BENGALURU: Preventive healthcare is the key to addressing several health-related issues people are facing currently, experts said. There is a need to improve preparedness for emergency care services, chronic disease management, antenatal care and immunisation to bridge the flaws seen during the pandemic, they added.
The lockdown brought attention to prevalent issues of inadequate staffing, diagnostics, availability of drugs, preventive healthcare services from primary to a tertiary care centre and super-speciality care causing overcrowding in hospitals and increased cost of care, said Dr Sylvia Karpagam, a researcher and public health doctor.
It is essential to make preventive healthcare a national priority as non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have become the leading cause of death and suffering, contributing to 65 per cent of deaths in India, Dr Prathap Reddy, Apollo Hospitals, remarked.
Since India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, it is important for health to be considered as a critical indicator to ensure proactive measures are taken to reduce the impact of NCDs, he added.
Doctors highlighted that poor regulation in the private health sector has resulted in increased cost of care. The Private Public Partnership (PPP) models being promoted in healthcare are also adding to it. Ahead of World Health Day observed on April 7, Apollo Hospitals released the Health of the Nation Report 2023.
The report stated that diabetes and hypertension cases saw a rise of 8% and 11% respectively from 2019 to 2022. Anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, and digestive irregularities also increased over time.