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Hospital Leaders Urge Care Beyond Hospitals to Patients’ Doorsteps
Hospital leaders said healthcare should reach people where they live, instead of making every patient go to a big hospital.
They said hospitals are still needed for complicated treatments such as cancer care, transplants and critical care.
Routine visits, tests and care for long-term illnesses could happen closer to home.
One speaker said about 65% of care already takes place outside hospitals.
The leaders also called for care to continue over time, rather than happening only when someone gets sick.
A Fortis Healthcare leader pointed to community hospitals and day-care centres as useful options.
A Disha Eye Hospitals leader said AI tools help remind doctors about waiting patients and appointments.
Another speaker said investment should be judged by how much care and capacity it helps provide.
Hospital leaders at CII Healthcare East 2026 called for a shift from hospital-centric to patient-centric care.
R. Venkatesh said complex services should remain in hospitals, while consultations, diagnostics and chronic disease care can move closer to patients.
He estimated that 65% of patient care happens outside hospitals and 35% within them, and urged greater continuity of care.
Fortis Healthcare’s Richa Singh Debgupta backed community hospitals and day-care settings; Disha Eye Hospitals’ Debasish Bhattacharya described using AI to reduce patient waiting times.
Ayanabh DebGupta said about $15 billion in private equity had entered India’s healthcare sector over five to six years, and urged investment to be judged by the capacity and care it enables.
- Who
- Hospital leaders and healthcare industry representatives, including speakers from Narayana Health, Fortis Healthcare, Disha Eye Hospitals and Manipal Hospitals.
- What
- They discussed shifting from hospital-centric care to patient-centric care, alongside healthcare capacity, technology and investment.
- Where
- The conference focused on Eastern India; the article does not specify its venue.
- When
- Tuesday, at the 20th CII Healthcare East 2026 conference.
- Why
- Speakers said care should be more accessible and continuous, while healthcare capacity and investment should better meet patient needs.
Key facts
- Conference
- 20th CII Healthcare East 2026
- Conference theme
- “Future Ready Healthcare: Innovation, Investment & Inclusion for Eastern India”
- Care location estimate
- R. Venkatesh said 65% of patient care was delivered outside hospitals and 35% within them.
- Hospital-based services
- Speakers said complex care such as oncology, transplants and critical care requires centralised hospital services.
- Potential community-based services
- OPD consultations, diagnostics and chronic disease management were identified as services that can be delivered closer to patients.
- AI deployment
- Debasish Bhattacharya said Disha Eye Hospitals had deployed AI across 20 hospitals, where about 100 consultants work in OPDs.
- Private equity
- Ayanabh DebGupta said about $15 billion in private equity funding entered India’s healthcare sector over the past five to six years.
Quotes
Richa Singh Debgupta
Group chief strategy officer and COO (East & Rajasthan) of Fortis Healthcare.
“We should not only ask what return on capital has been generated but also find out how much capacity it has created, what quality of care it has enabled and how many more patients the system has allowed us to serve.”
telegraphindia.com
“That needs to change, and we have to move from being hospital-centric to care-centric. If you have a patient who can be treated in a community hospital or a day-care set-up, that’s a model to follow.”
telegraphindia.com
Sources
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