“Healthcare is constantly changing. It is not what it used to be yesterday and not going to be the same tomorrow. We are in an era where we need to deliver more for less.”
- Dr Hari Prasad, President – Apollo Hospitals


 
Catalyst 2019 brought about 300 people together at our Hyderabad campus to talk about healthcare in India. Catalyst is the healthcare and pharma innovation meet curated by the Max Institute of Healthcare Management in association with ISB Alumni Healthcare Special Interest Group.
 
This year it was designed as a personalised conference or Unconference – topics and experts were organised around round tables at the Atrium. The participants then chose a table and had an involved discussion. Each participant typically participated in two round tables.
 
The event conveyed the excitement and opportunity in the healthcare industry to the students, and also, brought a chance for them to meet with senior alumni and industry leaders and gain insights of current trends and opportunities in the sector. Catalyst endeavoured to provide students the opportunity to become ‘industry ready’ and an opportunity for ISB to engage with healthcare companies in a non-transactional way. 


 
In the many conversations of Catalyst 2019, technology was discussed the most. Dr Hari Prasad, President – Apollo Hospitals, added, “Today, the expectation is to deliver the highest quality care with the best outcome, quickest recovery back to work but at the least cost and it is going to be a challenge in healthcare. In this environment, the only thing which can provide a solution is technology. Technology has to be a huge disruptor, and in future, there’s going to have a lot of changes in the delivery side in the healthcare being driven by technology and change for tomorrow has already begun.”
 
Catalyst brought together three essential stakeholders: ISB alumni in healthcare, ISB students from three programmes – PGP, PGPpro and AMPH – and industry leaders. Four tracks or topics were discussed at Catalyst 2019:
 
Digital Health TRACK: With digital and data in focus at healthcare and pharma firms, participants spoke about what's happening in this space
Healthcare Startup and Funder TRACK: This track discussed the type of startup ideas and funder interests in healthcare
Public Health Innovation TRACK discussed Ayushman Bharat and how it’s pushing the boundary on how public health delivery is done
Business Innovation TRACK: Innovation in pharma, medical devices and delivery space were discussed here
 
“It was wonderful being here at the Catalyst. I think the quality of the discussions, the sheer energy of the participants to change healthcare is just amazing. Indian healthcare is at an inflection point, and Catalyst and events like this will go a long way in making sure that we get accessible and affordable healthcare to all Indians,” said Dr Rana Mehta, Leader – PwC.
 
Participation at Catalyst has grown from strength to strength. This year, we had 89 industry leaders, 77 ISB alumni, 103 students participate in the Unconference.

Know more about Max Institute of Healthcare Management here.