IMPROVING HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IN INDIA

India spends Rs 1,112 per capita on public health per year, less than the cost of a single consultation at one of the country's finest private hospitals–roughly the price of a pizza at many restaurants. This works out to be Rs 93 per month, or Rs 3 each day. According to the National Source: National Health Profile, 2018 Health Profile, 2018, released by union minister for health and family welfare, JP Nadda, on June 19, 2018, India's public health expenditure is among the lowest in the world, spending 1.02 percent of its GDP on healthcare, a figure that has remained nearly unchanged in the nine years since 2009. It is lower than most low-income countries, which spend 1.4 percent of their GDP on healthcare.

Patients in India seek healthcare from the private sector for a variety of reasons, one of which is the country's poor public-health spending. According to India Spend, Indians are the sixth largest out-of-pocket (OOP) health spenders among the 50 countries in the low-middle income bracket. According to several assessments, these prices push roughly 32-39 million Indians into poverty each year. Let’s take a look at some of the most common issues in our existing health-care system:

1.Health-care facility distribution is skewed, While India is a popular destination for medical tourism, which means that some of our hospitals can provide world-class care at a lower cost, we also have hospitals that are understaffed, lack adequate facilities, lack medicines, and may not even be able to provide a bed or an ambulance.

2. Lack of manpower: There is a scarcity of trained and skilled doctors, nurses, technicians, and other medical personnel. In 2015, India experienced a shortage of 2 million doctors and 4 million nurses. Many talented nurses are known to relocate to other countries in search of better wages.

3. Inadequate infrastructure: Public health facilities account for 20% of India's primary healthcare system. The private sector is responsible for the majority of secondary and tertiary care facilities. As a result, if the government spends more money on public healthcare than it does now, it will be able to do the following:

1. Higher wages would encourage skilled doctors and workers to remain in India.

2. Medical professionals and doctors will be able to work in smaller towns and villages due to higher earnings and improved living conditions.

3. Increased funding will allow public hospitals to obtain medicines and supplies, receive uninterrupted water and energy, maintain the facility and keep it clean and safe, and maintain equipment and ambulances so that they are functioning and available when needed.

4. Increased funding for medical and nursing colleges, as well as technical training institutes, would allow for more seats to be added to existing colleges or the establishment of new colleges in new locations.

There are other alternative options for improving healthcare, such as: Promoting domestic innovation and production (of medical products), Investing more in medical research, upskilling existing workers and improving medical, nursing, and technical education, Collaborations with other countries. However, before we can do this, the government must first raise healthcare funds and repair fundamental infrastructure.