Developmental Impact Analysis of an ICT-Enabled Scalable Healthcare Model in BRICS Economies

This article highlights the need for initiating a healthcare business model in a grassroots, emerging-nation context. This article’s backdrop is a history of chronic anomalies afflicting the healthcare sector in India and similarly placed BRICS nations. In these countries, a significant percentage of populations remain deprived of basic healthcare facilities and emergency services. Community (primary care) services are being offered by public and private stakeholders as a panacea to the problem. Yet, there is an urgent need for specialized (tertiary care) services at all levels. As a response to this challenge, an all-inclusive health-exchange system (HES) model, which utilizes information communication technology (ICT) to provide solutions in rural India, has been developed. The uniqueness of the model lies in its innovative hub-and-spoke architecture and its emphasis on affordability, accessibility, and availability to the masses. This article describes a developmental impact analysis (DIA) that was used to assess the impact of this model. The article contributes to the knowledge base of readers by making them aware of the healthcare challenges emerging nations are facing and ways to mitigate those challenges using entrepreneurial solutions.