International Health Dialogue (IHD) 2026 began in Hyderabad with global leaders recognising India’s growing role in shaping patient safety, equity, and digital governance. Across plenaries and sessions, speakers emphasised leadership accountability, system-wide coordination, preventive care, and culture-led transformation, supported by responsible use of digital tools.
Setting the tone for outcomes that work in real life, Dr Jayesh Ranjan, Special Chief Secretary for the Industries & Commerce (I&C) and Information Technology (IT) Departments, Government of Telangana, highlighted why equity must sit at the centre of patient safety design. “When we talk about sharing learning and improving systems, we have to start with the truth that patients are not homogeneous. Different patients live in different worlds, and safety means different things in each,” he said. “An equity lens forces a design lens. If we want patient safety to hold up in the real world, we must design for those who are most vulnerable, and we must plan for continuity, access, and how people actually behave,” he added. On digital inclusion, he observed, “The digital divide is not only infrastructure. Often, the mindset divide is bigger.”
The day featured high-level interventions from policymakers, accreditation leaders, and global safety experts, alongside Apollo Hospitals’ AI collaboration with Roche Diagnostics India and a startup spotlight session focused on practical safety innovation.
Dr. Carsten Engel, CEO, International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua), reflected on the gap between sustained attention and on-ground improvement. “Patient safety has been on the agenda for decades, but we still have to say we are not there yet,” he said. He cautioned against adding activity without impact, noting, “We risk creating safety clutter, procedures and activities done in the name of safety that do not improve safety.” He urged leaders to adopt a systems view of behaviour and context: “Don’t ask why people didn’t do what they should have done. Ask why it made sense for them to do what they did.”
IHD 2026 continues on January 31 with expanded discussions across patient safety, digital health, healthcare operations, and clinical learning.
