Shift to Prevention: Doctors Urge Healthcare Overhaul

At a recent Indo-US Doctors Meet in Hyderabad, medical professionals strongly advocated for a paradigm shift in healthcare systems, emphasizing a move from treating established diseases to prioritizing preventive measures. The current focus on managing advanced illnesses is identified as a primary driver of escalating healthcare costs and suboptimal health outcomes for the population.

Speakers noted that substantial healthcare investments are directed towards treating conditions such as heart attacks, strokes, and cancer, while preventive care, lifestyle medicine, and primary healthcare services are significantly underfunded. This imbalance, they argued, weakens public health infrastructure and contributes to issues like high maternal mortality rates, despite medical advancements.

The medical community collectively called for policy reforms to bolster prevention strategies, strengthen primary care at the grassroots level, and foster patient-centered health systems. Discussions also touched upon leveraging technology and collaboration to achieve accessible and longevity-focused healthcare for all, addressing critical public health concerns like visual impairment in India.