Max Group Launches Initiative to Gather One Lakh Social Isolation Pledges

• Max Group with Max India Foundation launches online pledge campaign #StayHomeIndia.


• Max Group companies start multiple initiatives for COVID-19 relief:
  
  
  
  • Max Life donates sanitizers and masks for Gurugram's police community and donates food in Mumbai and Haldwani
  
  
  • Antara Senior Living starts #SeniorCareStartsWithUs webinars and a helpline with renowned psychiatrist Dr. Samir Parikh for mental wellbeing of senior citizens.
  
  
  
  

• Max Speciality Films resumes operations with full safety measures to support food products packaging.


• Max Estates provides for daily needs of construction laborers onsite and other underprivileged in Noida.


• Max Group to donate Rs. 5 crore for COVID-19 testing of underprivileged and relief efforts through NGOs.

Max Group and its CSR arm Max India Foundation (MIF) have launched an online pledge campaign #StayHomeIndia to donate up to Rs. 5 Crore for the COVID-19 pandemic. Since social distancing is the most effective measure to deal with the pandemic, the two-pronged campaign encourages those not involved in delivery of essential services to stay home and will provide funds for testing of COVID-19 for the underprivileged section and for other relief efforts. For every online pledge taken through the campaign to stay at home during the lockdown, Max Group, through MIF, will donate Rs. 500. The pledge can be taken through this link: www.facebook.com/themaxgroup/videos/574139793203827/.

Employees of the Max Group are also volunteering to donate to the COVID-19 efforts through MIF.

The Foundation is already providing COVID-19 relief funding to NGOs and Social Support Groups such as Feeding India, HelpAge, Jamghat, United Sikhs, Adhikar and Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha.

Max Life Insurance has distributed sanitizers and face masks to police personnel in Gurugram to ensure their safety while on duty. Additionally, it has also donated ration to underprivileged families in Haldwani through its Pehal initiative and in Mumbai by providing roughly 30,000 food packets to the KVN Foundation.

Max Group's senior living business, Antara has taken comprehensive safety measures to protect its Dehradun community residents given seniors' higher vulnerability to the virus. It is organising a webinar series called #SeniorCareStartsWithUs on mental health for senior citizens with renowned psychiatrist Dr. Samir Parikh, from Fortis, every Friday starting April 3, 2020. Dr. Parikh and his team will also be available for senior counseling through a 24-hour helpline.

Max Ventures and Industries Limited's manufacturing unit Max Speciality Films (MSF) in Punjab has restarted operations since it provides packaging material for essential services like packaged food products, personal hygiene and pharma. The operations are being carried out with the help of minimum staff and maximum safety and hygiene measures. MSF has also donated food locally to the communities in Nawasheher in Punjab - an area hard hit by the crisis.

Max Estates Limited, the real estate arm of the Group, has halted all construction activities and has taken the responsibility of providing essentials such as groceries & cooked food to laborers at its construction sites and is also providing food related aid to the underprivileged in Noida.

Analjit Singh, Founder & Chairman, Max Group, said, "We at Max Group, understand the gravity of this unprecedented situation. These are tough times, and we are taking multiple measures through our various companies to support in every possible way. Sevabhav has been an inherent organizational value since our inception, and we will stand strong with our support. We would urge every Indian citizen to join us in the pledge for social isolation and do what they can to overcome the catastrophic situation."

Tara Singh Vachani, Managing Trustee, Max India Foundation, said, "At Max India Foundation, our focus has always been to serve the underprivileged. The current crisis puts this segment of the population at a great risk, and as responsible corporate citizens we will strive to make a difference in their lives."

Mohit Talwar, Vice Chairman, Max Group, said, "These difficult times have forced nations to take bold steps while also testing public healthcare systems. We thank all of you who are prioritizing your safety and of those around you through social distancing. As you continue do to the same, we, at the Max Group, also want to help you in contributing to the nation by way of a small but significant act."

About Max Group

The Max Group is a leading Indian multi-business conglomerate with a commanding presence in the Life Insurance and Healthcare industry. It has ventured into high potential sectors - Senior Living and Real Estate. In FY2019, the Group recorded consolidated revenue of Rs. 22,150 Cr. It has a total customer base of 11 million, over 350 offices spread across India and employee strength of more than 27,500 as on 31st March 2019. The Group's investor base includes marquee global financial institutions such as New York Life, KKR, IFC Washington, Vanguard, Ward Ferry, Briarwood Capital, Nomura, Aberdeen, First State Investments, First Voyager, Eastspring, Target Asset Management, Baron, Jupiter and Doric Capital.

The Max Group comprises three holding companies, namely Max Financial Services, Max India and Max Ventures & Industries.

Max India Foundation

Launched in 2008, Max India Foundation (MIF) represents the Max Group's social responsibility efforts. It is focussed on the creation of opportunities by empowering children with an education and sustainable livelihood skills. MIF's most recent initiative is Social Emotional Ethical (SEE) Learning - a K to 12 education program to provide high quality, easy-to-use curricula and a comprehensive framework for educators and students for their holistic development. In the past, the Foundation's work focussed on healthcare for the underprivileged and benefitted more than 34 lakh people in over 800 locations since its inception.

Pledge online through our website or social media:

Max Group: www.maxgroup.in.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/themaxgroup/videos/574139793203827/
Twitter: twitter.com/MaxGroup/status/1246080789688635394

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6651845257019342848
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watchv=jywfCghOEUQ.

~ NewsVoir

3 Ways That Healthcare IT Can Help Your Practice

As with most industries, the invention of new technology is causing many healthcare practices to evolve and change to keep up with their competitors. By providing your clients with the most up to date technology, you are offering them the best service that is available by any provider. This will not only keep your services at the highest demand, but you will also be known as being forward thinking and a trendsetter within the industry. This article will provide information on ways in which hiring healthcare IT can help your practice.

• Healthcare IT can help you increase security. By increasing security measures within your healthcare databases, you can also decrease your level of risk at being hacked by those trying to obtain patient information. Patients want to know that their information is safe with you, especially when it comes to their medical records. While many IT professionals have been successful at keeping your information safe from hackers, the industry does predict that hackers and malware attackers are going to be using more forceful ways to attack systems in 2018. By employing a knowledgeable IT staff team and offering them pertinent ongoing professional development and training, you can rest assured that your investment will work to your benefit. When you keep your client’s information secure and private from the outside world, you can be sure to have satisfied clients.


• IT can help you store data in a safe and easily accessible space. Another new trend for 2018 is that many healthcare industries are beginning to move their information from an onsite data center to a cloud platform. In fact, some industry leaders predict that within the next five years, the use of data centers onsite at local hospitals will be obsolete as many will be storing their information in a cloud format. This will free up space on site and will also allow for information to be accessed from anywhere one has internet capabilities. While this is still a relatively new phenomenon, people are beginning to explore the possibilities of moving their data to a cloud storage center as it will save money and create ways for providers to access information from anywhere.



• Improved communication. By hiring a supportive healthcare IT staff, you can offer your clients services that you may not be able to otherwise. For example, client’s appreciate when their medical providers communicate with them. One of the most successful ways to communicate with your clients is by using an app. An app takes the knowledge and skill of an IT professional to troubleshoot bugs and to help make it run smoothly. Whether you want to receive messages or just share health information with your clients, an app is a good way to do it but it will require a knowledgeable professional to help you manage it.

Now that you know why it is important to employ healthcare IT staff who are knowledgeable about industry trends, be sure to look into the True North ITG Healthcare IT experts to learn more.

For Healthcare Entrepreneurs In India, Opportunities Lie In Filling The Glaring Voids

For Sarita, 35 and her family of six living in a village of Bihar, accessibility of a doctor was a major concern. The family had to travel almost 35 kms to reach the district hospital. They travelled first on a bullock cart to the nearest bus stop, and following the bus journey, walked another 30 minutes to finally reach a doctor. However, things changed for good recently when a private company opened a telemedicine centre in their village, making it possible for them to seek remote consultation from a doctor through video chat.

Where there are challenges, there are opportunities for the visionary. As they say, you might look at the half glass empty or the half glass full!

Beleaguered by a series of challenges and lacunae, Indian healthcare is one such arena that presents numerous opportunities for entrepreneurs to tap into the unseen. Lack of trained medical human resource, creaking public health infrastructure, absent doctors in rural areas, paucity of trained emergency personnel and minimal focus on preventive care are only some challenges bedeviling the Indian healthcare sector. While at one level, these challenges pose a significant concern for a country of a billion plus people; at another level the same challenges offer a huge range of opportunities for healthcare entrepreneurs looking to make a difference in the field. Not only can they script impressive success stories by launching ingenuous and innovative healthcare solutions, the penetration of such ventures can also help fill major voids in services and care delivery.

Healthcare entrepreneurs in India would do well to look at the following areas for opportunities:

Setting hospitals in small town India and rural areas

For people like us sitting in urban centres, it is often hard to fathom the extent of deprivation faced by the countrymen and women living in rural areas. Despite a majority of the Indian population living in rural centres, the healthcare facilities are unevenly concentrated in urban areas. In fact, according to figures estimated by the National Rural Health Mission (NHRM), the ratio of rural population to doctors is six times lower than in urban areas while the ratio of rural beds vis-à-vis the population is 15 times lower than in urban areas. At the same time, 31 percent of the rural population in India has to travel over 30 km to get needed medical treatment. Forget villages, even small towns and tier II cities often lack quality healthcare facilities, and people have to travel to Delhi NCR to avail treatment.

For entrepreneurs and innovators, these glaring gaps present unique opportunities. Setting up hospitals in smaller towns and rural areas, and designing them to operate at minimalist costs can be a game-changer for the country. With urban centres already saturated, it is time healthcare entrepreneurs move to small town India to set up hospitals that also cater to rural population.

Low cost solutions for healthcare

When it was invented in the 1960s, the Jaipur Foot, a cost-effective and highly viable artificial limb proved to be a game-changing innovation. With improved accessibility, it was a life-changing solution for many disabled people who couldn’t afford high cost artificial limbs available in the market. India is desperately hungry for such innovations.

For a country where less than 30% of people have health insurance coverage, most healthcare requirements ranging from diagnosis to surgery are paid out of pocket. Developing and marketing frugal innovations and low cost solutions is therefore not just a good social initiative but also a fruitful business idea in a country which has a large under served population. Entrepreneurs can invest in developing low cost diagnostic kits for rural households, low cost dialysis technology, cheap sanitary napkins, cheaper cardiac surgery, among others.

Innovation in health care and medical technology can accelerate the country’s social and economic growth by making healthcare facilities available to the masses.

Remote care through telemedicine

As discussed at the onset of this argument, telemedicine and remote care can provide access to doctors to a large population of under-served people, especially in rural areas. This can also reduce the excessive burden on district hospitals that serve thousands of people every day. Thankfully, a number of independent investors and innovators are investing in telemedicine technology, which needs to penetrate down and deep. In fact every district hospital needs to have a telemedicine centre to cater to the remote population. Through remote care, a large number of patients with minor health issues can be treated without the need to visit the hospital; while more serious cases can be called for personal examination. This can also dramatically reduce the number of visits to the hospital.

Strengthening Emergency medicine

With the Medical Council of India recognizing emergency medicine as a separate specialty in medical training only in 2009, the branch of Emergency Medicine is still in quite a nascent stage in India. Apart from dedicated emergency departments and protocols, there is also an acute shortage of nurses and paramedics trained in emergency response to aid doctors in an emergency & trauma department. Lack of ambulances equipped with the right emergency equipment is also glaring. Only around 4% of the ambulance personnel in India have any certified formal training and one-third of our ambulances serve merely as transport vehicles with no paramedical staff. Unfortunately, pre-hospital care is virtually non-existent in the rural and semi-urban areas of our country, and as many as 30% of emergency patients in India die before they reach a hospital.

For healthcare entrepreneurs, the opportunity lies in launching educational and training initiatives to fill these gaps. Investing on developing equipped ambulance services is another much needed critical intervention.