The ‘systematic failure’ to address the needs of patients contributes to a higher mortality

The ‘systematic failure’ to address the needs of patients contributes to a higher mortality

Indisputably, the Indian healthcare system has its flaws and is in urgent need of a revamp: lack of supply of necessary medical infrastructure and facilities, health education and awareness, and overburdened doctors combined with ever-growing population pressure, make it more challenging for the country to address its healthcare needs. These shortcomings lead to increased expenditure on medical treatment, acquires shortages of experts and skilled personnel, which further adds to the woes of an already widespread healthcare crisis.

Inadequacies in India’s Healthcare System

Ailing Public health sector: Ailing healthcare budget, overcrowding, long waiting time, and the need for multiple visits for investigations and consultations frustrate patients on a daily basis. The inadequacies in India’s healthcare system lie in the speed of service, quality of services, and the size of the organogram, where clear accountability is missing.

Paucity of Resources: The healthcare infrastructure in India is not up to the mark, especially when compared to global standards. The country has only about one-tenth of the number of doctors required, and even that is a questionable figure. And with people flocking to cities, diseases like dengue, swine flu, and other communicable diseases are on an increase.

Expensive Private Medical Education: Private medical education is in the shadow of the government-run medical education as it is not affordable to all. Expensive medical studies are responsible for the dearth of doctors in India as after acquiring studies from abroad they do not prefer to practice their profession in India because of the necessity to clear the exam conducted by MCI (Medical Council of India).

Overburdened Doctors: The health statistics of India are quite dismal. There is no denying that the Indian healthcare sector is horribly unorganized and overburdened.

Doctor-Patient Ratio: The doctor-patient ratio in India is unacceptably low. Studies and Surveys reveal that in India, there is one government doctor for every 10,189 people implying a deficit of 6,00,000 doctors. This shortage in numbers has often led to an increase in malpractice.

Unaffordable Treatments: Since India’s private healthcare sector is largely unregulated, several unethical and corrupt practices such as overbilling and over-charging have become a norm in the industry which further add to the financial burden on patients.

Doctor Patient Relation: The trust deficit between doctors and patients is also gradually becoming a concern, with rising violence against doctors. A series of attacks on doctors have been reported over the past few years in several states in India. The negligence of doctors in treatment, while treating the patients is also becoming a growing concern.

Ineffective Implementation of Laws: Owing to their profession, medical practitioners encounter enormous physical, psychological, and emotional pressures. Measures issued by the Indian government and state governments to safeguard them have not shown appreciable results in the past decade. Similarly, very few cases related to attacks on medical professionals are reported, and those that do get reported usually get swept under the rug and do not surface thereafter. The existing Acts need to be amended to make them more stringent so as to serve as a deterrent for the perpetrators who generally suffer from psychological instability also.