We have made medical education elitist, out of reach of poor families. It will have consequences: Cardiac surgeon Devi Shetty

Leading cardiac surgeon Dr Devi Shetty explains why a “first-world regulatory structure” won’t work in a country such as India with “third-world infrastructure”, regrets that “trial by media” has broken the trust between doctors and patients, and notes that not money but “political will” is needed to revamp healthcare

By: Express News Service | Updated: December 24, 2017 6:03 am

Cardiac surgeon Dr Devi Shetty with Senior Assistant Editor Abantika Ghosh in the Express newsroom. Express Photo by Gajendra Yadav

Two recent incidents — the death of a seven-year-old in a Gurgaon hospital after her family was charged Rs 16 lakh and a 22-week-old baby being erroneously declared dead by a Delhi hospital — have triggered a debate on regulation in private healthcare. Dr Devi Shetty, the pioneer of low-cost cardiac surgeries, reflects on measures to revamp healthcare in India. The founder of Narayana Health, a chain of affordable medical centres, was once called ‘The Henry Ford of Heart Surgery’ by The Wall Street Journal and has been awarded the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan

ABANTIKA GHOSH: There is an ongoing debate about regulating hospitals in the private sector. You have opposed the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments Act, which has proposed caps on the cost of healthcare, legal accountability etc.