wRAP 6: Nov 28 - Dec 04, 2022 || When Poetry Meets Healthcare News

The-week-that-was has been an ‘event-full’ one

A happy ‘state’ of affairs for some, when all is said and done.

There have also been warnings, for others a bitter pill.

There are solutions, means and ways, if we have the will!

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Paying a Bigger Bill for Overusing the Pill…

The concerns over pill-popping have been getting louder.

Experts warn about its overuse; likening its effects to gunpowder.

Anti-microbial resistance (AMR) has been a global issue for years.

Public deafness to it has brought many a regulator to tears.

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The ICMR has issued new guidelines on antibiotic prescriptions.

They suggest that people avoid antibiotics for low-grade infections.

In many diseases, resistance to antibiotics has more than doubled.

Effective action across the distribution chain must be redoubled.

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From the Beaches to the Innermost Reaches…

Interest in health-tech is alive and well in India’s Silicon Valley.

The patents filed in the state is more-than-respectable tally.

The state’s healthcare ambitions go much further and aim higher.

They plan to have every over-40 resident undergo a check-up - entire.

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Is this the first step to building a database of electronic medical records?

Perhaps. But it’s also about leveraging technology for rural reach rewards.

Coupling two capabilities – healthcare and technology isn’t as easy as it looks.

Even if it seems a marriage made in heaven, it is hard to find and fit the right hooks.

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Overtly or by Stealth, Achieving Women’s Health…

The application of technology to women’s health breaches another major frontier.

From imaging to artificial intelligence (AI), faster therapy possibilities start to appear.

It couldn’t have come at a better time, as research indicates a surge in cancer of the cervix.

Handheld scanners and other tools add early diagnosis, better therapy to the solution mix.

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But there are people creating and discovering breakthroughs within our own border.

One university researcher could be the latest ambassador to the new health world order.

From the high reaches of cancer to something more basic and fundamental.

Achieving the national target for maternal mortality is the most instrumental.

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Courts and Commissions, Gaps and Omissions…

Health insurance firms have been getting more than a bit of a beating.

A consumer court ruled - said they couldn’t dictate habits in customers’ eating.

The health insurance industry has been accused of denying too many claims.

The court believed such denial was unwarranted, never mind the terms you name.

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A review of the healthcare state of affairs showed states weren’t spending enough.

While public health spending targets have been set, meeting needs is still very tough.

True, the needs, conditions and circumstance between states is quite varied.

There are differences in capacity, resources and the disease burden that each carries.

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Turning an eye towards the rest of the world, things seem quite chaotic.

China’s lockdown? Well, many Chinese see the government’s actions as robotic.

Remember polio that was almost eliminated? It’s made a reappearance.

A vaccination campaign has been initiated. But is that enough insurance?

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End Note:

As I said at the start this was a packed week.

Even on the personal front, it left me so damn weak.

So the wRAP may have appeared later than usual. Ugh! So not cool.

Please accept this as the exception, rather than the rule.