Tech Care for All India: Sustainably transforming health outcomes with a passion for positive social impact
Digital healthcare plays a predominant role in healthcare, today. The application of information and communications technology to render digital health interventions that prevent disease and improve quality of life isn’t new. However, in the face of global concerns related to aging, epidemics and pandemics, high costs, and poor access to healthcare, these technologies continue to grow in importance. Many digital health organizations are coming up with programs that push the innovation envelope.One such digital health social impact organization is Tech Care for All India, a subsidiary of Tech Care for All (global). Tech Care for All India is fully focused on sustainably improving health outcomes and dedicated to harnessing digital health technologies to improve health in India. In an interaction with CIOTech Outlook, Sachin Malhotra, CEO of Tech Care for All India, shares his view on how Tech Care for All India radically democratizes Medical Learning.
Tech Care for All India was launched in 2018 with the basic conviction that digital innovation can disproportionately help India’s 860 million citizens who today lack access to quality healthcare. How do you achieve this?
We achieve this by upskilling millions of healthcare providers throughout India to provide quality care, whether they practice in an urban hospital or the most remote rural clinic. As a social impact business, Tech Care for All India is determined to massively increase and democratize access to lifelong medical learning by making it accessible, affordable, and attractive. Tech Care for All is part of a growing wave in India’s tech sector: companies that make it a core part of their business model to generate positive social impact by focusing on unmet societal needs.
Shed light on your flagship product - Medical Learning Hub. Highlight the USPs. What impact has it created in the market?
Covid-19 reminded us that necessity is indeed the mother of invention. Tech Care for All leveraged Medical Learning Hub, our flagship product, in new ways to quickly respond to a huge upsurge in the need for remote medical education during the worst phases of the pandemic and get the word out about new treatments. Like Airbnb or Agoda, Medical Learning Hub is a well-stocked marketplace of training opportunities.
Physicians and surgeons search and book training to gain the vital expertise they need to keep up with the new knowledge and innovations in their specialties. High-performance cloud-based software powers the Hub to host all training types, from self-paced courses to live webinars, online conferences, surgical demonstrations, and even on-site opportunities. High-quality training is assured by TC4A’s disciplined approach to content development. Our courses are developed through partnerships with leading specialty hospitals and respected medical and surgical associations.
Please elaborate on the various exciting new business opportunities Tech Care for All found in prioritizing social impact?
We had a great opportunity to empower the healthcare workforce: A leading maker of medicines for global markets used MLH to host 71 knowledge-sharing webinars on COVID-19, for a total of 180 hours throughout 2020-2021, enrolling 65,448 doctors and other providers. MLH’s extensive course analytics helped the client understand its audience and react to learning needs in the medical community as the pandemic progressed. The scientifically sound online workshops likely improved care for thousands of patients. Drawing high marks from participating clinicians, the program also reinforced the brand’s name recognition, gravitas, and credibility. Tech Care for All’s sophisticated digital
marketing reached about 300,000 healthcare professionals and raised the company’s profile.
Another great example is our tuberculosis program. For World TB Day 2022, we delivered an entire virtual conference on 'Clinical Updates & Innovation in Tuberculosis'. Over two days, clinicians, innovators, public health specialists, and scientists converged on MLH to share the latest advances in TB – from AI-guided detection to patient engagement apps. My team wanted to help fight India’s epidemic of TB – an infectious disease concentrated among the poor -- but we had not previously hosted an 8-hour event. The risk was rewarded. About 4000 people registered and more than 1200 participated from 28 countries spanning Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Over 90% reported they would use the information in their clinical practice. Sponsorship revenue put the event in the black and the participants registered for free.
Could you share any case study explaining how you helped your clients with your product/services and how the customer benefitted from it?
Absolutely. MLH is being used to make surgery safer for patients. The India business of a $5 billion global surgical company approached us to host live online surgical classes. To meet this client’s needs, Medical Learning Hub was used to deliver surgical demos directly from the operating theatre. These ran for up to six hours, with a live video feed of the surgical field and the performing surgeon and her/his surgical team, joined by an online moderator (also a surgeon). The surgeon would talk through the procedure while participants asked questions. 25 sessions covered bariatric, colorectal, and obstetric surgeries, using laparoscopic, endoscopic, and robotic techniques. One of the sessions demonstrated a total laparoscopic hysterectomy performed with an innovative surgical instrument that uses ultrasonic energy to simultaneously cut and cauterize tissue while decreasing surgical smoke.
Medical Learning Hub is also being used to improve postoperative care. A global medical device leader entrusted TC4A and MLH to bring awareness amongst clinicians on a new remote patient monitoring system for critical care units as well as private patient rooms. The system uses predictive AI to alert staff to potential deterioration and help them make the right decisions.
What is the future roadmap for Tech Care for All? How is the company gearing up for the same?
In 2022, Medical Learning Hub is delivering a comprehensive program of education and online engagement for health professionals working in breast and prostate cancer, which was made possible through grant funding. The program improves knowledge, skills, and practices for both specialists and general practitioners to detect breast and prostate cancer earlier and deliver high-quality that is closer to the patient.
After successfully launching the innovative online live surgery program for our client in 2021, MLH is now launching a series of live online neurosurgery CMEs – a first of its kind in the country!
Also slated for this year are more improvements in MLH features and user experience on mobile and desktop. Our platform will soon offer a community forum feature that connects healthcare professionals into online groups that can share experiences peer-to-peer. And the mobile app will offer a dual online/offline function to meet the needs of users without 24/7 connectivity. We have been pleased with the Indian market’s affirmation that going after a positive social impact on health is good business, too".
Another great example is our tuberculosis program. For World TB Day 2022, we delivered an entire virtual conference on 'Clinical Updates & Innovation in Tuberculosis'. Over two days, clinicians, innovators, public health specialists, and scientists converged on MLH to share the latest advances in TB – from AI-guided detection to patient engagement apps. My team wanted to help fight India’s epidemic of TB – an infectious disease concentrated among the poor -- but we had not previously hosted an 8-hour event. The risk was rewarded. About 4000 people registered and more than 1200 participated from 28 countries spanning Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Over 90% reported they would use the information in their clinical practice. Sponsorship revenue put the event in the black and the participants registered for free.
Could you share any case study explaining how you helped your clients with your product/services and how the customer benefitted from it?
Absolutely. MLH is being used to make surgery safer for patients. The India business of a $5 billion global surgical company approached us to host live online surgical classes. To meet this client’s needs, Medical Learning Hub was used to deliver surgical demos directly from the operating theatre. These ran for up to six hours, with a live video feed of the surgical field and the performing surgeon and her/his surgical team, joined by an online moderator (also a surgeon). The surgeon would talk through the procedure while participants asked questions. 25 sessions covered bariatric, colorectal, and obstetric surgeries, using laparoscopic, endoscopic, and robotic techniques. One of the sessions demonstrated a total laparoscopic hysterectomy performed with an innovative surgical instrument that uses ultrasonic energy to simultaneously cut and cauterize tissue while decreasing surgical smoke.
As a social impact business, Tech Care for All India is determined to massively increase and democratize access to lifelong medical learning by making it accessible, affordable, and attractive
Medical Learning Hub is also being used to improve postoperative care. A global medical device leader entrusted TC4A and MLH to bring awareness amongst clinicians on a new remote patient monitoring system for critical care units as well as private patient rooms. The system uses predictive AI to alert staff to potential deterioration and help them make the right decisions.
What is the future roadmap for Tech Care for All? How is the company gearing up for the same?
In 2022, Medical Learning Hub is delivering a comprehensive program of education and online engagement for health professionals working in breast and prostate cancer, which was made possible through grant funding. The program improves knowledge, skills, and practices for both specialists and general practitioners to detect breast and prostate cancer earlier and deliver high-quality that is closer to the patient.
After successfully launching the innovative online live surgery program for our client in 2021, MLH is now launching a series of live online neurosurgery CMEs – a first of its kind in the country!
Also slated for this year are more improvements in MLH features and user experience on mobile and desktop. Our platform will soon offer a community forum feature that connects healthcare professionals into online groups that can share experiences peer-to-peer. And the mobile app will offer a dual online/offline function to meet the needs of users without 24/7 connectivity. We have been pleased with the Indian market’s affirmation that going after a positive social impact on health is good business, too".
