The Healthcare Scenario in India: Changes Required at Ground Level

The National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS) was presented in the Indian Parliament by the Finance Minister Mr Arun Jaitley on 1st February 2018, and has been admirably discussed by Chatterjee in the Lancet World Report1. It was launched on 23rd September, 2018 and was renamed as Prime Minister Jan Arogya Yojana. It offers an insurance cover of Rs5 lakh ($7140, approximately) per family per year to the economically vulnerable under specific categories of rural and urban areas. There is no doubt the NHPS is making healthcare more amenable to the economically weaker people. Most of the less affluent people avail the public sector dispensaries/ hospitals/ medical institutes, present throughout the country. The trust of the people in government healthcare facilities can be judged from the long queues, overcrowding, and long waits for surgeries encountered in these establishments. The physicians and staff in these establishments are overworked but discharge their duties with diligence and sincerity.The Indian healthcare sector, currently worth almost US$ 100 billion, is expected to increase to US$ 280 billion by 2022, showing a growth rate of 23% 2, 3. The increase in the number of physicians in the country has been followed by an even greater increase in population, however , the doctor: population ratio has improved to 1:1700, from 1:6300 in 19504.The efficiency of the present healthcare resources of the public sector can be improved if the basic problems can be rooted out of the system.

Author(s): Indu Saxena and Manoj Kumar

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