So far, on the Indian Field Seminar, we have visited several healthcare sites ranging from premium hospitals like Max Healthcare to community health centers in rural villages and urban slums. We visited large pharma companies like Glaxosmithkline, research institutions, and even the Public Health Foundation of India, to mention a few. All generously welcomed our class and showed us extremely impressive hospitality.
All had different perspectives to offer. But, what did they all have in common? And, what did any of this have to do with our trip to the Elephanta Caves?
Well, I firmly believe that in order to truly understand a foreign market like the Indian healthcare system, one must also have an understanding of the surrounding culture and philosophy in numerous contexts. This would be difficult to achieve by simply visiting sites without an understanding of the reasoning or explanation of the surrounding culture. Cultural exposure is so important to truly understand different populations.
As tourists at the Elephanta Caves, it would have been very easy for us to pass through the caves, taking pictures, simply appreciating the awe inspiring and symbolic edifices that had been carved out of the side of the mountain, all without knowing the cultural significance behind them. Luckily, we had a great tour guide who insisted that we listen rather than take pictures. This would not be a normal tour.
As we moved from edifice to edifice around the cave, the lifeless edifices came to life. They were no longer statues carved into the mountain. They had meaning and a significance that a camera or video could never capture.
But the "aha" moment didn't occur until the guide pointed out the importance of perspective, especially as one walked from edifice to edifice. It was only from specific places in the cave that one could peer through openings in the caves to view another statue. Capturing this perspective would require special attention to detail, otherwise it would be grossly overlooked. These unique perspectives also carried a deep cultural and sometimes philosophical meaning. It was clear that those who carved the edifices "created with awareness".
Toward the tour's end, our tour guide, who had attracted other tourists, spoke about the meaning of "Namaste!" A traditional Indian greeting, which when translated to Hindi means "not me, you", as our tour guide explained.
According to Wikipedia, Namaste also means "I salute or recognize your presence or existence in society and the universe."
As we conversed with CEO's and other community health leaders, a passion and desire for healthcare innovation was conveyed and it became evident that they brought this "Namaste" philosophy to the Indian healthcare system as they worked feverishly to reach populations near and far, even those in rural areas, where only 60% currently have access to medicine. Their goal? To provide low cost, accessible healthcare.
It seems that of those who held this philosophy, the most successful leaders created innovation with high awareness.
For example, on our visit to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, one of the scientists showed us a genomic map of India that highlighted areas of differing genomic polymorphisms within the population. These differences, according to the scientist was significant enough to cause differences in a drug's efficacy and ultimately the body's response to medicinal drugs-completely fascinating.
However, as the scientist passed around his "genomic card," which looked like a debit card, complete with validation dates, I wondered about the practical application of such a rich source of information, only to learn minutes later that while he had this genomic card, there was no current market to utilize this information, and he had no current plans to collaborate with other institutions How would others become aware of this information? How would it be used successfully? What was the plan? What was the larger perspective?
In contrast, look at Arogya Parivar, Novartis' rural health program (the first of its kinda by a large pharma company) ,which employs a "social business model," that other companies are attempting to duplicate as we speak. It was created with an awareness of sustainability. Self-sustainable, this program broke- even within 30 months of its inception. As a result, the program is successfully able to offer care in the long term, providing a platform to address rampant diseases in rural areas.
This shows the importance of creating with awareness, especially during innovation!
Namaste!!
No comments:
Post a Comment