A blueprint for the future of the Indian healthcare system
A new paper, which is said to provide a ‘comprehensive roadmap’ to improving India’s health system, has been released by Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog, policy thinktank organisation of the Government of India
The report, entitled New India: Building Blocks - Potential Pathways to Reforms, identifies five areas of focus for transforming the Indian healthcare over the next 15 years, without placing increased financial burden on its citizens. These are: delivering on the unfinished public health agenda; giving large insurers more control to navigate the health system; moving health financing away from out-of-pocket spending; integrating a service that is available across the board, rather than just being top down; empowering citizens to become better buyers of health; and increasing the implementation of digital healthcare solutions.
The report provides a comprehensive amalgamation of the topics and solutions discussed at NITI Aayog’s Development Dialogues event that was held back in November 2018. By consolidating global findings on key health system themes of financing and provisioning – with a focus on risk pooling, strategic purchasing, health-service provisioning and digital health – the report provides an insight into how to bring the Indian healthcare system into the 21st Century.
“At a systems level, overcoming the challenges of fragmentation, across healthcare financing and service delivery, will help us optimise both quality and access,” said Dr Kumar. “India now needs to build on its many opportunities to achieve further progress on the health of its citizens and respond to the growing aspirations and needs of a new India.”
The report was unveiled in the presence of Bill Gates, policymakers, officials from NITI Aayog, and representatives from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as other national and international academia figures.