The healthcare and medical devices industry needs to leverage the tools of technology to recharge the domestic health system, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. The minister added that India will ensure availability of good quality healthcare equipment and facilities to all Indians.

“In fact this is the time, I believe where we have to leverage the tools of technology to recharge our health system with the power of three ‘A’ – access, awareness and availability,” he said at CII’s MedTech Global Summit 2020. Goyal said that using data and its processing can help further improvise healthcare delivery systems and ensure seamless flow of relevant patient information to doctors.

It will also assist doctors and medical institutions in the accurate diagnostic and curative care of patients, he added. Further, the minister said the goal of self reliance is impossible to achieve if “we cannot provide the safety of health and lives of our own citizens”.

He expressed hope that the domestic pharma and medical devices industry will be at the forefront in bringing cutting-edge technology to India and ensuring the country’s “rightful” place in the global trade. Goyal added this would also help India become a “hospital for the world”.