New Delhi: Making medical technology more accessible to patients emerged as a key focus at the Indian Medical Parliamentarians’ Forum (IMPF) National Policy Summit on MedTech Access, held at Meril Academy in Vapi on September 22.
Held under the theme “Swasth Bharat Se Saksham Bharat | Reimagining MedTech Access in India”, the summit brought together parliamentarians, government officials, healthcare institutions, clinicians, researchers and industry representatives to discuss how India can strengthen its medical technology ecosystem and improve the adoption of advanced healthcare solutions.
The discussions covered indigenous research and manufacturing, clinical evidence, regulation, health technology assessment, reimbursement, financing and workforce training. The summit was chaired by Dr Anil Sukhdeorao Bonde, Rajya Sabha MP and Chairperson of IMPF. Representatives from the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Department of Health Research, ICMR, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, National Health Authority, AIIMS Nagpur and NHSRC participated in the discussions.
Building a Stronger MedTech Ecosystem
The first panel, “Building a Sustainable and Globally Competitive MedTech Ecosystem,” examined the conditions needed to support medical technology research, manufacturing and adoption in India.
The discussion brought attention to the complete journey of a medical device—from research and engineering to clinical validation, regulatory approval, manufacturing and eventual use in healthcare facilities.
The panel was chaired by Dr Shivaji Bandappa Kalge, with Manoj Kumar Joshi, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, as Co-Chair. Dr Vibhav Garg of Meril moderated the session, with Prof. (Dr.) Prashant P. Joshi and Dr Neha Dumka among the participants.
Joshi highlighted the need to strengthen quality, clinical evidence, domestic supply chains, engineering capabilities and component manufacturing. He also emphasised that regulatory systems should support products developed in India while maintaining standards that can support global competitiveness.
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Connecting Doctors, Engineers and Researchers
The summit also highlighted the role of medical institutions in identifying real-world healthcare needs and working with engineers, researchers and industry to develop suitable solutions.
Prof. (Dr.) Prashant P. Joshi stressed the importance of interdisciplinary research between medical and engineering institutions. Academic programmes, fellowships and specialised training were discussed as ways to build a stronger talent pipeline for the medical technology sector.
Dr Shivaji Kalge also highlighted the potential of Indian medical device manufacturers to develop products for both domestic and international markets, while underlining the importance of research, quality and innovation.
This focus is significant because developing a medical device is only one part of the healthcare technology journey. Its wider impact depends on whether hospitals can adopt it, healthcare professionals can use it effectively and patients can access the resulting treatment.
Making MedTech Reach More Patients
The second panel, “Expanding Access to Quality Care through MedTech Innovation,” shifted the discussion towards patient access and adoption.
The session examined clinical evidence, health technology assessment, financing, reimbursement, technology adoption and workforce training. It also looked at the challenges involved in taking advanced technologies beyond major hospitals and into different levels of the healthcare system.
The session was chaired by Dr Jashvantsinh Parmar and moderated by Dr Sharmila Sarkar. Dr Gaurav Shanker Pradhan, Dr Shailesh Kumar Yadav and Dr Suchita Markan participated as panellists.
Cost Is More Than the Price of a Device
Dr Shailesh Kumar Yadav, Joint Director, National Health Authority, highlighted the importance of linking clinical effectiveness with appropriate financing and reimbursement mechanisms.
He also pointed to the need to examine the overall cost of care, rather than considering only the initial purchase price of a medical device.
For healthcare institutions, the actual cost of adopting a technology can include installation, maintenance, training, consumables and other operational requirements. This makes financing and reimbursement an important part of determining whether a technology can move from a specialised setting into wider use.
Training Healthcare Professionals
The summit also focused on another challenge: having the right technology does not automatically guarantee effective use.
Dr Gaurav Shanker Pradhan stressed the importance of competency-based training for clinicians, technicians and other healthcare professionals. Digital and remote learning were also discussed as possible ways to extend training opportunities to professionals in underserved areas.
This approach could become increasingly important as advanced medical technologies reach more hospitals and healthcare facilities outside major urban centres.
Dr Neha Dumka said technologies intended for primary healthcare should be assessed for factors including ease of use, cost-effectiveness, scalability and sustainability within the health system.
Strengthening Healthcare at the District and Community Level
Dr Jashvantsinh Parmar highlighted the need to identify bottlenecks in healthcare delivery and strengthen capabilities at community health centres and sub-district facilities.
He also called for systematic evaluation of technologies through comparative and data-based studies.
Such assessments can help policymakers and healthcare institutions understand which technologies deliver meaningful outcomes in different healthcare settings and what support is required for their adoption.
The focus on lower levels of the healthcare system is particularly relevant for expanding access, as advanced medical technology remains most useful when it can be integrated into the facilities where patients actually seek care.
From Innovation to Adoption
The discussions at the IMPF summit pointed to the need for greater coordination across several parts of the MedTech ecosystem.
These include indigenous innovation, clinical evidence, regulation, health technology assessment, financing, reimbursement, professional training and institutional adoption.
The summit therefore looked beyond simply developing new medical devices. It examined the wider policy and healthcare environment required to take those innovations from laboratories and manufacturing facilities to hospitals and patients.
The event also placed emphasis on collaboration among policymakers, medical institutions, researchers and industry. The participation of officials and experts from organisations including the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Department of Health Research, ICMR, NHA, AIIMS Nagpur and NHSRC reflected the cross-sector nature of the discussion.
A Broader MedTech Policy Conversation
The Indian Medical Parliamentarians’ Forum, established in 2006, is a non-partisan forum of Members of Parliament from both Houses with backgrounds in medicine and healthcare.
The Vapi summit added to the broader policy conversation around how India can strengthen domestic medical technology capabilities while ensuring that innovation translates into accessible healthcare.
For patients, the larger challenge is not simply whether new technologies are developed, but whether they are clinically useful, affordable, properly evaluated and available through healthcare systems equipped to use them.
The discussions at Vapi highlighted these interconnected requirements, placing MedTech access within the larger goal of building a healthcare system that can combine innovation with affordability, evidence, skills and wider adoption.
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