Rising cases of the COVID-19 epidemic even after years have made all of us realize for the first time after the industrial revolution how unprepared we are when a significant health calamity occurs. And the solution for this was in a simple “wearing mask” pronouncing prevention is better than cure, and we as an individual can avert socio-economic burden by doing this simple act. WHO has identified Non-communicable diseases NCDs as the next big epidemic. Are we prepared for it?
Preventive healthcare means the efforts that are taken to prevent diseases rather than spending our resources on only treating them. An individual is advised to go for regular health check-ups even if the person is healthy as lifestyle diseases are often asymptomatic. Preventive health care is an essential determinant of the state of health since prevention means avoiding or delaying the course of an illness or a condition that is essential for a good quality of life. Over the years, the importance of this segment has increased in the healthcare industry; however, it’s still in nascent stages. Screening and early detection of diseases like type 2 diabetes and hypertension through preventive tests not only save a life but also protects an individual and her family from going through immense physical, emotional, and financial distress.
The global preventive healthcare market is estimated to reach $432 billion by 2025, growing at 9.5% CAGR with early-detection and screening technologies being the main contributors to this growth. This preventive healthcare solutions market offers a tremendous opportunity to bring in innovative technology solutions. Healthcare players are moving in the direction of the higher user and patient empowerment and better patient engagement models. People’s consciousness about their health and rising disposable income has given a boost to preventive healthcare in the urban and semi-urban market.
With the rising healthcare expenditure in the corporate sector and for self-insured companies, there is an increasing interest in raising awareness about various diseases and a need to practice prevention in healthcare in the workplace. Preventive Healthcare and wellness programs in organisations can change employees’ behaviour, improve their biometric risk profile, and work productivity.
To further strengthen the preventive healthcare programs and make them successful, we suggest below initiatives:
Preventive healthcare programs need to be integrated with the clinical workflow to create awareness and allow detection and early diagnosis of diseases
- Strengthening district and rural hospitals for diagnosis and management of NCDs
- Corporates and employers should also be incentivized for providing preventive healthcare services to the employees
- The government should implement a healthcare system that gives priority for prevention, screening, early intervention of chronic disease on individuals as well as the overall system.
- Government should make routine health check-up mandatory from the age of 30 years through preventive healthcare programs
- Health education to promote prevention of diseases through awareness, to be considered as essential health care
- Need to create records of personal health and encourage screening of diseases amongst the population
Review our solution IHRA to implement your preventive healthcare solution. IHRA is non-invasive and produces real-time reports. You can also check our partnership program on the best practices to implement a preventive healthcare program at your premises.
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