Vasant Ramaswamy
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A network of experts in global healthcare
Is it possible to build a global brains trust of experts in healthcare policy, public healthcare design and healthcare delivery - covering the entire gamut from control of disease to outcomes measurement? Can such a network be harnessed effectively to address the issues of global healthcare from the widely prevalent to the obscure by building on human knowledge than bureaucratic reinvention of wheels in each country? For example, many Asian countries like India are beginning to follow the US example of HMOs and will wait to learn the costly errors of that path. China's idea of "disease management" is unique and dangerous by way of disclosure and epidemics like SARS or HIV can be dramatic with destruction. Surely there must be innovative ways of applying knowledge to cut across political boundaries? Jean-Francios Rischard of the World Bank suggests building a "global issues network" - using experts to regulate the world - right here on Big Think. How could that work in healthcare? … Read More
July 23, 2008 |
Vasant Ramaswamy commented on Supervising Nation-States with Experts on July 23, 2008, 11:32 AM
Jean-Francios, I think this is a wonderful idea. The crux is in the choice of experts. The company I founded tries to address this in the context of healthcare providers worldwide and it is tricky. However, I would urge you to take the idea to the next level and get it to implementation in one area - I would be delighted to try and make this happen in Healtchare.
Vasant Ramaswamy commented on What is the world's biggest challenge in the coming decade? on January 28, 2008, 5:46 PM
Fascinating question! In my view it is Religion. It seems to be at the root of too much that is going on worldwide. My attempt is to be non-judgmental and merely observe. The advanced economies are showing signs of right wing inflexibility - the US is seeing resurgence of evangelical fervor. It demands a 'binary' state of views - pro life or pro choice, heterosexual or gay, Jeffersonian democracy or totalitarian - all somehow informed by Religion. The emerging economies mirror the same trends. India is showing clear signs of intolerance in Gujarat where persecution of moslems seems to go unheeded as in Orissa, Meghalaya with the burning of Christians and their churches. The bastion of secularism in that part of the world may be fast losing its claim to such a stance. As home to Hindus that form 14% of the world's population (Islam accounts for 16%), this a signal of a serious challenge. Elsewhere in Sudan, Ethopia, Iraq factions driven by religious divides are causing immense tensions. Issues like female circumcision based on religious beliefs, banned in several countries, still pervade Algeria, Iran, Kuwait, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Religion could be that huge challenge.
Vasant Ramaswamy commented on What is the world's biggest challenge in the coming decade? on January 28, 2008, 12:46 PM
Fascinating question! In my view it is Religion. It seems to be at the root of too much that is going on worldwide. My attempt is to be non-judgmental and merely observe. The advanced economies are showing signs of right wing inflexibility - the US is seeing resurgence of evangelical fervor. It demands a 'binary' state of views - pro life or pro choice, heterosexual or gay, Jeffersonian democracy or totalitarian - all somehow informed by Religion. The emerging economies mirror the same trends. India is showing clear signs of intolerance in Gujarat where persecution of moslems seems to go unheeded as in Orissa, Meghalaya with the burning of Christians and their churches. The bastion of secularism in that part of the world may be fast losing its claim to such a stance. As home to Hindus that form 14% of the world's population (Islam accounts for 16%), this a signal of a serious challenge. Elsewhere in Sudan, Ethopia, Iraq factions driven by religious divides are causing immense tensions. Issues like female circumcision based on religious beliefs, banned in several countries, still pervade Algeria, Iran, Kuwait, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Religion could be that huge challenge.
I founded and run a global lifesciences & healthcare information services company, Scriplogix, from New York. As a team we believe that over the next decade or two, life sciences and healthcare, will undergo radical and discontinuous changes across the spectrum - from the way we think of life and death, to the way we deliver care and track outcomes. We believe that America will be in the forefront of such shifts. Our goal is to help make such change happen.
Vasant Ramaswamy commented on Supervising Nation-States with Experts on July 23, 2008, 3:32 PM
Jean-Francios, I think this is a wonderful idea. The crux is in the choice of experts. The company I founded tries to address this in the context of healthcare providers worldwide and it is tricky. However, I would urge you to take the idea to the next level and get it to implementation in one area - I would be delighted to try and make this happen in Healtchare.