There is a popular saying that “Necessity is the mother of invention” but it doesn’t seem to hold water in the “Medical Technology” domain. In a country like India where the healthcare setup is failing, one can easily identify substantial number of “Needs” which can be addressed through technology developed using the currently available infrastructure. Then why is it so that there is a drought of indigenously developed medical devices to address these “Needs”.
The diagram of a funnel is often cited to depict the various steps involved in filtration of “Needs-Identified” in order to successfully launch a medical device in the market. But then there has to be a driving force for the filtration to take place and a closer look will reveal that the driving force is fuelled mainly by the gravity of “Greed” rather than that of “Need”.
It is well known that the so-called filtration process gets influenced by the ability of the device manufacturer to translate the idea into a profitable venture, unless one is into philanthropy. Surely, no identified “Needs” are less important; otherwise it wouldn’t have caught one’s eye at the first place. However, the gravity of the “Need” is determined by the “Return of Investment” involved in addressing the “Need” in question.
Numerous technologies have been developed by the academia through research grants from government but there have been no takers for obvious reasons. The problem is universal as someone has rightly stated about the recently passed US Healthcare Reform Bill that no number of reforms would succeed in improving the healthcare scenario unless people stop being greedy.
The diagram of a funnel is often cited to depict the various steps involved in filtration of “Needs-Identified” in order to successfully launch a medical device in the market. But then there has to be a driving force for the filtration to take place and a closer look will reveal that the driving force is fuelled mainly by the gravity of “Greed” rather than that of “Need”.
It is well known that the so-called filtration process gets influenced by the ability of the device manufacturer to translate the idea into a profitable venture, unless one is into philanthropy. Surely, no identified “Needs” are less important; otherwise it wouldn’t have caught one’s eye at the first place. However, the gravity of the “Need” is determined by the “Return of Investment” involved in addressing the “Need” in question.
Numerous technologies have been developed by the academia through research grants from government but there have been no takers for obvious reasons. The problem is universal as someone has rightly stated about the recently passed US Healthcare Reform Bill that no number of reforms would succeed in improving the healthcare scenario unless people stop being greedy.
1 comment:
I would like to quote Mahatma Gandhiji:
“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.”
and from my side:
“Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others.
Unsuccessful people are always asking, "What's in it for me?”
Thanks,
Vineet Bhardwaj
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