Interdisciplinary Seminar on Health Economics

On the 28^th of February, an Interdisciplinary Seminar on Health Economics was scheduled for the MBA-HHM 2015-17 batch at the SIHS Auditorium.

The session started with an opening address by the HOD, MBA – HHM, Col. Dr. Vijay Deshpande who introduced the topics for the day.

This was followed by our 5 guest speakers for the day:

NO.	GUEST SPEAKER	TOPIC
1	Dr. Jyoti Chandiramani	Introduction to Health Care Economics
2	Dr. Abhijit Deshpande	Private Equity in Health Care
3	Dr. Anjali Radkar	Pattern of Morbidities & Cost of Healthcare of Urban Elderly
4	Dr. B. S. Powdwal	Effects of Health Insurance on Healthcare Economics
5	Mr. Vishal Amolik	Health Care Economics, Indian Scenario

Session 1:

Introduction to Health Care Economics, an Overview – Dr. Jyoti Chandiramani

The session started with Dr. Jyoti Chandiramani talking about the basics   of Economics and its relation to the healthcare sector. Ma’am is the Director of Symbiosis School of Economics and the Dean of the faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in SIU.

Madam’s lecture focussed on the fact that the demand for healthcare greatly outweighs the current supply. This is due to the ever increasing birth rate and reducing death rate not only in India as a country but worldwide. Health care economics is a social system that studies the supply and demand of health care resources and the effect of health care services on a population and helps us change the systems according to this evolving trend.

Some of the other points covered during the lecture were the difference between Microeconomics and Macroeconomics, the social sectors involvement in the same and how the Human Development Index (HDI) – which was first put forward by Nobel Laureate Prof Dr. Amartya Sen and Mr. Mahboob Ul Haq, an economist – has drastically shifted its trend.

\She ended by talking about the Millennium Development Goals and their targets and how with a 1.54% p.a rise in the sector achieving these goals may soon be possible. The session was then open for questions from the students. Madam’s lecture gave us a bird’s eye view of what the economic scenario is currently and where we feature in the same.

Session 2:

Private Equity in Health Care – Dr. Abhijit Deshpande

The second speaker was Dr. Abhijeet Deshpande who holds a Ph.D in Management and Diploma in Marketing from the UK. Prior to being the Director of the Board of University Development, sir headed the MBA-HHM department at SIHS.

Sir’s lecture was very relevant to our current programme and he included points about marketing as well. In brief, he discussed the BCG matrix, Product mix and the importance of considering the Length, Breadth and Depth of any product before it is launched. He also shed light on terms like Cash cow, market decline, etc.

Sir then moved on to talk about private equity being a part ownership of any sector and how capitalization has a huge impact on the same. He discussed various business models and spoke about Mutual fund investors and venture capitalists. An example of the same was given – EYEQ, which is an ophthalmic care facility providing quality eye care at affordable prices to patients in small towns across India.

The lecture was concluded with sir taking in brief about the capital market and the shares available. “Due to the significant growth in subsectors and the volume decline between the years 2012 and 2013 the future looks promising” was Dr. Deshpande’s expert opinion.

As a final note, sir encouraged us to focus heavily on finance during these 2 years as according to him it is the crux of any industry. His advice and pointers gave us all the resolve to do more than just what is expected of us.

Session 3:

Pattern of Morbidities & Cost of Healthcare of Urban Elderly – Dr. Anjali Radkar

Dr. Anjali Radkar from Gokhale Institute was able to deliver a lecture very relevant to our course as she herself had done the study on Morbidity patterns and healthcare expenditure for the same in the Urban Elderly. She holds a Ph.D in Population Studies from the International Institute of Population Sciences and is the Associate Professor at the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics.

Ma’am spoke very passionately about the study she had conducted and gave us all inputs regarding how to go about conducting similar programs. Ma’am spoke in detail about the steps involved in conducting a study of this magnitude and shared her experiences with us – both the positives and the issues she faced during the course of the study. She explained the importance of which sample population is to be taken and how to go about comparing results.

Ma’am also spoke about the ICPD in Cairo, 1994 and how expenditure is allotted to the healthcare sector. She spoke at length about the Maternal Mortality Rates, Perinatal Mortality Rates and the impact of the same on the community. She shed light upon how of migration of younger worker population from the rural areas to the urban areas and their subsequent stay in urban slums changes the dynamic of the respective cities and hence affects the country as a whole.

On the whole, Madam’s lecture was a first person’s view on what to expect when conducting a study and it was very insightful for all of us planning to take up similar projects in the near future.

Session 4:

Effects of Health Insurance on Health Economics – Dr. B. S. Powdwal

Dr. B.S. Podwal is the Vice President and Head of Enterprise Fraud Prevention Unit at Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance. Additionally and very impressively sir is also an IASSC Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.

Sir provided a look into the insurance scenario globally and in India. He provided a comparative look between the methods used in developed nations, undeveloped nations and currently developing nations. Sir spoke in length about the Medicare and Medicaid Health Services. He shared his opinion on the same.

According to sir, the NHS had a huge role to play in the declining economy of the USA as it not only has to pay the 401K on retirement but also takes responsibility for paying unemployment welfare. In a country like the US it manages to stay afloat but a similar plan wouldn’t work in a country like India which has a huge population and limited funds.  However, sir did stress on the importance of Health insurance and stated that it should be mandatory for every citizen. In a position such as ours, the best bet would be to look at group insurance.

The global economic scenario is completely interlinked and hence any change in the economy of any country will impact the others in some way or another. An example would be the recent recession in the USA which, although far away, still led to a drop in the value of the Indian Rupee.

Sir ended on a positive note, giving examples of Telemedicine and robotic surgery and said that this would probably be instrumental in providing the required care to needy sectors and fill in the gap of required professionals in various areas.

Session 5:

Health Care Economics, Indian Scenario – Mr. Vishal Amolik

The final speaker for the day was Mr. Vishal Amolik. He was very keen to share his experience and present his views on the Indian Public sectors role in Healthcare Economics. Sir has an M.A in Economics and is an assistant Professor at MU College of Commerce. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D in Business Economics.

The lecture started with sir talking about the importance of the “3 A’s” of Healthcare – Availability, Accessibility and Affordability. He shared the current government initiatives being undertaken to provide the same. He explained in detail the government’s current role in the industry and their progress.

Sir then moved on to a topic of great controversy – “Public v/s Private Debate in the Health care Sector”. He stated the importance of health for all and shared his views on why healthcare is the industry to look at for the maximum growth within the next few years.

He ended by saying that it is time that the ever growing need for healthcare should be met. He then provided solutions and ideas for a Public – Private partnership in healthcare provision.

The final vote of thanks was delivered by Brig. Dr. Anil Pandit which was short and sweet and the perfect conclusion to this insightful session.