Addressing Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) with Innovation
Bringing high-tech, high-touch solutions to the frontline
India is home to more than 50 million diabetics – the most in the world – with new patients diagnosed every day. In addition, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is currently the leading cause of death in urban and rural India, killing two million people each year. Within 15 years, it is projected that India will bear 40 to 60 percent of the worlds' CVD burden.
When it comes to treating cardiovascular disease and diabetes in India, the magnitude of the issue can be overwhelming.
"Chronic diseases have reached epidemic proportions in India," says Dr. D. Prabhakaran, executive director of the Centre for Chronic Disease Control in Delhi. "Though detection and management is relatively simple, less than half of the people are diagnosed and receiving treatment. The good news is that technology gives us a new opportunity to address these challenges."
In the beautiful Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, Dr. Prabhakaran and colleagues Drs. Nikhil Tandon and Ajay Vamadevan are leading a project that employs high-tech smartphones and netbooks as healthcare tools. The team will test, modify, and develop new training materials and approaches for integrating noncommunicable diseases into primary healthcare, using software that will help screen, diagnose, and manage patients. The data collected will be used to provide researchers insights into overall NCD trends.
As part of the pilot program, CCDC will also train community healthcare workers in order to implement NCD care at the community level. The Medtronic Foundation supports the CCDC as it works to create a model for NCD management, in hopes that these efforts will then be recommended to the government to expand throughout India, and potentially in other parts of the world.
"NCDs are a challenge to many developing nations," says Dr. Nikhil Tandon, All India Institute of Medical Sciences. "But much can be done, both at the policy level, including efforts to reduce tobacco use and improve diets, and at the primary care level, where we need to deliver quality, lower cost care."