Module 03 Course Project - Thesis

1

Health Delivery System in India

Keri King

11/29/20 20

Health Delivery System in India

Rathi, A. (2017). Inequalities in financing of healthcare in India. Trends in Immunotherapy, 1(1), 50-51.

The article by Rathi (2017) talks about inequalities in financing India's healthcare sector. According to the article, only about 5% of the country's GDP is allocated to healthcare, which is a very small amount. Government spending in healthcare comprises about 2% of the 5% GPD allocated budget. The author states that policymakers have neglected the importance of allocating a larger budget for healthcare. However, they should understand that focusing on this sector is critical for the country's overall development. Nearly 50% of the 2% of the GDP spent on healthcare goes into healthcare workers' salary expenses, making it difficult to cater to other essential expenses, such as medical equipment, medicine, research and development, and training.

Garg, S. (2018). Universal health coverage in India: Newer innovations and the role of public health. Indian journal of public health, 62(3), 167.

Garg's (2018) article addresses universal health coverage (UHC) in India. Based on the article, universal health coverage realization requires adequate human resources and healthcare to ensure quality services and financial protection for the poor by covering diagnostic cots, medicine, and other treatment costs. The lack of adequate skilled human resources and inadequate healthcare financing are the major barriers affecting UHC's realization in India. However, the author states that several efforts have been taken to strengthen India's healthcare system. For instance, there has been a significant increase in healthcare budgetary allocation, a notational healthcare program targeting low-income populations, expansion of the health work-force, and primary healthcare upgrading. Moreover, there is an evolving paradigm for enhancing drug accessibility and affordability, improving holistic health, nutrition, sanitation, and innovative national health initiatives to reduce HIV burden, tuberculosis, and maternal deaths. All these efforts focus on working towards the fulfillment of India's UHC.

R. Pai, R., & Alathur, S. (2019, June). Mobile health system framework in India. In Proceedings of the 20th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research (pp. 186-195).

R. Pai & Alathur (2019) discusses India’s mobile healthcare delivery services. India’s healthcare system has progressively evolved over the years. Today, it is in the phase of incorporating mobile healthcare service delivery technology to make it a patient-centric model for managing preventive, acute, and chronic health conditions. This technology provides easy interactions and communication between patients and healthcare professionals, especially during disasters and emergencies. However, there still exists some challenges in integrating this technology with the existing system.

Singh, R. (2016). Integrated healthcare in india-a conceptual framework. Annals of Neurosciences, 23(4), 197.

Based on Singh’s (2016) article, current India’s healthcare reports have reinforced the view that the country’s healthcare system cannot sustain its 1.25 billion population. For instance, approximately 600 million Indians, especially those living in rural areas, have limited or no healthcare access. The country faces a critical shortage of skilled and competent healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses and other health personnel. However, the author states that the government has announced a new health policy that focuses on modernizing public hospitals, expanding immunization, reducing malnutrition, and improving essential medicines’ usage. Again, it is also considering establishing an affordable and universally accessible holistic healthcare system.

Kumar, S., Sharma, A., Sood, A., & Kumar, S. (2016). Urban Health in India: Policies, Practices and Current Challenges. Journal of Health Management, 18(3), 489-498.

According to Kumar et al. (2016), India’s urban population has significantly increased over recent years. The urban population increased from 28.53% in 2001 to 31% in 2011, and it is expected to escalate to 46% by 2020. A larger proportion of India’s urban population lives in slums and slum-like housing. The poor and vulnerable urban slum dwellers are exposed to harsh and hazardous urban environments, resulting in increased healthcare risks. The author states that focusing on health promotion, disease prevention, and enforcing environmental regulations, among other steps, are essential in addressing urban health problems in the country.