Health equity ensures that all individuals have an opportunity to attain their optimal health. However, significant disparities persist globally in access, quality of care, and health outcomes. Even today, only 39% respondents of rural population in India have access to a nearby healthcare centre, and 90% skip routine check-ups unless advised , reflecting the inequities in healthcare access. About 86% of Indian medical consultations are from rural residents; most of whom live more than 100 km away from any sort of medical aid. Biomedical innovation, ranging from advanced diagnostics and treatments to personalized medicine and digital health solutions, can help enhance the health care sector. From advancements in research to new models of health care delivery, biomedical science is leading the way towards an inclusive and equitable health care system.
Health care
Underserved communities deal with weak infrastructure, limited internet access, and not enough trained healthcare workers, which hinders integration of biomedical innovation. Regulatory frameworks make the distribution challenging, while cultural mistrust or low health literacy can block adoption. Most research institutions remain in silos, limiting the translation of research into practical solutions. This fragmentation depreciates equity by restricting access to innovation. Collaboration among various stakeholders such as researchers, clinicians, startups, policymakers, and industry leaders is vital to ensure biomedical innovations reach all the communities.
Digital health technologies, including telemedicine, mobile health apps, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based diagnostics, are revolutionising the accessibility to health care. For example, BioMarkIQ is building a platform of health care revolution for the early detection of cancer using AI technologies. Such technologies enable remote consultations, reducing geographical and economic barriers to care. According to WHO, a minimum of 1.8 million doctors, nurses, and midwives will be required to reach the goal of 44.5 health workers per 10,000 population by 2030. AI could be used as a powerful tool to fill these gaps using precision medicine and genomic data to design treatment paradigms.
AI-driven health care solutions help identify patterns in disease outbreaks, optimise treatment plans, and enhance decision-making for health care providers. By analysing vast datasets, AI can predict and prevent disease progression, especially in populations at higher risk due to social determinants of health. Currently, Lenek Technologies is working on improving medical imaging and diagnostics. They have developed an ultra-portable X-ray imaging system integrated with AI-based computer-aided detection.
India has been traditionally quite strong in the pharma sector, with a low cost of manufacturing (30%–35% lower than in the US and Europe), cost-efficient R&D (about 87% less than in developed markets), and cheap skilled labour. This needs to be leveraged. The availability of biosimilars and affordable vaccines have played a critical role in redressing health care disparities. The rate at which Covid-19 vaccines were released, revealed the potential of biomedical innovations to save millions of lives when they are shared equitably.
Innovative diagnostic tools, such as portable and AI-based technology, enable early disease detection in low-resource settings. For example, low-cost rapid testing kits for infectious diseases like HIV and malaria enable low-resource communities to control the diseases. Best example would be CanScan from Kozhnosys, a breath analyser device used in screening breast cancer that brings affordability and innovation under the same umbrella.
Personalised medicine leverages genetic and molecular information to tailor treatments for individuals. Although initially costly, the developments in genome sequencing and AI-driven analytics made it more affordable. The method has the potential to curtail health disparities by providing targeted therapies for diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and rare genetic diseases that more heavily affect underserved communities. While initial costs can be high, advancements in technology and health care policies can help make these treatments more accessible over time.
In order to make biomedical progress deliver on health equity, the stakeholders need to become proactive, such as:
- Averting the costs of technologies: Governments and the private sector need to invest in affordable healthcare solutions
- Increasing public-private partnerships: Governmental, healthcare, and biotech firm partnerships can accelerate access to innovations for equitable good
- Health care infrastructure strengthening: Investing in digital infrastructure and education of health care professionals or successful adoption at the rural level, will increase the impact of innovations in the underserved regions
- Collaborative innovation: Institutions such as medical colleges, engineering institutes, startups, and research centres can work together to develop solutions that meet the current health needs of the nation. For example, collaboration between medical and engineering colleges can combine clinical knowledge with technical skills to create affordable and practical health care innovations.
Biomedical innovations can transform health care and greatly alleviate health disparities. Their ability to advance health equity, however, relies on access, affordability, and ethical deployment.
This article is authored by Dr Gaurav Singh, CEO, Blockchain For Impact (BFI).
