ForthefirsttimeinIndia, a global pharmaceutical company wentbeyond the traditional medical representative routebyaddressing theunmet healthneedsof rural India, thereby dramatically improving access tomedicine whileatthesame timeproviding opportunities toexpandbusiness in an innovative andsocially responsible way. Novartis isthefirstpharmaceutical multinational touseasocial business model toreach India's ruralmarkets. Forsome800millionmen, womenandchildren inmore than600,000villages across India, theideaof accessible, affordable andhigh-quality medicines is oftenasremoteastheirruralhomes. Institutional healthcare inruralIndiais limited tothegovernment structure. Privatehealthcare services areindividual- drivenandunstructured. Thegovernment offershealthservices freeofcostbut over70percentrural peoplepayforhealthservices. Novartis commissioned MART tounderstand theheathneeds, behaviour andat- titude towards medicine inrural areas. MART found thattheawareness ofhealth issueswaspoor, andpeopleaccessed healthservices aftertryingvarious home remedies. Thedelay intreatment andtheensuingemergency wereconsidered natural. Ailments related tonutrition, allergies andinfections werenotdifferenti- ated, leading tothepatient notapproaching therelevant healthserviceprovider. Thisleads toasignificant wasteofmoneyandnoreliefromailments. Manyof thesepeoplestayedundiagnosed because theyeitherdidnotunderstand their symptoms, orthedoctorsweretoofaraway, ortheywereafraidofthecosts involved orofsocial prejudice. Women andchildrenwereparticularly vulnerable.
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thetotaltreatmentcostandbelievedit to bemuchhigherthantheactualcost,becauseof whichtheyavoidedseekingtreatment.Thiswrongper-ceptionwascorrected,afterwhichpatientsrealizedthatthetreatmentwasaffordable..Tomakehealthserviceacceptable,theprogrammeidentifiedcriticalhealthissuesrelatedtoinfection,nutritionandallergies.TheArogyaprogrammead-dressedtheseidentifiedissues,deliveringgoodresultsandtherebybuildingtrustwithinthecommunity.
lishedstrongallianceswith pharmacyandhospitalchainsthatserveas a goodcomplementto Novartis.
Thecompetitiveadvantageof ArogyaParivaris that it makeseveryactorwin.Patientsareeducatedandavoidhealthcomplications.Healthprofessionalssee
morepeoplethantheymightotherwise,andarealsotrained.Healtheducatorswhoworkforthecompanyarelocallybased,receiveextensivetraining,andgainadditionalstatuswithintheir communities.As for Novartis,theyare improving
healthcareandchangingthelivesof peoplein need.
A holisticmodel,ArogyaParivarhasensuredthatareasthatwerehithertorela-
tivelyuntouchedby traditionalmedicalrepresentativesare now on the road
TheArogyaprogrammeiscognizantof theimportanceofworkingwithNGOs,especiallyinawarenessprogrammesviacomrnunity-Ievelmeetingsandhealthcamps.In2011,theArogyaprogrammeplannedto forma consortiumof atleast20NGOsinIndiatoprovidetargetedinterventioninthecausesofdiabetes,tuberculosis,diarrhoeaandalsofortheprovisionofcleanwater.
of treatments.Novartisalsoplansto addalliedproductslikesanitarynapkins,waterpurificationproductsandcleandeliverykits to supplementthe incomeoftheHE.Theaccompanyingvideoexplainshowthisprojecthasbeeninitiatedand
implementedin UttarPradesh.
Discussion Questions
1. Whatproblemsof the ruralcommunitywereaddressedthroughthismodel?2. Ust thekeyreasonsfor thesustainabilityof thismodel.