Government Policy Required For PPP To Be Successful: Dr Rana Mehta, PwC

At the Ayushman Bharat Healthcare Summit organized by BW Businessworld and India Virtual Hospital, various stalwarts of the healthcare industry gathered in New Delhi to discuss the various aspects of the healthcare industry and healthcare provision, and to bring together various stakeholders and decision-makers of the Ayushman Bharat scheme. At the event, there was a session on 'Infrastructure & Medical Manpower Development Opportunities: Is PPP the solution?', moderated by Sudhir Mishra, Founder and Managing Partner, Trust Legal.

"The challenge is that there is a lot of expectation from the private sector as the perception is that the government will not be able to do it alone. ", said Mishra.

Dr Dipak Shukla, CEO, PSRI Hospital, "Ayushman Bharat is a fresh look to the healthcare in India after independence. It is a first original and nationalistic approach to healthcare in the nation. All the stakeholders have to take a fresh look at the PPP model. I am fortunate to serve in the government sector and the industrial sector. The PPP model in terms of infrastructure and manpower planning will require a composite and integrated approach from the government and the private sector. Someone commented that the tertiary should not come between the primary and secondary healthcare provisions. But it is not the disease which comes into the hospital, it is the entire human being. One important game changer for the PPP with respect to Ayushman Bharat is that there has to be a synergy between the Ayush, Allopathic and other systems of medicine. If we want to make Ayushman Bharat a reality and a success, there has to be an integrated approach. One revolutionary thing which has happened is that healthcare system is the state subject, but with Ayushman Bharat, it has become a central subject. There has to be a PPP model for every level of the care and it has to be defined very well, the different roles which are going to be played. I see a bright future for a much healthier society through the Ayushman Bharat".

"We need to have the infrastructure in place. PPP model is already working on creating the manpower requirement for the healthcare sector, under the Skill India service. We train a large part of manpower for healthcare through the PPP mode. I think it can be scaled up, and it can't be done alone, so PPP is the way", said Ashish Jain, CEO, Healthcare Skill Sector of India.

Dr Rana Mehta, Partner and Leader, Healthcare, PwC, said, "It's not been very successful, not many PPPs have been very successful. It has been successful in the diagnostic space. It has been successful where the individual has driven. The private sector provides 70% of service delivery in the healthcare sector. Most of the PPPs are collapsing and unless the government comes up with a PPP policy, it might not be successful."