As India moves toward Universal Health Coverage, it can learn a lot from the successful models across the world. The most of the developed countries have proven that a primary care system, which is strong, has a financing structure, which is sustainable, and governance, which is transparent, are the key elements of both effective and equitable health care delivery. Their experience shows on the ground strategies that India can modify to deepen the three interrelated themes of access, affordability, and quality of care.
The National Health Service in UK is probably the most comprehensive UHC system in the world. One of the major reasons for its success is the focus on primary care. General practitioners are typically the first people patients contact, and they can facilitate early diagnosis of problems, case management of chronic diseases, and reduction of hospital visits. Patients’ direct access to specialists is so limited. This not only reduces overloading in hospitals but also ensures that specialists’ care is for those patients who need it most. In India, this could be a very effective approach to primary health centres where trained medical professionals, laboratory equipment, and a vibrant community could be of great help.
Japan is another strong example with its tightly controlled and uniform fee structure for medical services. By determining fixed prices for tests, operations, and drugs, they keeps healthcare affordable and at the same time, the quality is the same everywhere. Essentially, what this does is it makes citizens safe from incurring medical bills that are very high without their knowledge and keeps the general cost of the system sustainable. India can set up a system that is dependent on the regulation of pricing of essential treatments, in such a way that the out-of-pocket expenditure would be significantly reduced.
One more example of Universal Coverage Scheme of Thailand, they exemplifies how deliberate spending on health can make it reachable even for the less fortunate. The government has renovated the district hospitals and empowered the clinics in every village with workers trained to give the needed services there. The most important thing in this is that the health system has adapted to the digital era by using EHR and health ID, along with other technological improvements. India is currently on this road via missions such as the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, and by taking up this work, India will be able to close the gaps that exist in the care continuum and monitoring.
Indeed, India has the opportunity to learn many things from these models such as those listed below –
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Work on rural primary healthcare and the areas that healthcare facilities underserve
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The transparent pricing policies can protect the families from the risk of spending beyond their means
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Digital health infrastructure would be a great aid to service delivery and in long-term planning, not to mention that the data collection service and monitoring will also be made possible, and finally
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There is potential for quality service as a result of the extension of the healthcare workforce and continued training aimed at the different levels of the service.
The Indian journey to UHC is not an easy one; on the other hand, it is full of hope and potential. By learning from those who have already managed to do it, India will not only develop a fair health system but also one that is both robust and capable of addressing the diverse health needs of its population.