent across areas right now and for them to intersect and work together to solve health care problems,” said Uma. For young professionals who are passionate about making a difference to the communities where they live and work, health care offers opportunities to devise solutions for pressing healthcare challenges and make a difference to individual lives.
Join the Dialogue
The launch of Health X Conversations signifies a step forward in creating a more collaborative and solution-oriented health care ecosystem. By bringing together industry leaders, policymakers, and innovators, the platform aims to facilitate conversations that inspire better health care access, reduced health care costs and better health care outcomes. After all, Health X Conversations is more than just about exchanges of ideas; it is a call to action for future health care leaders to rise up and redefine what is possible.
Stay tuned as Health X Conversations sparks transformative ideas and paves the way for a healthier tomorrow.
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