<div>Healthcare in India 
goes back to ancient times and has been documented in our scriptures 
like Vedas and Charak Samahita. Ayurveda or the “science of life” is 
believed to be imparted to the sages and rishis by the gods themselves. 
Well, this is mythology but the fact that Ayurveda has survived for ages
 might itself be considered as some sort of proof of the kind of medical
 knowledge our ancestors possessed. <br></div><div><br></div><div>Moving further along the timeline, there was an influx of physicians 
or hakims in India as it saw foreign invasions in the 10th century AD. 
Modern medicine, as we know it in its present form, was first brought in
 by the Portuguese but the first hospitals were built by the British and
 French. 19th century saw organized training in allopathy and other 
medical streams. &nbsp; <br></div><div><br></div><div>The British rule that lasted for over a century saw the establishment
 of dispensaries at district level, but they were mostly for the 
treatment of army personnel. At the time of independence there were just
 over 7000 hospitals in the country and called for much more to be done,
 starting with the availability of healthcare to every citizen 
irrespective of their caste, religion or occupation.&nbsp; <br></div><div><br></div><div>Although the exploitation of India at every possible level was 
unimaginable, the Britishers arguably left a decent healthcare delivery 
framework when they left. Health was however not an immediate priority 
for a country that just came out of foreign oppression after almost 150 
years. It was given a small separate budget and was made a state 
subject. Unfortunately, the states weren’t able to justify the system 
and it turned out to be a failure. &nbsp; <br></div><div><br></div><div>Eventually, by setting up a separate Health Survey and Planning 
Committee and introduction of Five Year Plans, healthcare saw some 
positive results when it came to eradication and control of epidemics.&nbsp; <br></div><div><br></div><div>Primary healthcare services were given attention and were provided in
 rural and urban areas. Central government also began to focus on higher
 education, research and national health programs. It also launched the 
CGHS (Central Government Health Scheme) for government sector 
employees.&nbsp; <br></div><div><br></div><div>The health infrastructure improved with these efforts and parameters 
like the number of doctors per 1000 population, number of hospital beds 
per 10000 population, number of medical colleges, number of hospitals 
and dispensaries, all improved slowly but gradually. The advent of 
private hospitals and big players also had a hand in developing 
healthcare and helped increase the life expectancy of the average Indian
 from 32 years in 1947 to 69.09 years in 2018.</div><div><br> 
<div> 
 <img alt="" src="https://media.licdn.com/dms/image/C5112AQGRoL4vp2pflg/article-inline_image-shrink_1000_1488/0?e=1559779200&amp;v=beta&amp;t=E9djD-JjEChkTv-yzZfeJRFu17JG3WtTYb3rDSWQJTI" title="Image: https://media.licdn.com/dms/image/C5112AQGRoL4vp2pflg/article-inline_image-shrink_1000_1488/0?e=1559779200&amp;v=beta&amp;t=E9djD-JjEChkTv-yzZfeJRFu17JG3WtTYb3rDSWQJTI" width="731" height="476"> 
</div> 
Along with allopathy or modern medicine, the Indian government also 
accepted Homeopathy, Ayurveda, Naturopathy, Yoga, Unani and Siddha as 
valid alternate medicine approaches. In fact, the youth of today have 
started believing in such ancient practices and have adopted yoga and 
naturopathy as a form of preventive healthcare. &nbsp; 
<br></div><div><br></div><div>There is no doubt that we still have a long way to go before we can 
assure quality healthcare to all our citizens, we have been slowly but 
gradually moving in the direction. The obvious impediments to see the 
desirable results are:&nbsp; <br></div><div>-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;our burgeoning population and its undue strain on our healthcare infrastructure 
<br></div><div>-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;lack of awareness among people, especially in rural areas about the importance of health <br></div><div>-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;main focus only of physical health when lifestyle and 
behavioral health issues have started to show much more negative effect <br></div><div>-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;lack of preventive care <br></div><div>-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;shortage of public hospitals with long waiting time often leading to untimely deaths <br></div><div>-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;expensive treatment in private hospitals in addition to the growing lack of trust among patients&nbsp; 
<br></div><div><br></div><div>On the positive side, healthcare has surely come a long way 
post-independence. Even though the healthcare infrastructure calls for a
 major overhaul, India has been able to put itself on the world map when
 it comes to medical tourism. Alternative treatments like Ayurveda, yoga
 and naturopathy have also seen a boom especially in the last decade or 
so.&nbsp; 
<br></div><div><br></div><div>Increasing mobile and internet penetration has seen the growth of 
online pharmacies and online doctor consultation. Doctor and hospital 
reviews and online appointment booking systems have made it easier for 
patients to get desirable treatment. Behavioural and mental healthcare 
has also made use of technology to disseminate information on topics 
that were considered a taboo for such a long time. With online 
information, first level screenings and counselling, primary care is 
easily provided to those who are somewhat aware of these increasing 
lifestyle issues. &nbsp; 
<br></div><div><br></div><div>As mentioned earlier, we still have a long way to go before we can 
confidently say that our healthcare system is strong enough and is 
accessible by each and every citizen, irrespective of their ability to 
afford the same. We have definitely come far and have made positive 
progress in the last 70 years and fortunately, things are looking only 
up from here. &nbsp; 
Health, both physical and behavioral, is something that is of utmost 
importance to any nation if it wants to succeed. India has to constantly
 keep working in the direction. Government initiatives and schemes, 
public private partnerships (PPP) in health, private sector hospitals, 
increasing awareness about health insurance and even start-ups in the 
space that use technology to reach a wider set of audience, hold the key
 in creating a robust healthcare ecosystem that will benefit the maximum
 number of our citizens. &nbsp; 
<br></div><div><br></div><div>References: 
National Health Policy, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Government of India 
Handbook of Hospital Personal Management 
<span>Hospital &amp; Health Services Administration: Principles &amp; Practice</span></div><br>

Evolution of healthcare in the last 70 years

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