There has been a significant focus on the new health policy since President Pranab Mukherjee brought it up while addressing the first joint sitting of Parliament last month. The new National Health Policy is expected to have a better approach to strengthening healthcare system in the country. In the past, ruling governments have struggled to find and establish suitable models for service delivery that could deliver the comprehensive range of services required to achieve the desired health outcomes and to respond to people’s expectations.
There is an urgent need to shift healthcare delivery to people-centric primary care. Will the new government find the right fix? Will the government succeed in bringing coherence to the highly fragmented healthcare market with multiple stakeholders, public, private-not-for-profit, private-for-profit firms and corporations?
Despite growth in healthcare coverage, infant mortality in our country is still over 40 per 1000, while maternal mortality is two per 1000 live births. Healthy life expectancy remains about 55 years, compared with close to 70 years reported in countries such as China, the US and Japan. About 40 per cent of all deaths in India are still due to infections and the rest is mainly due to non-communicable diseases. Availability of health care services is quantitatively inadequate. Universal insurance coverage is still elusive although it has attained high degree of social consensus in India. Will the government take note of it?
India currently spends about five per cent of its GDP on healthcare. As per WHO’s World Health Statistics 2012, almost 60 per cent of total health expenditure in India was paid by the common man from his own pocket in 2009. The new health policy needs to address this. Is it possible to shift away from direct, out-of-pocket payments and move towards financing mechanisms that reduce financial barriers to care and provide better protection from the financial consequences of ill health?
Experts believe that adequate and smart investment in human resources is the need of the hour to counter outmigration, health worker productivity and enhancing health outcomes. There were about 241 medical professionals – physicians, dentists, nurses, pharmacists and other professionals – per one lakh population of India at the end of the Eleventh Five Year Plan. Will we see a surge in efforts on health workforce planning? Will there be sustainable investment for mobilising and retaining health workers; for health workforce outputs (including outpatient services, safe delivery, immunisations); and for health outcomes?
The government needs to implement essential medicines programmes to ensure access of medicines to all. Will harmonising pharma practices gain momentum under the new government? Will the new government promote information exchange and knowledge transfer among various regulatory bodies to improve the quality, efficacy and safety standards of medicines?
Technology is evolving even faster than ever. It continues to drive health system expansion and is transforming the way healthcare is delivered in the primary care setting. Medical devices are making diagnostics better and treatments possible. The government needs to identify the priorities for improving the availability and proper utilisation of medical devices and technology.
A logical corollary of developing policy is to ensure that national health policies, strategies and plans have a sound monitoring and evaluation component. The new government needs to strengthen health sector reviews; establishing country health “observatories” or “health intelligence portals”. Will the government invest in institutional capacity to support the regular monitoring and evaluation of problems and progress in their standards of health and health systems?
Will the next National Health policy address these challenges? What should be the new national health agenda?
– Dr. B S Ajaikumar, Founder & Chairman, HCG Enterprise
– Dr Girdhar Gyani, Director, Association of Healthcare Providers of India
– Dr Vikram Singh Raghuvanshi, Chief Executive – Healthcare, Jaypee Hospital
– Dr Sujit Chatterjee, Chief Executive Officer, Dr L H Hiranandani Hospital
– Dr B R Lakshmi, Director, Molecular Diagnostics, Counseling, Care & Research Centre (MDCRC)
– Dr Shanti Pantvaidya, Executive Director, SNEHA
– Zachary Jones, Senior Vice President, Portea Medical
– Suneela Thatte, President, ISCR
– Dr Alexander Thomas, Director (CEO) Bangalore Baptist Hospital
– Dr Alok Roy, Chairman, Medica Group
– Rajiv Vasudevan, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, AyurVAID Hospitals
– Amulya Nidhi, Co convenor, Swasthya Adhikar Manchh
– Dr Purshotam Lal, Director- Interventional Cardiology and Chairman, Metro Group of Hospitals
– Christian Coalition of Health
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