Commercialization of Health sector in India
Commercialization of Health sector in India
The failure of Indian state in providing adequate services to its citizens has been one of the main causes for the rise of capitalism in the country. One of the most basic amenities which millions of people across the country lack is the access to basic healthcare services still remains a distant dream.
The condition of government hospitals in most places is deplorable. From hygiene issues to lack of adequate doctors or nurses, these hospitals depict the apathy of the system which has to be dealt with by ordinary citizens.
The slow and steady deterioration of government hospitals as well as the constant queues outside them ensured entry of private players who are clearly looking to exploit these circumstances.
Hence, commercialisation of health sector has been on a rise in India. Although there have complaints and people have opined that private hospitals are charging customers exorbitantly but these have not only increased access but also helped millions of people with quick and effective treatments.
So, one hand, when people complain of expensive medical services, the country does get foreign visitors who get good medical services at a fraction of the cost they may incur in Europe or America.
For a section of the population which is not able to afford services of private hospital, it is the state’s responsibility to provide them with basic healthcare services as is available to citizens of US or European nations. Failure of the state cannot be a reason for private players to not flourish and increase their network. The plight of major government hospitals is well known. While some of them do not even have availability of sufficient trained personnel, most of them are very bad in matters of hygiene. Corruption, malpractices and indiscipline are some of the major reasons for inefficient functionality of those hospitals.
24 hours availability of hospitals along with adequate doctors, nurses, medicines as well as equipments can go a long way in improving the Indian healthcare sector which still lags behind its western counterparts. The private hospitals are also known for their focus on hygiene as well as security.
There is no doubt that these hospitals are driven by profit, but instead of shunning private healthcare services, there needs to be some kind of regulation on the level of charges in order to create a win-win situation both for private players as well as for the patients.
Discussion
- Commercialization of Health sector in India -Rishika Jalan (03/27/14)
Commercialization of Health sector in India
Health care is one of the most crucial sectors in our nation. But unfortunately people have made this too a source of income rather than thiking of offering a genuine service. Commercialization is a word which in simple term means making profit out of something. But to the saddest part, in India now health services have also become a profit making sector because of corruption.
Government corruption
Government run hospitals are established to make sure that proper medical treatments are provided to people below the poverty line without any hindrance. It is run to provide social service to poor people who cannot afford the expenses of paying the fees of a doctor and to buy medicines. But unfortunately, nowadays this is not the case. The plight of the government based hospitals is known to all. Indiscipline and irresponsibility has taken a toll there. There are no decent doctors available, the hygienic condition of the hospital is bad and there is a lack of space to accommodate people. A hospital is a place where hygiene is given utmost importance. But in government hospitals it is not so. Just because they treat the patients for free or for very little cost, they do not pay heed to such things.
Because of irresponsibility and lack of diligence towards duty, the number of patients dying has also increased. Proper treatments are not provided to them due to which they are not able to survive. Because of these malpractices and corruption, only a few government hospitals function normally as they are supposed to. The rest all are a disgrace to the society.
Private investors’ profit motive
On the other hand, we have the private hospitals which are hygienically very clean. They have ample space to accommodate patients, have qualified doctors and the best possible treatments available in their hospital; but for all of this they charge exorbitant prices. They have made this health sector a commercial business, where they charge high amount of fees to their patients for checkups and treatments. They are driven by profit motives and view it as a source of heavy income.
Many a times, the doctors in these hospitals make wrong suggestions to the patients just in a hurry to make a quick buck.
With an Indian population of more than 22% below the poverty line, commercialization of the health sector needs to be immediately checked upon. With such practices going on in the country, the rate of decrease of population will increase at an alarming rate. People will die due to lack of diagnosis of their diseases and deprivation of medical facilities.
The government is responsible for this action. It is its duty to ensure that each and every citizen of the country gets access to good health care. The government should make sure that’s its hospitals run efficiently and it should regulate the prices of the medical treatments. It should also motivate private investors to regulate their prices keeping in mind their profit motive. Only by such steps, the population of India will be able to live a healthy life.
