The July 2016 issue of MedicinMan with articles by Piyush Agarwal, K. Hariram, Vivek Hattangadi, Anjali Sharma, Chandan Kumar, RB Balakrishna and Pankaj Mehrotra
In the lockdown, while I was on regular OPD and ICU rounds at a COVID hospital, I started noticing some mild symptoms of the Coronavirus infection. Being in the medical field and considering the severity of the pandemic situation then, I was very careful and cautious, and observed the symptoms closely. The symptoms persisted and I had to self-quarantine until the medical test reports came. It was important for me to isolate myself from the rest of the medical team and prevent the spread of the virus. Finally, the report came: I was COVID positive!
Stunned and slightly devastated; I broke the news to my family who could not believe it either. As a doctor, I could only treat, comfort and empathize with the COVID patients undergoing treatment; completely isolated from their loved ones. But now, I could actually feel the uncertainty of the situation. I was hospitalized and continued to experience body-ache during the admission. It was a stressful situation where I felt anxious and stressed about everything.
My CT scan reports showed mild lung infection on the day of admission but as the cytokines storm developed, my lungs were 76 % damaged in 3-5 days and I was short of breath and my oxygen level deteriorated to less than 80. I was shifted to an ICU with high-flow oxygen and was on a BiPap machine which I had purchased a few weeks ago for the hospital and never imagined that I would be using myself one day.
IPM was valued at Rs. 178,219 Cr for MAT Oct’21. The retail sector was valued at Rs. 151,183 Cr for this period contributing 85% to IPM.
IPM Growth for the month of Oct’21 as compared to the month of Oct’20 was 9.7%. This is the lowest monthly growth in the last 8 months after a low growth of 2.6% reported for Feb’21.
Corresponding to low monthly growth, IPM MAT growth also declined slightly after showing a growing trend consistently for the last 7 months from MAT Feb’21. It reported 17.3% for MAT Oct’21 as compared to 17.8% reported for MAT Sept’21.
At 15657.3 Cr, the monthly sale reported for Oct’21 is the 5th highest sale value in the last 12 months.
In the organisational context, LEADERSHIP appears more glamorous than the word MANAGEMENT. When it comes to a team whether small or large, we need to realise that the first requirement is to be an effective manager and then a leader.
Why so?
First and foremost, Managers are responsible for making sure that things are done properly. And while leaders may bring us vision, inspiration and challenge, these things count for nothing without the efficient implementation brought about by good management.
To be a great manager, you must have an extensive set of skills, both hard and soft – from planning and delegation to communication and motivation.
The skill set is so wide, and hence, for your long-term success, it's wise to analyse your skills in all areas of management – and then to challenge yourself to improve in all of these areas.
So, a fundamental question that is unasked, but lingers in the mind often is, Are managers really necessary?
It is the twentieth anniversary of the new patent act in January 2025. The post-patent (P20) era is a story of resilience, determination, and charting a course that set global ambitions, a story of finding opportunity in adversity. It is a story for case studies in business schools, in international studies, in global health efforts.
We will need to find a way to bring together the capabilities of the Medical Rep, the changed scenario of the visit and the ways we can reach doctors into one single strategy rather than looking at the physical and the digital parts separately. Our medical reps will continue to be the core of our promotion, and our digital strategy will need to empower them to not only do a better call but also support their efforts by building processes that will help them beyond the few minutes that they spend in the Clinic. Marketing budgets will have to move away from conventional investments and also think beyond hardware to increase digital engagement.