Health care, or healthcare, refers to the treatment and management of illness, and the preservation of health through services offered by the medical, pharmaceutical, dental, clinical laboratory sciences (in vitro diagnostics), nursing, and allied health professions. Health care embraces all the goods and services designed to promote health, including “preventive, curative and palliative interventions, whether directed to individuals or to populations”.

Healthcare in India is the responsibility of constituent Indian states.The National Health Policy was endorsed by the Parliament of India in 1983 and updated in 2002.

Indian Healthcare Issues

Malnutrition

• Half of children in India are underweight, one of the highest rates in the world and nearly double the rate of Sub-Saharan Africa.
• India contributes to about 5.6 million child deaths every year, more than half the world’s total.

Women and Children

• India contributes to about 5.6 million child deaths every year, more than half the world’s total
• The maternal mortality in India is the second highest in the world.Only 42% of births in the country are supervised by health professionals
• According to UNDP Human Development Report (1997), 88% of pregnant women (age 15-49) were found to be suffering from anemia.

Water and Sanitation

• In 2002 by the World Health Organisation that around 700,000 Indians die each year from diarrhoea.
• As of 2003, it was estimated that only 30% of India’s wastewater was being treated, with the remainder flowing into rivers or groundwater.

Healthcare Infrastructure

• India spends relatively little on healthcare, which accounts for 4.8 per cent of India’s GDP. Of this, 3.6 per cent is contributed by the private sector and only the balance 1.2 per cent by the Government
• Further, a recent WHO report indicates that India spends just 17 per cent of its public expenditure on health while the corresponding percentages for Pakistan, Bangladesh, China and Brazil are 20, 28, 38 and 54, respectively
• As per analysis the current (2006) bed per thousand population ratio for India stands at 1.03 as against an average 4.3 of comparable countries like China, Korea and Thailand (2002 data).
• Out of the total about 896,500 beds will be added by the private sector with a total investment of 69.7 Billion US$ (Rs 222,000 Crores) over the next six years
• However, the gains are commensurate in this capital intensive industry, since the revenues generated by private hospitals in the year 2012 will be to the tune of US$ 35.9 Billion (Rs. 161,440 Crores) growing at a CAGR of 15%.
• Shortfall of over 450,000 doctors in the year 2012 is foreseen.
• India would require investments of up to $20 billion over the next 5 years
• A middle-level manager with a family of four, spends between US $ 170 and US $ 255 a year on healthcare – compared to just US $ 43 in the late –1980s

References :

• http://www.ibef.org/artdisplay.aspx?cat_id=391&art_id=5204
• http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/08/22/stories/2008082250140800.htm
• http://www.ficci.com/media-room/speeches-presentations/2007/jan07/ExecutiveSummaryReport.pdf
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_India#Issues