Bangladesh : Quality, affordable & digital healthcare across the next Asian Tiger

Bangladesh is among seven Asian countries whose Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will grow around 7 percent through 2020. In real terms, this means Bangladesh’s GDP per capita is projected to surpass India’s by 2030. As one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, Bangladesh has been dubbed the next Asian tiger by the World Economic Forum. 

The opportunity to establish strong health informatics is enormous in a country like Bangladesh, where it often lacks systematic healthcare data. To continue on a value-based path, Bangladesh needs to build on top of healthcare digital platforms like Clinivantage, that measure and analyze health data in terms of patient outcomes – both clinical and social – as well as helps manage lower costs across the full pathway of care.

In an ambitious program to extend public health insurance, Sheikh Hasina, prime minister of Bangladesh, has set out plans to cover her 155 million-plus constituents. Bangladesh has experienced high economic. The economy grew 7.86% in the fiscal year ended last June, making it one of the fastest growing economies in Asia. This year's growth will reach 8.13%.

Health Protection Program nicknamed “Hasinacare” will provide a welcome boost, both insurers and health care providers will need more skilled staff & latest technology to make this program work. The country needs to double its number of doctors just to meet the World Health Organization's minimum standard of one physician per 1,000 people and technology like Clinivantage can help scale this much faster - What matters is the implementation! 

Clinivantage technology with connected devices, platform and services, can help the local health workers bridge the gap between healthcare providers by referring patients to institutional care, building a "digital network" on the platform that connects people with the formal health system. This platform helps leverage the right resources for service delivery, integrates relevant technology, clinical protocols, workflows and processes; and can operate under all regulatory compliance in the health sector of Bangladesh. 

In her speech, Premier Sheikh Hasina said the government will spend $1.36 billion through 2022 to add more community health clinics and hospital beds. So far, aggressive measures have been taken in the health sector, including establishment of 13,500 community clinics, introduction of the 24/7 health call centre and supplying X-ray machine, ultrasound machine, ECG, Semi-Auto Analyzer and ENT OPD Set to upazila-level hospitals. The current government’s Healthcare Financing Strategy, titled ‘Swasthya Surakkha Karmasuchi (health protection programe) to initially provide free healthcare services to the poor can be transformational and successful in the coming future. 

The rapid economic growth offers Bangladesh the opportunity to build a solid health “digital first” infrastructure for better outcomes and faster scale. It is the time to pivot toward a value-based care model that is holistic, affordable and measurable, for the future health of the country and the economy using latest connect care technology for last mile delivery to attain the Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs].