Dr. Utkarsh Shah: Beyond Doctors - Opportunities for Non Healthcare Professionals in Healthcare

Healthcare Industry in India is booming, with industry estimates suggestive of a growth at the rate of over 15% per annum for the next decade. Doctors and Medical Professionals play a crucial role in delivery of medical care and hence form of the core of healthcare industry. However, in contrast to contrary belief, one doesn’t need to be a ‘medico’ to have a successful career in the domain of healthcare. Changing dynamics of healthcare industry has created tremendous job opportunities for non medical professionals. Doctors and Medical professionals are not the only experts required by the Healthcare Industry. Recent trends in the industry have shown that non-medical professionals are playing a crucial role in promoting and propelling the growth of this industry. Indian healthcare industry would need a balance of medical, para-medical as well as non medical professionals to sustain its growth through the next decade. Growing number of private and corporate hospitals, across India will need trained and qualified management professionals, equipped with the skills of managing the hospitals efficiently and beating the growing competition. These managers will play a vital role in financial management, ensuring optimization of human resources along with playing a vital role in marketing, branding and positioning of hospitals. With increasing focus on quality in healthcare, trained professionals in the domain of quality management play a crucial role in enforcing and creating universally accepted standards of quality. With increasing dependence of healthcare on technology to improve the health outcomes, there is a consistently rising demand for professionals in the domains of medical equipment technology and automation. IT professionals are required to design comprehensive information systems aimed at compiling and collating relevant information about disease conditions and evaluate success of medical interventions. Engineers from different areas of expertise are required to innovate, design and create new medical equipments that are more efficient and cost effective. The demand for Hospital Architects and Project managers with expertise in healthcare is on the rise to help in expansion and construction of hospitals of international standards which are backed with evidence-based design and customer friendly ambiance. So the healthcare industry needs non medical professionals, but what are the growth prospects for a person who has no medical or paramedical background in an industry which is dominated by Doctors? Though doctors and medical professionals will continue to play a pivotal role in the healthcare industry, there are wide arrays of growth opportunities for non medical professionals. CEOs of some of the leading hospitals in India are non-medical professionals. Leading healthcare consultancy firms have professionals with background in Financial Management, Strategic management, Quality management, etc compared to medicos. Biomedical Equipment market is packed with professionals with no medical background. Departments like Human Resource and Marketing in Hospitals are manned by non medical professionals. The list can go on…. Healthcare System in India is evolving and it will continue to create opportunities for non medical professionals in the times to come. Basic aptitude and a brief understanding of the system will be imperative for a successful career in healthcare and experience in clinical medicine will not be a requisite. Authored by: DR .UTKARSH SHAH Assistant Professor- Healthcare Management Prin. L N Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research   Dr. Utkarsh Shah, BHMS, Masters in Healthcare Administration from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, has an experience of over 6 years in the domain of healthcare consultancy and hospital management. He has worked for various public sector organizations including the WHO (India), Department of Health and Family Welfare, Bihar& Madhya Pradesh. He also has a wide range of experience in the domain of Operational Management and Planning across private sector hospitals.