The Supply Side

Context: Although the National digital health Mission is a step in the right direction in improving access to healthcare, its fruitful outcomes are limited by challenges in tangible infrastructure and personnel shortage.

Remaining Issues in the Health Sector

• Policy Flaws: There is a marked divergence in approaches to the national medical insurance programme and the government’s response to Covid-19.

• For E.g. while insurance programme is aimed at increasing the demand for healthcare, government response of COVID-19 is limited to maintaining supply of things such as hospital beds and oxygen.
• It is not clear why the second approach, focusing on supply, does not inform the health insurance policy

• Overcrowded Hospitals:

• According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, India has just about 0.53 hospital beds per 1,000 people. The comparable number for China is 4.31.
• India has one doctor for every 1,457 inhabitants compared with the World Health Organization norm of one doctor for 1,000 people.

• Failure of Private hospitals: The COVID experience has shown how private hospitals have fallen short in the quality of their response.

• Disproportionate Impact on poor: Although Private hospital beds have grown in number, there is a shortage, impacting the poor and those in under-served districts and states.
• For E.g. Bihar has just 0.11 beds per 1,000 people, below the national average.
• Overburdened Public Hospitals: Private health care is expensive and unavailable for many poor households in India, which leaves public facilities as the only available option for them.

• Shortage of workforce: India has a shortage of an estimated 600,000 doctors and two million nurses. 

Way Forward: 

• The under-investment in medical infrastructure has long been a problem, leading to poor health indicators. 
• The only way out is more government investment in this sector, both in terms of improving infrastructure and addressing the shortage of medical personnel.