COVID-19 : Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals · A virtual health assistant was also developed and...
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COVID-19 : Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals What does the future hold for Healthcare in Sri Lanka? 10 July 2020 Relative to neighboring nations, many believe that the Government of Sri Lanka has responded well to the outbreak of COVID-19, despite having no prior experience of dealing with similar pandemics in the past, as was the case with most countries. This was echoed by all our panelists during a virtual panel discussion on the future of the Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals industry in Sri Lanka, hosted by PwC in association with Daily FT. Our strong healthcare system has been a highly supportive factor in creating a high quality skilled workforce in the country, which is a competitive advantage for the economy. The webinar was held on 08 May 2020 and was moderated by Ruvini Fernando, Director – CP&I and Deals Strategy, PwC Sri Lanka and Nisthar Cassim, Editor-in-chief, Daily FT. The eminent panel consisted of industry experts and business leaders which included: • Dr. Manjula Karunaratne, Group Chief Executive Officer of Asiri Health; • Dr. Rana Mehta, Healthcare Industry Leader / Partner of PwC India; • Dr. Kumari Navaratne, Health Sector Consultant to leading Development Finance Institutions and; • Mr. Shyam Sathasivam, Managing Director of Sunshine Healthcare. The following pages include the key discussion points and takeaways of the webinar discussion on the COVID-19 impact and outlook for Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals.
Transcript of COVID-19 : Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals · A virtual health assistant was also developed and...
COVID-19 : Healthcare and PharmaceuticalsWhat does the future hold for Healthcare in Sri Lanka? 10 July 2020
Relative to neighboring nations, many believe that the Government of Sri Lanka has responded well to
the outbreak of COVID-19, despite having no prior experience of dealing with similar pandemics in the
past, as was the case with most countries.
This was echoed by all our panelists during a virtual panel discussion on the future of the Healthcare
and Pharmaceuticals industry in Sri Lanka, hosted by PwC in association with Daily FT.
Our strong healthcare system has been a highly supportive factor in creating a high quality skilled
workforce in the country, which is a competitive advantage for the economy.
The webinar was held on 08 May 2020 and was moderated by Ruvini Fernando, Director – CP&I and
Deals Strategy, PwC Sri Lanka and Nisthar Cassim, Editor-in-chief, Daily FT. The eminent panel
consisted of industry experts and business leaders which included:
• Dr. Manjula Karunaratne, Group Chief Executive Officer of Asiri Health;
• Dr. Rana Mehta, Healthcare Industry Leader / Partner of PwC India;
• Dr. Kumari Navaratne, Health Sector Consultant to leading Development Finance Institutions and;
• Mr. Shyam Sathasivam, Managing Director of Sunshine Healthcare.
The following pages include the key discussion points and takeaways of the webinar discussion on the
COVID-19 impact and outlook for Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals.
How well has Sri Lanka managed the crisis?
The COVID-19 pandemic is a first of its
kind in Sri Lanka, as we were not
affected by the SARS outbreak in 2002
or MERS in 2010. Despite having no
experience in dealing with similar
pandemics however, the Government of
Sri Lanka has managed to handle the
crisis well driven by a strong
collaboration between the health and
military personnel.
The Government’s decision to defer
private sector testing for COVID-19 until
the public sector health officials had a
transparent and clear set of guidelines
and procedures for testing in place, was
also commended during the discussion.
In response to a query raised regarding
the adequacy of tests being carried out in
Sri Lanka, the limitations faced by the
officials were highlighted, which led to
strict criteria being followed when
conducting tests.
Source : World Bank (https://data.worldbank.org/)
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16%
11% 10%
6% 5%
US Singapore Sri Lanka India Bangladesh
Share of population over 65 years of age - 2018
36148
346455
1,240
US China Sri Lanka India Bangladesh
Population density (persons per sq km) - 2018
In terms of the pharmaceutical industry, it was noted that the country
currently has adequate medical supplies, and a deficit of drugs is not
imminent. However, a larger concern was the patients’ accessibility
to drugs due to an island-wide curfew being imposed. During the
lockdown period, customers required access to reliable brands that
were freely available online.
Additionally, pharmacy chains, which were primarily catering to the
Colombo district, during the lockdown had to extend its services
beyond this area. The pharmaceutical industry initially faced capacity
shortages stemming from logistics related issues, resulting in
significant delays in getting the product across to the end customer.
A steep learning curve for all, including the pharmaceutical industry
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In contrast to public sector dominance in
healthcare in Sri Lanka, it was highlighted by
Dr Rana, Healthcare Industry Leader from
PwC India, that 70% of healthcare services
in India is provided by the private sector,
coupled with an extensive health insurance
scheme that covers almost 500 million
Indians.
Dr Rana further explained that in responding
to the crisis, India has invested in technology
to increase testing capacity, introduced a
district level dashboard system (developed
by PwC India) to capture data such as the
number of beds available in each hospital,
the number of patients and the spread of the
disease, areas impacted, availability of
medical personnel and supplies etc.
A virtual health assistant was also
developed and tested in order to minimize
physical contact with medical personnel for
non-essential health services.
Investments in
technology is key for
healthcare services – a
key learning from India
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Source : World Bank
https://data.worldbank.org/
384 159 69 36
2,619
Malaysia Sri Lanka India Bangladesh Singapore
Current health expenditure per capita in USD (2017)
Sri Lankans on average, reside within 1.4 km a basic health clinic and 4.8 km from a
western type healthcare facility, respectively. However, we do not have a strong a
referral system in healthcare, possibly due to the lack of facilities and infrastructure
available at the primary healthcare clinics, which compels patients to come to larger
cities and facilities for treatment.
Following the outbreak of COVID-19, driven by the need for “social-distancing,” this
pattern has changed; with patients increasingly visiting primary healthcare facilities
in their respective neighborhood, thus reducing crowds at the provisional hospitals.
'In order for this trend to continue over the long-term, investments could be made to
improve infrastructure within these primary healthcare facilities.
Understanding that this would not be the last pandemic for Sri Lanka, the panelists
also noted that investments could be made in establishing more Infectious Diseases
Hospital in other key regions of the country.
/
How will COVID-19 change the healthcare system in
Sri Lanka?
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In dealing with the longer-term challenges, it was highlighted that all healthcare providers
and respective state officials must rethink the entire value chain, assess competitive
advantages of the past and how it may have changed and identify how to continue to add
value while tackling potential challenges.
Pharmaceutical manufacturing
For example, India, as a large pharmaceutical manufacturer, was still largely dependent on
China for inputs such as Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API). Dr Rana highlighted that
following the outbreak and the shutdown in China, the Government of India is now looking for
alternative countries to source APIs and potentially to even manufacture locally.
Sri Lanka has the competitive advantage of a very central and strategic location and
relatively lower cost of manufacturing to increase local manufacturing of pharmaceutical
products, reduce import dependency and be partially self reliant in this essential product.
However, in order to successfully create a manufacturing hub in Sri Lanka, the overall
investment environment and government policy must also be improved, while the need for
more skilled workers in focus areas must also be addressed.
Sri Lanka should
rethink its value
proposition in the
global healthcare
industry
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Local pharma manufacturing will also help to save forex outflows. There may also be an
opportunity for Sri Lanka to act as a trading or manufacturing hub for medical equipment,
with most companies in China looking at diversifying the manufacturing base.
Availability of skilled staff
During the discussion, it was highlighted that Sri Lanka currently meets 92% of its
requirement for doctors and expects to meet the full requirement in a few years, based on
current trends in output of medical graduates. The shortage in allied health professionals, the
need for continuous development programs and a better distribution of graduates between
the Public and Private sectors should also be addressed.
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