Healthcare System in India & National Health Policy

Total
0
Shares

Healthcare System in India & National Health Policy

Healthcare System in India

“Lancet Report on healthcare – India is the poorest performer in BRICS nations” 

Challenges faced by Indian Healthcare System 

  • A weak primary health care sector + care provided in these facilities is also not up to the mark.
  • Unequally distributed skilled human resources & shortfall of specialists across country
  • Services inequitably distributed – Urban areas command 73% of the public hospital beds, even when 69% of India’s population resides in rural areas
  • Large unregulated private sector – Private practitioners have become first point of contact in both rural & urban areas – concern lies with Unethical and irrational practices widespread among private hospitals
  • Low public spending on health – Public health expenditure as a proportion of GDP remains low i.e. 1.15 %
  • Fragmented health information systems – weak systems for collecting data + non-inclusion of the private sector in data gathering
  • Poor Health Cover & high out of pocket expenditure – 80 % no health insurance
  • Weak governance and accountability owing to corruption in health care

 

There is a greater need of radical restructuring of the healthcare system in India to address challenges including weak primary healthcare and dismally low public spending on health – to assure health for all Indians by 2022. India needs to adopt an integrated national health-care system built around a strong public primary care system with a clearly articulated supportive role for the private and indigenous sectors.

[clear]

National Health Policy, 2017

  • Strengthening role of public sector by increasing public health spending to 5% of GDP by 2025 from current 1.15%
  • Recognizes need for state intervention to control NCDs as they are reason for more than 60% death in India
  • Collaborating & regulating the private sector as over 2/3rd of services are provided by it
  • Seeks to invest in preventive healthcare viz.
  • early screening and diagnosis have been made a public responsibility
  • advocates 2/3rd or more allocation of health budget for Primary Health Care
  • Affordable quality healthcare for all 

National Health Policy

  • Intersectoral approach involving various ministries
  • Prioritizes addressing primary health care needs of urban population with special focus on poors
  • Mainstreaming AYUSH systems inline with allopathic professionals

 

Concerns
  • It leaves too much to the states on maintaining standards
  • Would require more human resources and funds
  • Health care target spending still Much lower than even other developing countries’ spending on health
  • It does not speak about social determinants of health
  • Various progressive measures under Draft NHP 2015 such as Right to Health and imposing health cess have been ignored

 

Thus, to achieve SDG on health, i.e., health and well-being to all by 2030, there would be need for greater and stronger Centre-state coordination and commitment for effective implementation.

1 comment
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe to our Blog Updates

Instantly receive our best-selling book «10 Productivity Myths» in PDF for Free.

You May Also Like

Migrants in India

Migrants in India Economic Survey 2016 – 9 million people annually migrate within India. NSSO – migrants constitute 30 % of national population as well as total working force. Patterns…
View Post

Declining Child Sex Ratio

Declining Child Sex Ratio From 927 in 2001 to 918 in 2011 majorly due to pre natal sex determination & Female foeticides (15 million in last 25 years) due to…
View Post

Bonded Labour India

Bonded Labour India All work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.…
View Post