Health officials stress the need to focus on emerging medical landscapes

With the State’s Directorate of Medical Education celebrating 60 years, health officials stressed the need to focus on emerging medical landscapes such as non communicable diseases (NCD), mental health, geriatric care and impact of climate changes.

On Tuesday, Health Minister Ma. Subramanian participated in the 60th diamond jubilee celebrations of the directorate and inaugurated the medical science conference.

Addressing the gathering, Health Secretary P. Senthilkumar raised the need to look forward to competence-based training, simulation, including more use of digital platforms and a more inter-disciplinary approach for students and professionals.Noting that Artificial Intelligence is emerging as a major factor in the medical sector, he said, “Rapid developments are altering the way we will be dealing with disease diagnosis and treatment. We need to prepare ourselves and our students for AI and related technologies.”

He also stressed the need to focus on research and innovation. “We have a robust network of medical college hospitals. How do we make these institutions knowledge-generating centres? All these institutions need to identify protocols for local diseases, health system research and indigenous solutions for various tropical diseases and emerging diseases,” he added.

He put forward the need to focus on emerging medical landscapes whether it is NCDs, mental health, geriatric care and climate-focussed changes. He said that various climatic factors have impacted the pattern of diseases such as scrub typhus, dengue and chikungunya. Global data shows rapid spread, and diseases that were restricted to endemic 10 to 15 years ago have gained epidemic proportions now, creating an impact throughout the world.

He went on to emphasise on the core values of institutions. “Our institutions are public institutions, funded by taxpayers money. We need to ensure that social justice and public service are core values which are non-negotiable. We should focus on empathy, ethics and serving the underserved and inculcate in students so that we produce truly good medical, nursing and allied health professionals who display leadership, institutional integrity and have a public service mind,” he said.