Leading oncologists, nephrologists and NGOs shone the spotlight on preventive healthcare over merely curative options in a session titled ‘Rethinking CST in healthcare: Preventive, inclusive and scalable’.Dr Sultan Pradhan of CanCare Trust stated that mortalities and morbidities would not reduce unless more resources were invested in preventing diseases like cancer. He said communities themselves, not hospitals, can convince people to alter their lifestyle.Dr P Raghu Ram, of Ushalakshmi Breast Cancer Foundation, called for investing CSR funds in early screening and detection. Shalini Jatia of ImpaCCT Foundation, TMC, said the hospital is able to treat 6,000 children for free annually thanks to generous donors. Nephrologist Dr Bharat Shah of Narmada Kidney Foundation, spoke of his Transplant Games wherein organ donors and recipients show how one can live a full life after organ transplant.The audience was stirred by the narration of Jaya Jairam of MOHAN Foundation, who herself has received a kidney from her mother. She said five lakh patients await organ transplant. Jairam said preventive healthcare is smart economics too, since it saves future treatment costs.

Important insights came from Rameshwar Naik of CM Medical Cell. He listed steps taken by the Maharashtra govt to make healthcare accessible and affordable to the common man, including an online integration portal of all welfare schemes, single window assistance and a toll free number for guidance.