Gaps in Health Infrastructure in Indian Scenario: A Review

Abstract

Health care management has really become a burning question of the day and the current health scenario of our rural India is a story of utter deprivation. On one side there are hi-tech medical facilities and use of state-of-art-medical technologies with five star deluxe facilities in a few urban centers’ but in the rural counterpart the stories of helplessness and callousness have become too apparent. The health care market is becoming out of reach for the economically backward and distressed mass of the society. In every nation it is the rural environments that present unique challenges for health care access. The morbidity and mortality levels in the country are still remarkably high indicating the still-unsatisfactory health indices which in turn are an indication of the limited success of the public health system in meeting the preventive and curative requirements of the general population of India. Social health issues, natural calamities and disasters, nutritional aspects have a cumulative effect on the wide disparities in the existing health infrastructure. Despite Indian excellence in several spheres of health care delivery, lack of proper infrastructure has limited the ability of the facilities to drive the health care standards in the vast majority of the country. Central as well as State Government all plays a pivotal role in one way or the other. Attempts have been made in this review to highlight on the current health picture of India, especially rural areas, disparities in health care management, underlying causes behind it and the suggested remedies. © 2011 IGJPS. All rights reserved.