Events of ADRI (Patna - Ranchi)
Patna, 12 February. A webinar on the topic ‘Private Medical Care and Public Private Partnership (PPP) in India, with focus on Bihar : Exploring Opportunities and Challenges’ was organized by the Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI), Patna on February 11-12, 2021.
The webinar brought together academicians, medical practitioners and public health workers from India and abroad to interact with the health officials in Bihar to discuss the opportunities and challenges of PPP in the State. The webinar was held over two days and attended by researchers from the UK, Finland and India. The scholars had discussed the role of private sector historically and its present status in both India and abroad. Further, issues of ethical challenges, logic of the market for health services, and problems with contracts and gaps in the public private partnership were also discussed. Eminent medical practitioner Dr Naresh Trehan, highlighted the role of private sector in providing quality care along with the public sector. However, he stressed that the private sector needs to allay the fears related to medical ethics and profit motives.
Mr. Pratyaya Amrit, Principal Secretary (health) highlighted the role that the Bihar government in playing in smooth and transparent functioning of the PPPs. Dr Ravi Shankar Prasad, from Medanta Patna, discussed about the challenges faced by entrepreneurs while setting up PPPs in Bihar. Based on experiences across India, Mr. Debarshi Bhattacharya from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) presented the achievements and limitations of PPP in health in different states.
After opening remarks from Professor Prabhat P Ghosh, Director (ADRI) the two Technical Sessions of the Webinar were chaired by Dr. Robert Arnott (University of Oxford) and Dr. Ashmita Gupta (ADRI). At the end, Dr. Kasturi Sen (University of Oxford) summarised the deliberations at the end, and proposed a vote of thanks.