Articles in Cover Story

Third Party Administrators (TPAs) are the intermediaries appointed by insurance companies who are licensed by the authority and engage in the provision of health services, thus acting as a liaison between the insurance company, the insured and the hospital.

The health insurance industry holds a huge potential in India, and the influx of private health insurance companies in recent years shows the growing awareness and demand of having a health cover among patients.

Medical worries have penetrated the society and increasing prices of treatment are adding to it. In such a scenario, government health insurance schemes are an option to fall back on, especially for the rural population. How well insured is the poor in the country healthwise? This is the question we need to address.

The longer one has had diabetes, the more likely he/she is to have retinopathy. Almost everyone with type 1 diabetes will eventually suffer from non-proliferative retinopathy. Most people with type 2 uncontrolled diabetes are also vulnerable. But things can be brought under control by taking the right measures.

With an increased demand for human organs in India, a regulated Act, which clearly defines and states the punishment for black marketing may fill the acute shortage.

With more than 93 million people suffering from diabetic retinopathy, today it has become a cause of rampant blindness. From young infants to people with an old history of diabetes, this disease seems to be spreading its tentacles. Let us take a look at the causal factors and treatment available to combat this vision threat.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of blind people in India in 2000 was estimated to be 18.7 million, of which for 9.5 million blindness was cataract-related and for 3 million, refractive error-related.

Kolkata being the biggest city and the only metro in the eastern region is supposed to be the highest point of summation for all regional needs, including healthcare. Despite having ‘good’ private healthcare infrastructure (including some of the biggest brands) the city is ‘leaking’ regional patients to the other metros.

Terri Bresenham, President & CEO, GE Healthcare India and Managing Director, Wipro GE Healthcare highlights GE Healthcare’s business focus for the Indian market. Excerpts.

Euthanasia or mercy killing has become a much-talked about term and has a sense of ambiguity attached to it. Euthanasia is derived from the Greek word ‘euthanatos,’ which means good health. It is the act of painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or an irreversible coma.