India’s cancer hospital grid promise: Higher quality, lower costs

What started as a four-hospital network of Tata Memorial Hospital has grown into a 177-centre grid that sees 700,000 new cases every year. International support is pouring in, as is patient inquiry. Ayushman Bharat is plugging into the grid, too. Will peer pressure bring India’s private healthcare providers onboard?

India’s National Cancer grid sees nearly 60% of the country’s cancer cases every year. The volume play is kicking, in price negotiation for bulk procurement as well as international supervision

With 30% of Ayushman Bharat reimbursements spent on cancer, the government is taking note and changing policies

Insurers and patients are poised to benefit. So will cancer centres across the country

A voluntary, non-statutory agency could rein in the escalating cancer care costs and varying quality. Does it all sound too good to be true?

No matter the time of day, the visitors in queue at Mumbai’s Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) always have a discomfiting poise. Most have travelled long distances; but the group seems curated by one illness, cancer. An illness that can be manageable, like a chronic disease, but often isn’t.

In 2012, the leadership at TMH, the largest cancer centre in the country, took a decisive step to address parts of the colossal task at hand.

AUTHOR

Seema Singh

Seema has over two decades of experience in journalism. Before starting The Ken, Seema wrote “Myth Breaker: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and the Story of Indian Biotech”, published by HarperCollins in May 2016. Prior to that, she was a senior editor and bureau chief for Bangalore with Forbes India, and before that she wrote for Mint. Seema has written for numerous international publications like IEEE-Spectrum, New Scientist, Cell and Newsweek. Seema is a Knight Science Journalism Fellow from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a MacArthur Foundation Research Grantee.

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