MAHE Vice-Chancellor of K. Sharath Kumar Rao speaks at the CII Mangaluru Healthcare Summit in Mangaluru on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: Supplied Picture
Vice-Chancellor of Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) K. Sharath Kumar Rao stressed the need for a centre for upskilling medical graduates and postgraduates graduating from medical colleges in Mangaluru and Udupi.Speaking at the inaugural session of the day-long Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Mangaluru Healthcare Summit in Mangaluru on Saturday, July 11, Dr. Rao said about 2,000 MBBS graduates and 700 postgraduate students graduate from medical colleges in Mangaluru and Udupi every year. “A skill development centre in the region for these graduates will have a great impact. The centre can be used for upskilling doctors and specialists,” he said.Referring to his interactions with patients, Dr. Rao said they were coming to the region for treatment because of their trust in doctors and the treatment outcomes. “That trust will be the basis for developing the region as a healthcare destination,” he said.The region’s clean environment, along with its hospitality, were additional factors attracting people for treatment, he added.Speaking about the strong link between academia and healthcare institutions in achieving clinical excellence in the region, Dr. Rao cited an example from MAHE. He said a Ph.D. student analysed health data and identified a group of patients who were likely to develop lung infections. “We took the findings forward to prevent lung infections in those patients,” he said.Doctors should be competent, digitally aware, ethically grounded, and deeply compassionate towards patients. The coastal region continues to be known for delivering quality healthcare, Dr. Rao said.Chief operating officer of Kauvery Hospitals Vijay Bhaskaran, who is also the convenor of the CII Karnataka Health Taskforce, said the coastal Karnataka region deserved to be promoted as a healthcare destination.Dr. Bhaskaran said adopting technology remains a challenge for healthcare centres operating in tier-II and tier-III cities.There were sessions on “Transforming tier-2 healthcare: The Mangaluru model for scalable excellence”, “Medtech and digital health: Driving the next frontier of healthcare innovation”, and “Preventive healthcare in non-communicable diseases and strengthening community health systems”. Published - July 11, 2026 06:54 pm IST
