August 24, 2011
In India, we are currently working with Apollo Hospitals (Executive Chairman: Dr. Prathap C. Reddy, Headquarters: Chennai, India) and HelpAge India (President: Amal Ganguli, Headquarters: New Dehli, India) to develop a public-private partnership (PPP) business model aimed at improving access to medicines in India. A PPP is a partnership between a private company and a public body, often involving non-profit entities and non-governmental organizations. PPPs can make a contribution towards improving the quality of healthcare in emerging countries and regions by combining the resources of the multiple organizations in innovative ways.
Apollo Hospitals is the largest healthcare provider in Asia and the world's third largest, with medical facilities in over fifty locations in India and around the world. Established in 1978, HelpAge India is the largest not-for-profit advocacy group working to voice the needs of the elderly in India. Under the PPP agreement, the three parties will develop and implement a program to educate, screen, diagnose, treat and improve adherence among patients for Alzheimer's type dementia and depression. The partnership program will create greater opportunity for early disease detection, diagnosis and access to quality medical care.
Firstly, the pilot program was launched in August, 2011 and will be carried out for a period of over six-months. The program will assess the sustainability of the new business model using an evidence-based approach. Baseline data will be compared with data post-implementation and assessed using a series of financial and public health indicators. As the objective of this new business model is to find a market-based solution to better access to healthcare, the primary outcome is whether it is sustainable for all sectors involved.
Access is often impeded by poverty and insufficiencies in healthcare infrastructure. Despite the advancements in effective medical therapies, many people around the world continue to lack the ability to access essential healthcare and medicines. Improving access to medicines in such countries and regions are a global challenge that needs to be tackled by national governments, international organizations and pharmaceutical companies alike.
As an hhc company, we are determined to be proactive in improving access to medicines worldwide through partnerships with governments, international organizations, and other private sector companies. However, improving access to medicines involves more than simply assuring the supply of medicines. Rather, it necessitates innovations and solutions that assess the local healthcare needs. We believe that instead of adhering to existing business strategies, models of access to medicines need to take into account affordability for patients and society, shared-decision-making with patient and family understanding of disease and treatment, and adherence to therapies based on this decision-making process. We invest in the development and implementation of initiatives based on the sustainable provision of healthcare from a medium-to-long term perspective, and remain committed to developing new partnership-based business models that are mutually beneficial for both the company and its partners over the medium-to-long term.
News release (17th January, 2011)