Healthcare System in India

In India, we don’t have a National Health Insurance or a universal healthcare system for all its citizens, because of which private healthcare sector is getting more importance. Mostly urban population is availing the services from private healthcare sector as majority of rural population are unable to afford the expenses. According to the World Bank, only about 25% of India’s population had some form of health insurance in 2010. But, a 2014 Indian Government study found this to be an over-estimate, and claimed that only about 17% of India’s population was insured. Public healthcare is free for those below the poverty line.

The Ministry Of Health was established in 1947. The government then introduced a series of five- year health plans. The National Health Policy was endorsed by Parliament in 1983. In order to bring Universal access to health, Indian Government launched the National Rural Health Mission in 2005.

Private and Public healthcare system

There is a great discrepancy in the quality of healthcare services provided by private and public healthcare system. In public health hospitals, there is lack of physician, diagnostic appliances, apathetic behavior of the healthcare providers and unhygienic environmental conditions. These above factor play a major role in footfall as people below poverty line don’t have any choice and are bound to avail healthcare service from the public health hospitals due to their economic conditions.

 In contrast to that, people from good economic background will avail the services from private hospitals as their quality of service is far better than the public hospitals.

Challenges of healthcare system in India

There are many challenges in Indian healthcare sector, few most important are:

1. Lack of skilled healthcare providers
2. Lack of resources
3. Lack of infrastructure
4. Low budget by Government for healthcare sector
5. Rural population is neglected
6. Improper implementation of health awareness program.

Solution to Above Challenges

Fund, resources, infrastructure, skilled professionals are very important but the most important aspect is awareness. Unless proper awareness of health is not there, no one from rural population will come and avail the services. So, first and foremost thing is awareness, for that we need lot many volunteers who can take initiative to bring awareness about health and benefits of healthy life style among rural population.

Volunteers we can get through Government initiative via CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). Under CSR, corporate are required to spend some amount in social cause. So, government can make it mandatory that Rural Health Awareness should be one of the most important aspects of CSR.

We need to start from the scratch, right with the people from slums who are living in very pathetic condition. If they do not have any work for their livelihood, then how will they think of their health and hygiene? So, the literate percent of Indian Population will have to take responsibility of uneducated and illiterate group of people. This is not a One Man show; together we all can make a difference.

SWACHH BHARAT ABHIYAN launched by our honorable Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi is a very good initiative towards hygiene and health. As we all know health and hygiene are two sides of a same coin. Hygiene keeps you healthy. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan will be worthy if we implement this in our day to day life.

Implementation along with creation is very important to make your creation a successful endeavor.

By:
Dr. Rukmini Paul
Student, INLEAD         

INLEADers @Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurgaon

Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurgaon is a 400 bedded multi-specialty hospital. The world-renowned hospital has around 55 specialty departments with a world class customer service to cater to many HNIs and foreign patients. INLEAD recently facilitated an Industry Visit to the hospital in order to provide its Jan’16 Batch Healthcare Administration students a deeper understanding about the working of a hospital and its various departments.

The visit gave a practical exposure to students, especially to those who haven’t worked in a hospital earlier. They were shown around all the different facilities in the hosoital like OPD, IPD, Emergency, Nuclear Medicine, Radiology, etc. The students also got an insight into the clock work activities that are performed to ensure smooth functioning of all facilities such that customers are not inconvenienced for even a small issue.

Post the campus tour, students were taken to the hospital auditorium where they had an interaction with the Medical Quality Head, HR Head and Talent and Development Head. Students got an insight into all these three major functions and were made aware about how opportunities are generated at Fortis. This will surely serve as a boon to students in the near future.

Hospitals- Go Green!

Gone are the days when hospital used to have a deadly atmosphere and an unpleasant odor being a pre-requisite of patient getting more ill during the course of treatment. With rapid development of technology, consumer awareness increasing to greater extent and hospitals taking a social responsibility of protecting environment and patient, Green Hospital concept came into being.

A green hospital is one that aims to be environmental friendly, utilizes renewable resources, reduces waste by implementing green practices and enhances patient well-being. The concept of a green hospital was perpetuated a few years back by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) through the release of their Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards for building construction. It works on the principle of the three R’s – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. These hospitals are very innovative and reduce the emission of carbon to a large extent. Although the initial cost of construction for green hospitals are high, it has a long term effect in reducing energy cost by 20-40% and water saving upto 35-40%.

Hospital planning companies should plan and design hospitals in such a way that they maximize the utilization of day-light rather than artificial light. One of the critical factors to be considered is improving the quality of air by using an air sterilizer and certain species of plants, which absorb pollutants. Gardens and parks provide aesthetic beauty, increase patient delight and enhance their well-being thereby helping them feel better faster. Implementing various tools like lean management and Six Sigma would help in reducing waste.

Kohinoor Hospital, Mumbai is the first Platinum Rated Green Hospital in India. Many others have also come up to follow green concept in the past few years, such as Asian Healthcare, Matushri Monghiben Ramji Savla Hospital and Research Centre, Max Balaji Hospital, Fortis Hospital, Continental Hospitals Ltd, Lazarus Hospitals Ltd, Govt. Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College & Hospital, ESI Hospital, Medica Hospitals Pvt. Ltd.

As per Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), introducing green concepts in the healthcare facilities can help address National issues like infection, epidemics, handling of bio-medical waste, water efficiency, energy efficiency, reduction in fossil fuel use for commuting, consumer waste and in general conservation of natural resources. Most importantly, these concepts can enhance patients' health, recovery and well-being.

Hence, it can be rightly said, Green Hospitals are not future oriented but the only sustainable thing.

- Mr. Anurag Bora, Student, INLEAD 

Importance of Fitness in the 21st Century

Picturize this – It’s 6 o’clock in the morning. You wake up and peep through the window. What’s the most common sight you’ll get to see? Apart from the winter fog, you’ll see an army of uncles and aunties, grandpas and grandmas walking briskly up and down the alley or the nearby jogger’s park. They do this mostly in hopes of “losing weight“. But, how much have they changed ever since they started their “morning walks”? 

Most often than not, these morning walks are usually touted as “the tool” for getting fit. Next one is yoga. However, “practitioners” still don’t achieve their goals. So let’s find out what are the effective ways to get fit. Oh wait, lets understand fitness first. 

Fitness - the way we see it

Fitness is a concept that’s majorly misunderstood and every individual seems to have his/ her own definition of this concept. What we need to understand is that fitness isn’t just one thing but a combination of five components. If you want to get fitter, you need to improve these five components within yourself.

It doesn’t matter who you are as an individual (housewife, corporate executive, athlete, actor, teenager or geriatric {Senior Citizen} etc.), physiologically all human beings are the same. Hence, there isn’t a single category of people who wouldn’t need to work on all the components of fitness.

So what are these five components of fitness? Let’s have a look:

1.       Cardio-vascular Endurance: the ability of the cardiovascular and the respiratory system to transport oxygenated blood to the working skeletal muscles for an extended period of time without fatiguing.

2.       Muscular Endurance: Ability of a skeletal muscle or group of skeletal muscles to continuously contract at submaximal levels for an extended period of time without fatiguing.

3.       Musculoskeletal Strength: It is the combined strength of muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments. It includes muscular power which is defined as the ability of a skeletal muscle or group of skeletal muscles to perform maximally against load/ resistance in a given timeframe.

4.       Flexibility: it is the ability of the body to sustain full and complete range of motion (ROM) around joints.

5.       Ideal Body Composition: It is the ability of the individual to maintain the ideal ratio of adipose tissue (AKA Fat under the skin) to lean body mass. A man should have a body fat percentage of no more than 15% and a woman’s body fat ratio shouldn’t go beyond 20%.

So how do we work around the 5 components?

These five components are all inter-related. When you take a walk around the park or go running or rigorous dancing or even swimming, you’re only addressing one aspect of fitness – cardio-vascular endurance. Yoga is best for flexibility alone- these postures do not give musculoskeletal strength or cardiovascular endurance. Resistance training will make you strong. And, in spite of doing these three types of activities, if you don’t watch your food habits, you’ll still not be called fit because bad food habits will add to fat in your body.

After all, yoga won’t make you better at lifting heavy household items when the maid bunks work. And neither will your morning, evening or even afternoon walks let you do that. Remember, fitness is an integral part of life today. The fitter you are, the more productive you will be in office.  

Prosenjit Sarkar,

Student, INLEAD

Jan 2016 batch, INBM

Is it ethical to market Healthcare?

The debate about whether it is ethical to market healthcare or not has been on like forever. Traditionally, healthcare marketing was limited to only “word of mouth” and now it has reached a point where it includes everything and anything ranging from customized food to the patient’s travel package in the most exotic locations as an adjunct to his healthcare.

Can we actually compare two extravagantly expensive and lavish corporate hospitals with each other and say one is less than the other. Is it morally correct to say that one hospital is doing better than its competitors or their doctors are more qualified than the ones working with others? Maybe not, maybe there is hardly any difference in the scope of services these two are providing and the efforts and budget they are sparing for attaining the wow levels of satisfaction amongst their savvy customers (read patients). How many of these are real differences and how many are just perceived differences?

What has led to this trend?

So, what has led to this “Star Wars” in a profession as noble as healthcare? It’s the sudden growth of the corporate hospitals, globalization of healthcare trends, medical tourism, increasing customer centric approach and increased number of private players in the industry which has contributed to this hoard of new-fangled selling strategies. Along with this come the unethical practices, false promises, gimmick marketing and fraud claims. So how does a patient differentiate between a genuine customer communication made to introduce a new innovative technology and a claimant indulging in act of puffery?

The Solution

I think, all we need to focus here is on drawing the line. Healthcare Marketing shouldn’t be focusing on portraying yourself as superior than the other where in reality you are not. Healthcare Marketing should rather be concentrating on highlighting your efforts towards building your brand values and working towards the ultimate focus of patient centric approach.

If done appropriately, ethical healthcare marketing can get you more profits, patients and cases you want and build your brand image as you have missioned.

So, I think, in the end, it is all about doing it with the right attention and hopefully the healthcare representatives will soon choose to follow this path rather than going for over-the-top marketing tactics.

-Ms. Ginny Kaushal

 Faculty, INLEAD 

Can Hospitals Infect You?

Imagine going to a hospital fully fit and fine for a regular checkup and returning home with a deadly infection. Seems highly impossible? Well, here’s some food for your thought.

 What are these Healthcare associated infections?

A healthcare associated infection or more commonly known as hospital acquired infection is an infection which a patient acquires from the hospital or healthcare facility. The risk of acquiring such infections increases with the duration of the stay in the hospital. These infections occur worldwide and affect both developed and developing countries. What may come as a surprise to many, infections acquired in health care settings are among the major causes of death and increased morbidity among hospitalized patients. They are a significant burden both for the patient and for public health.

What the Healthcare professionals can do?

A situation as grave as it appears, has ironically a contrasting and a very simple solution. A measure as simple as hand washing practiced by healthcare professionals can bring down the rate of hospital acquired infections by a staggering 96 percent. This means that instead of 10 out of every 100 patients, only 1 out of 100 will suffer from Healthcare associated infections.

What the healthcare organizations can do?

In order to provide good quality and safe care, the healthcare professionals must not only possess knowledge and skills but must also develop positive attitudes towards infection control guidelines. In the current scenario of health care field, very little is known about the provider’s Knowledge, Attitude and Practice regarding infection control. Hence, it becomes imperative for healthcare organizations to ensure measures to assess these parameters of healthcare workers in Hospitals.

Regular monitoring of the knowledge levels of staff and continuous training in form of Lectures, Workshops, CMEs, Seminars, Conferences etc. will not only help in improving the current levels of knowledge of the novice but will also ensure reinforcement of facts and practices for the already trained staff. It will further also help in inducing a positive attitude among the hospital workers and eventually lead to a patient safe environment.

So, I urge the healthcare Industry to move towards an approach where the hospitals are recognized as institutions where the unhealthy can recover, not weaken.

- Ms Ginny Kaushal
Faculty,INLEAD