The fields of education, health, and environment are some of the biggest challenges faced by our country. Innovation in these fields are sorely needed, to alleviate both small scale and large scale problems. This is what social entrepreneurship is all about; doing business for a social cause. It aims to bring about a positive change in society through novel means and ideas. Profit may be one of the goals of a social enterprise, but it is often not the main one. Most social start-ups begin as non-profit or non-governmental organizations.
Healthcare is one of the major fields where principles of social innovation are applicable. With the rise in the number of diseases, it is important to not only provide for treatments in forms of medicines and vaccines, but also have the infrastructure, equipment, and the means to get these to people and raise awareness. The use of upcoming technology, such as machine learning can provide for quick diagnosis, and the use of robotics can be used to perform delicate surgeries that have no room for human error.
The Indian healthcare ecosystem could very well use the introduction of such technologies to further ameliorate it. Technology has tremendous potential in healthcare, as it can make various facilities accessible to everyone, and help in pinpointing the remote areas and bring them into the ecosystem as well. At the heart of this is, of course, affordability.
It is essential that the new (and old) facilities introduced are financially viable to people of every socio-economic background. Fortunately, the market for these entrepreneurial ideas is quite large, and investors are looking for start-ups that combine healthcare and technology. So for those of you reading this, comment below what you think can be various applications of technology in health care!