Apollo Hospitals Joint CEO Sangita Reddy addressed the 13th International Health Dialogue 2026 at HICC in Hyderabad on Saturday. | Photo credit: SIDDHANT THAKUR
Stricter quality control of healthcare products, reform of medical and nursing education, mandatory continuing medical education (CME) for practicing doctors and a pragmatic approach to informal practitioners are among the most urgent steps India needs to take to strengthen patient safety, says Sangita Reddy, CEO of Apollo Hospitals.
Speaking to The Hindu on the sidelines of the 13th International Health Dialogue 2026 in Hyderabad on Saturday (January 31), Ms Reddy outlined what she described as structural gaps that need attention if India is to uniformly raise safety standards across the country.
At the top of her list was the need for stricter regulation of healthcare products entering and circulating in the Indian market. She warned that due to the dumping practices of some countries, low-quality consumables, including gloves, are sometimes available. “The doctor puts it on and there’s a hole in the glove,” she said.
According to her, the second main area of reform lies in the education of doctors and nurses. “Infrastructure alone does not determine quality. The syllabus, teaching methodology and learning outcomes are more important,” she added.
Ms Reddy also highlighted the absence of mandatory CME for doctors who qualified decades ago and continue to practice. She said “the introduction of mandatory CME would significantly raise standards of care and ensure practitioners are up to date with protocols and advances”.
On Telangana’s drive to position itself as a healthcare innovation hub and healthcare tourism hub, Ms Reddy said infrastructure investments by major hospital groups were already underway. But she stressed the need for coordinated government facilitation, including support mechanisms for international patients and their families at airports and during recovery. “Small but thoughtful differences could give Hyderabad an edge over established medical tourism hubs like Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai, which currently attract higher volumes of patients,” she added.
Published – 31 Jan 2026 21:25 IST
