"They are delivering outstandingly good healthcare"
Britain’s healthcare system should learn from India, which is delivering “outstandingly good healthcare” at a fraction of the cost seen in Western countries, according to NHS England chairman Dr Penny Dash.
Speaking on the HealthTech Hour podcast, Dr Dash praised India’s use of technology to deliver healthcare to its vast population while keeping costs comparatively low.
She said: “Oh my goodness. India is off.
“They are delivering outstandingly good healthcare for dramatically lower unit costs than almost anyone else.
“And with unbelievably huge populations. So, wow. That’s going to be very interesting. Watch this space.”
Dr Dash said India could become a leading example of how technology can improve healthcare access and efficiency:
“I think India is probably going to become the global exemplar in healthcare provision.
“There is some cool stuff happening in the US, but India is just off, using technology in ways that the US and that we could only dream of.”
According to Dr Dash, one of the most significant aspects of India’s approach is its focus on making healthcare more accessible while reducing the cost of treatment.
She said India was “democratising access to healthcare”, with the ambition strongly shared by technology founders, managers and doctors across the country’s healthcare sector.
India’s approach builds on the use of standardised processes to treat large numbers of patients efficiently.
Dr Dash highlighted the country’s so-called “cataract factories”, where large volumes of cataract operations are performed at relatively low cost.
The model separates tasks that do not require specialist expertise from those requiring a surgeon’s skills. Trained staff can therefore handle routine stages of treatment, allowing surgeons to focus on procedures that require their expertise.
Dr Dash said: “Technology now was standardised operating processes 20 years ago. They were very early in standard operating processes and have now tech-enabled those standard operating processes.”
India has also invested heavily in digital health infrastructure.
Almost 940 million digital health IDs have been created through the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, with more than one billion health records linked to the system.
The initiative aims to make it easier for healthcare providers to securely share medical information, coordinate treatment and provide services remotely.
Artificial intelligence is also increasingly being explored across Indian healthcare, including diagnostics, disease surveillance and health service management.
Dr Dash’s comments come as the NHS faces mounting pressure to improve productivity and meet rising demand. An ageing population and increasing levels of chronic illness are placing further strain on healthcare services.
The UK Government has also placed greater emphasis on technology and digital services as part of efforts to move more care away from hospitals and make treatment more accessible within communities.
However, Dr Dash argued that Britain should look internationally for successful approaches rather than attempting to develop healthcare reforms in isolation.
India was not the only country she identified as offering lessons for the UK.
Dr Dash also praised healthcare approaches in Nordic countries, particularly their emphasis on prevention and social cohesion.
“The Nordic countries I still think are some of the most interesting to look at”, she said, highlighting “primary prevention” and a “strong sense of social cohesion”.
She specifically pointed to Sweden’s approach to primary care, where patients can have greater choice over how they access GPs and other healthcare services.
Under the Swedish model, she said, “you don’t have to go to your registered GP”, adding:
“You can actually choose who you go to and still have it covered through the state model.”
New Zealand was also highlighted for its progress in technology and electronic health records since around 2010, alongside its work in public health and primary care.
Dr Dash described Australia’s innovation in primary care as “very impressive”, while stressing that Britain should not simply copy another country’s healthcare system.
She also pointed to Singapore’s use of electronic healthcare and Germany’s approach to using data and analytics when making decisions about healthcare purchasing.
