Health Matters | Here, for the healthcare highs and lows
1 year, 8 months ago

Health Matters | Here, for the healthcare highs and lows

The Hindu  

If we are lucky, it is a mixed bag at the health desk. Assaulted by stories of resurgence of diseases, or emergence of newer pathogen, and buffeted by questions of access to quality health care, we are irrevocably revived by some good news, some development, a reduction in the number of cases, a government scheme that will go an extra mile to take health care to the people. Under the latest expansion spree, the Central Government is proposing to add services, including screening, prevention, control and management of non-communicable diseases, care for common ophthalmic and ENT problems, basic oral health care, elderly and palliative health care services, emergency medical services, and screening and management of mental health ailments. After intensivists wrote to the government seeking emergency use authorisation for antibiotics under development to save precious lives last week, this week, community and health organisations and patient groups sought immediate revision of Biosimilar Guideline to facilitate access to quality biosimilars at an affordable price. And even among people with modest alcohol use who gained one whole year in their lifetime but the gain of one year by modest drinking was erased by a two-fourfold increase in head and neck cancer and a large loss of life expectancy and loss of nearly seven years if drinking was “more than modest.” On the question of much-needed regulation, India is on course to introduce regulations governing all the medical devices in the country on October 1, according to the Drugs Controller General of India, Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi.

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History of this topic

Parliamentary Committee Recommends Including Essential OPD Services In Ayushman Bharat Scheme
2 weeks, 4 days ago

Parliamentary Committee Recommends Including Essential OPD Services In Ayushman Bharat Scheme

ABP News  

New Delhi, Mar 12 A parliamentary committee has recommended the phased inclusion of essential OPD services and a broader range of post-hospitalisation medication coverage within the Ayushman Bharat PMJAY scheme. While acknowledging the scheme's focus on secondary and tertiary inpatient care, the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare stated that the current exclusion of routine OPD services …

Kerala government finalises guidelines for palliative care
3 weeks, 4 days ago

Kerala government finalises guidelines for palliative care

The Hindu  

The State government has finalised the guidelines for Phase I of the universal palliative care service delivery project announced by the Chief Minister, which envisaged palliative care services for all those who needed it, regardless of their socio-economic status. Primary registration would be given for all voluntary organisations engaged in palliative care service delivery by the respective local self-governments. Palliative …

Kerala Chief Minister launches State palliative care grid
3 weeks, 6 days ago

Kerala Chief Minister launches State palliative care grid

The Hindu  

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched ‘Kerala care’ palliative care grid, an initiative of the Health department to bring the activities of all palliative-care initiatives in the State under a single umbrella, here on Monday. Through the palliative care grid, the government intends to bring together all activities related to palliative care, including registering new patients for continued care, registration of …

Government launches campaign to screen people above 30 for non-communicable diseases, common cancers
1 month, 1 week ago

Government launches campaign to screen people above 30 for non-communicable diseases, common cancers

New Indian Express  

NEW DELHI: In view of the escalating burden of non-communicable diseases in the country, the Union Health Ministry on Thursday launched an intensified special campaign to achieve 100 per cent screening of all individuals aged 30 years and above for diabetes, hypertension and other NCD diseases and common cancers. The campaign - which will run from February 20 to March …

Kerala Budget earmarks funds for health infra sans human resource
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Kerala Budget earmarks funds for health infra sans human resource

The Hindu  

Health-care workers say more infra does not translate to better health care unless the govt creates adequate posts. The last time the issue received any attention was in 2017 when Thomas Isaac announced creation of 8,071 posts The Budget 2025-26, presented by the Finance Minister in the Assembly on Friday, allocated more funds to the health sector for setting up …

Kerala Budget: Not a substantial allocation for health care sector
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Kerala Budget: Not a substantial allocation for health care sector

The Hindu  

The outlay of the State Budget presented by Finance Minister K. N. Balagopal in the Assembly on health care, which excludes health-related expenditure such as water and sanitation, is around ₹3,000 crore, which accounts for 1.74% of the proposed total government expenditure. The issue of poor government spending in the health sector had been plaguing the public health-conscious State like …

India will have 200 cancer daycare centres. But where are the doctors and nurses?
1 month, 3 weeks ago

India will have 200 cancer daycare centres. But where are the doctors and nurses?

Live Mint  

A key announcement in the Union budget presented on Saturday was the establishment of 200 cancer daycare centres in district hospitals in 2025-26. A growing burden “Cancer is a growing health problem and the way we are positioned as far as the population status is concerned, in the coming years, the cancer care problem is going to increase manifold," said …

India to set up new health tech assessment centres to help policymakers use resources optimally
2 months, 1 week ago

India to set up new health tech assessment centres to help policymakers use resources optimally

Live Mint  

New Delhi: The Union government plans to set up additional resource centres across India to evaluate the science, finance, social and ethical issues of new health technologies such as medicines and devices and disseminate evidence of their suitability and cost-effectiveness to help policymakers frame decisions for the healthcare sector. These new Health Technology Assessment Resource centres will also conduct training …

Odisha's health assurance with Modi's guarantee
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Odisha's health assurance with Modi's guarantee

Deccan Chronicle  

Mohan Charan Majhi In the history of Odisha's healthcare, January 13 will be recorded in golden letters. While 33 states of the country joined the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana of the central government, Odisha, along with two other states, had not implemented this scheme. Although the then state government implemented the first scheme, it did not implement …

India’s Public Health Crisis: The Price of Privatisation
3 months ago

India’s Public Health Crisis: The Price of Privatisation

The Hindu  

Published : Dec 25, 2024 12:00 IST - 9 MINS READ As a nation and as a population, India shares with its South and South-East Asian neighbours the legacy of a heavy public health burden shaped by a common historical past. A recent NITI Aayog report reveals that the average monthly per capita health expenditure remains at about 13 per …

The challenge of universal health coverage
3 months, 1 week ago

The challenge of universal health coverage

The Hindu  

The ongoing national conversation on what India needs to do for universal health coverage often misses the complexity of multiple health systems and the unique challenges they bring. Not the solution Government health expenditure in West Bengal, which was ₹1,346 per capita in 2019-20, is only about 61% of the estimated ₹2,205 required to offer UHC. The story is no …

Healthcare saw major reforms in past 10 years: HDK
4 months, 2 weeks ago

Healthcare saw major reforms in past 10 years: HDK

New Indian Express  

BENGALURU: Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel HD Kumaraswamy said a major revolution has taken place to build a healthy India in the last ten years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Delivering the convocation address at the graduation ceremony of the 14th batch of Rajarajeswari Medical College here on Tuesday, he said, “In the past decade, …

Health care: Innovations for an inclusive future
6 months, 4 weeks ago

Health care: Innovations for an inclusive future

Hindustan Times  

India's health care sector is experiencing unprecedented growth, driven not just by rising incomes, but also through a confluence of transformative factors. By fostering supportive government policies, India has the potential not only to improve health care for its citizens but also to set a global benchmark for affordable, high-quality care. Four areas need urgent attention: * Policy and regulatory …

The burden of health care on India’s poorest
7 months, 2 weeks ago

The burden of health care on India’s poorest

Hindustan Times  

In recent years, the Indian government has made significant strides in reducing the burden of health expenditure on the common citizen. A particular focus of the government has been to reduce the burden of severe economic shocks due to “catastrophic” health care expenditure such as hospitalisation. In order to understand the character of catastrophic health expenditure, Artha Global’s Centre for …

Palliative care wards planned for major Lucknow govt hospitals
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Palliative care wards planned for major Lucknow govt hospitals

Hindustan Times  

Palliative care wards are being planned at Balrampur Hospital and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Hospital in Lucknow. As two of the city’s major government hospitals serving a large underprivileged and rural population, these facilities aim to establish specialised wards to accommodate more patients requiring long-term care. “We often have to prioritise among patients who all need extended care, making difficult decisions …

Health Minister Inspects Progress on 1,225-Bed Super Specialty Hospital in Mahabubnagar
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Health Minister Inspects Progress on 1,225-Bed Super Specialty Hospital in Mahabubnagar

Deccan Chronicle  

Rajanarasimha highlighted the government's commitment to providing quality medical care by recruiting skilled medical professionals and improving healthcare infrastructure across the state. He said that jobs will be provided to around 600 people, as the required staff for the hospital, including doctors, specialty doctors, nursing staff, sanitation staff and others. The minister emphasised that the government wants to provide better …

Letters to The Editor — June 11, 2024
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Letters to The Editor — June 11, 2024

The Hindu  

Alternative medicine The recent article by Dr. K. Madan Gopal, “The delicate balancing of health-care costs”, on the need for balancing health-care costs, puts forth much needed insights into the matter. India enjoys medical pluralism and the role of alternative health care too needs to be deliberated upon in this context, especially in the preventive aspect. Intervention through alternative medical …

Have India’s health centres really ‘collapsed’?
1 year ago

Have India’s health centres really ‘collapsed’?

The Hindu  

Jean Drèze, Reetika Khera, Rishabh Malhotra, ‘The Changing State of Health Centres in North India’, Economic & Political Weekly There is a well-documented infamy around public health centres. Localised healthcare “is a much better way of dealing with most health problems than to let patients loose on larger public hospitals or the private sector”. “Health centres today have better facilities, …

Palliative care, a way to reduce financial distress for people with life limiting diseases
1 year, 5 months ago

Palliative care, a way to reduce financial distress for people with life limiting diseases

The Hindu  

October 17, 2023 08:30 am | Updated 08:30 am IST “I couldn’t go for my six-monthly check-ups at the government district hospital as I didn’t have the money for the autorickshaw. Unplanned and abysmal funding has also been a barrier to public health centres providing palliative care services. Incorporating palliative care into the Indian healthcare system The funding mechanism of …

Delhi CM: good health care reflects ‘Ram Rajya’
1 year, 6 months ago

Delhi CM: good health care reflects ‘Ram Rajya’

The Hindu  

A true ‘Ram Rajya’ will always have quality education and free health care system for all irrespective of people’s financial status, said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday as he claimed that a major expansion in the city’s health infrastructure in underway. After inaugurating a new OPD block at Aruna Asaf Ali Government Hospital in Civil Lines, Mr. Kejriwal …

Centre adding more services to Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres
1 year, 8 months ago

Centre adding more services to Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres

The Hindu  

India’s five-year-old Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres programme, which has grown to more than 1.60 lakhs centres and registered a footfall of over 178.87 crore, is undergoing its biggest ever expansion of services, confirmed sources in the Health Ministry. Under the latest expansion spree, the Central government is adding services, including screening, prevention, control & management of non-communicable diseases, care …

Cancer cases in India projected to rise from 14.6 lakh in 2022 to 15.7 lakh in 2025: Govt.
2 years ago

Cancer cases in India projected to rise from 14.6 lakh in 2022 to 15.7 lakh in 2025: Govt.

The Hindu  

The number of cancer cases in the country is projected to go up from 14.6 lakh in 2022 to 15.7 lakh in 2025, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Cancer Registry Programme, the government informed Parliament on March 14. Elaborating on the steps taken by the government in this regard, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar …

₹2,828.33 crore for public health in Kerala Budget
2 years, 1 month ago

₹2,828.33 crore for public health in Kerala Budget

The Hindu  

The State Budget 2023-24 speaks about transforming Kerala into global healthcare capital, providing better healthcare services, focussing on health tourism and expanding and modernising existing facilities. “Navakerala Karma Padhati-2”, which has clubbed Rebuild Kerala Initiative and four Missions — Haritha Keralam, Aardram, LIFE and Vidya Kiranam — together gets an outlay of ₹10 crores in the Budget, while a chunk …

The pertinence of palliative care in India’s care protocol
2 years, 3 months ago

The pertinence of palliative care in India’s care protocol

Hindustan Times  

'A part cannot be well, unless the whole is well' is a notion that is inherently true when it comes to a person's wellbeing. A palliative care team often consists of a doctor, nurse, social worker and counsellor, who work closely with the patient's treating physician. Integrating palliative care into India’s healthcare protocol comes with an opportunity to optimise efficiencies …

Bihar to have palliative care policy, dedicated beds in hospitals
2 years, 4 months ago

Bihar to have palliative care policy, dedicated beds in hospitals

Hindustan Times  

All medical college hospitals and district hospitals in Bihar will have 10-20 beds for palliative care, aimed at improving the quality of life of both terminally ill patients and their caregivers, people familiar with the matter said. “The 10-bed palliative care centre at Muzaffarpur’s Sri Krishna Medical College Hospital will be ready within a month,” said Dr Ravikant Singh, officer-in-charge …

Only 1-2% of population who need palliative care have access to it: FICCI report
2 years, 5 months ago

Only 1-2% of population who need palliative care have access to it: FICCI report

The Hindu  

Only 1-2% of the population who need palliative care have access to it in India compared to the global average of 14%, according to Health Ministry data analysis released by the health unit of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry. The analysis shows that while India stands at number three in terms of cancer incidence in the world, …

Charting the course for accessible health care in cities
2 years, 6 months ago

Charting the course for accessible health care in cities

Hindustan Times  

The pace of urbanisation in India has increased drastically in the past two decades, and the world’s fifth-largest economy is projected by the United Nations to have 675 million of its people, about 43%, living in cities by 2035, up from 35% in 2021. The 15th Finance Commission report highlights how the Covid-19 pandemic stretched government health facilities in India, …

Boosting cancer treatment facilities a key focus of Modi government, says health officials
2 years, 7 months ago

Boosting cancer treatment facilities a key focus of Modi government, says health officials

The Hindu  

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to inaugurate Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Research Centre at Mohali in Punjab on Wednesday, officials said the health facility is significant due to reports of increasing cancer prevalence in parts of the state. They noted that treatment of cancer under 'Ayushman Bharat', a health insurance scheme for the poor, has been a prime …

Chandrakant Lahariya | At 75, time to focus on a healthier India@100
2 years, 7 months ago

Chandrakant Lahariya | At 75, time to focus on a healthier India@100

Deccan Chronicle  

The last two and a half years of the Covid-19 pandemic has been challenging for our entire society. The fact is that while health has got a lot of attention in the pandemic period — going by the poor status of health services in a majority of Indian states and poor health indices — there is a real need for …

Why Most Indians not Using Public Health Facilities is a Matter of Concern
2 years, 8 months ago

Why Most Indians not Using Public Health Facilities is a Matter of Concern

News 18  

Around 70 years ago, when India established its First Primary Health Centre, on the recommendation of the Bhore Committee, the idea was Indians will soon have access to equitable, affordable and quality health care services that are accountable and responsive to their needs. According to the Fifth Round of National Family Health Survey, 2019-21, half of the families in India …

Health Day 2022: Managing chronic ailments through preventive care approach
2 years, 11 months ago

Health Day 2022: Managing chronic ailments through preventive care approach

Hindustan Times  

India has a humongous burden of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart ailments and respiratory illnesses and on the event of World Health Day 2022 this April 07, we got a few doctors on board to throw light on silent epidemics and how to manage these chronic ailments through preventive care approach. Silent epidemics: Managing chronic ailments through preventive care …

Palliative care in India: Care, beyond cure.
2 years, 11 months ago

Palliative care in India: Care, beyond cure.

Hindustan Times  

“From inability to let well alone, from too much zeal for the new and contempt for what is old; from putting knowledge before wisdom, science before art and cleverness before common sense; from treating patients as cases; and from making the cure of the disease more grievous than the endurance of the same, Good Lord, deliver us”- Sir Robert Hutchison …

40 lakh cancer cases, 22.54 lakh deaths reported in India in 3 years: Govt
3 years, 1 month ago

40 lakh cancer cases, 22.54 lakh deaths reported in India in 3 years: Govt

India Today  

More than 40 lakh cancer cases were reported and 22.54 lakh people died of the disease in the country between 2018 and 2020, the government informed Lok Sabha on Friday. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that 13,92,179 cancer cases were reported in 2020; 13,58,415 in 2019; and 13,25,232 cases in 2018. Financial assistance is provided to patients belonging to …

Bridging the gap in cancer care
3 years, 1 month ago

Bridging the gap in cancer care

Live Mint  

I aspire to live in a society where everybody lives cancer-free. Cancer prevalence in India The National Cancer Registry Programme mentioned in its report that 94.1 men per one lakh males in India and 103.6 women per one lakh females would be affected by one or the other form of cancer. The lack of cancer awareness in the masses coupled …

UP Govt To Open More Than 5,000 Health And Wellness Centres To Cater To Medical Needs of Rural Population
3 years, 4 months ago

UP Govt To Open More Than 5,000 Health And Wellness Centres To Cater To Medical Needs of Rural Population

News 18  

In an attempt to provide comprehensive primary health care services to the communities closer to their homes, over 5,000 health and wellness centres will be up in Uttar Pradesh, primarily to cater to the rural populace. The state government led by Yogi Adityanath in the span of the last four and a half years has worked in a planned and …

Making India self-reliant in health care
3 years, 5 months ago

Making India self-reliant in health care

Hindustan Times  

The coronavirus pandemic presented to us a set of complex challenges, demanding a prompt response to the evolving situation in a manner that also facilitated rapid scaling up of the public health infrastructure, with an approach calibrated to the varying maturity of health systems across India. It also aims to provide health infrastructure, surveillance and research to make the country …

Govt Healthcare Scheme Benefits 2 Lakh People In 20 Days: Tamil Nadu Health Department
3 years, 7 months ago

Govt Healthcare Scheme Benefits 2 Lakh People In 20 Days: Tamil Nadu Health Department

ABP News  

Chennai: Since the launch of the Tamil Nadu governments ambitious healthcare scheme named Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam on August 4, around 2 lakh people have received the benefits in just 20 days, the state's health department said. The department said in a statement on Wednesday that the maximum number of beneficiaries belonged to Ramanathapuram district with 13,589 indisposed people getting the …

The unseen cost of covid’s long shadow on India
3 years, 9 months ago

The unseen cost of covid’s long shadow on India

Live Mint  

NEW DELHI : The second wave of the pandemic might have ebbed, but Ritu Garg, a Gurugram-based doctor, has had no respite. “People are now coming in with diseases like cancer at an advanced stage, uncontrolled diabetes, heart ailments, and more," said Garg, zonal director at Fortis Memorial Research Institute. A World Health Organization survey released in May 2020 projected …

Covid-19 Derails Essential Healthcare Services Globally, Says WHO; Sharp Disruptions in India Too
4 years, 6 months ago

Covid-19 Derails Essential Healthcare Services Globally, Says WHO; Sharp Disruptions in India Too

News 18  

The World Health Organisation has published a first indicative survey on the impact of COVID-19 on health systems based on reports from 105 countries. Data collected from five regions between from March to June 2020 illustrate that almost every country experienced disruption in its health services, with low- and middle-income countries reporting the greatest difficulties. Most countries reported that many …

World Population Day 2020: India need to focus on quality health care for all in the post-COVID-19 era
4 years, 8 months ago

World Population Day 2020: India need to focus on quality health care for all in the post-COVID-19 era

Firstpost  

With the private health sector failing to provide equitable healthcare, we should consider regulations to ensure it acts in the people’s interests and not in the quest for profits. As we highlight the population issues on World Population Day, it is also important to put India’s healthcare system under the scanner and address the barriers to delivering quality healthcare services …

Health infra at risk of a surge in infections as India unlocks
4 years, 9 months ago

Health infra at risk of a surge in infections as India unlocks

Live Mint  

The top six metros—Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad—are at risk of seeing a surge in covid-19 cases following the relaxation of lockdown norms to revive economic activity, experts warned. The union health ministry has issued standard operating procedures for operating public and semi-public environments, such as offices, religious places, shopping malls, hotels and restaurants. Religious places will be …

Manish Tewari: What we need is a New Deal for health
4 years, 11 months ago

Manish Tewari: What we need is a New Deal for health

Deccan Chronicle  

The most tragic image of the Covid-19 crisis so far has been of the millions of abandoned workers fleeing the cruel metropolises of our country, yearning for the safety of home and hearth. On paper India’s basic health infrastructure looks impressive with 1,52,326 sub-centres, 25,020 primary health centres and 5,363 community health centres providing health services to 72.2 per cent …

Covid-19 should lead to more investment in health | Opinion
4 years, 11 months ago

Covid-19 should lead to more investment in health | Opinion

Hindustan Times  

The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the new nature of health threats and emergencies, linked to food systems, human-wildlife and anthropogenic conflicts, and the dynamics of globalisation. We require state-level task forces that represent not just administrators and doctors but that engage wider civil society to address some of long-term effects of Covid-19 On March 25, despite fewer notified cases compared …

Palliative care in Kerala: a success story
5 years ago

Palliative care in Kerala: a success story

The Hindu  

There’s a feeling of ambient purpose and cheerful energy as you walk down the corridors of the Institute of Palliative Medicine, Kozhikode. Inspiring progress PPCS is an inspiring example of what civil society can do, and it’s far from unique in Kerala, which now has 1,550 palliative care units, 450 of which are run by community-based organisations and NGOs. But …

Can Ayushman Bharat help tackle cancer burden in India?
5 years, 3 months ago

Can Ayushman Bharat help tackle cancer burden in India?

Live Mint  

With over 4.70 lakh cancer cases treated under Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana so far, the government is now looking at specialised screening services for cancer in health and wellness centres under the scheme. As on 15 December, 2019 a total of 470,133 cancer cases have been treated under AB-PMJAY, according to the latest data available with …

India’s cancer care facilities highly inadequate, says parliamentary panel
5 years, 4 months ago

India’s cancer care facilities highly inadequate, says parliamentary panel

The Hindu  

India’s cancer care infrastructure is “highly inadequate” and forces a majority of patients to travel “thousands of kilometres” for treatment. The “systematic failure” to address the needs of patients contributes to a 20% higher mortality among Indian cancer patients than in countries with a “high” Human Development Index, says a report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science, Technology and …

Budget 2019: 'Pro-poor' Ayushman Bharat remains to be star in Healthcare sector schemes
6 years, 1 month ago

Budget 2019: 'Pro-poor' Ayushman Bharat remains to be star in Healthcare sector schemes

ABP News  

Within a short time of launch of #AyushmanBharat, the healthcare scheme, nearly 10 lakh people have benefited and have saved around 3000 crore rupees of their hard earned income : FM Piyush Goyal#Budget2019#BudgetforNewIndia pic.twitter.com/MYuJsXolyn — PIB India February 1, 2019 The Interim Budget for 2019-20 fiscal was laid down in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, where Finance Minister Piyush Goyal …

Opinion | Modicare has a long haul ahead of it
6 years, 6 months ago

Opinion | Modicare has a long haul ahead of it

Live Mint  

The launch of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana on Sunday is the first step in a long process. When a country has the world’s highest disease burden as India does, the human and economic costs are tremendous—to the tune of $6.2 trillion between 2012 and 2030, according to the World Health Organization. As of March 2017, 156,231 health sub-centres, …

Modi brainchild Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana to benefit 1.18 crore families in Uttar Pradesh
6 years, 6 months ago

Modi brainchild Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana to benefit 1.18 crore families in Uttar Pradesh

Op India  

The announcements made by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Independence Day from the ramparts of the Red Fort, are steadily being validated. Uttar Pradesh state Health Minister Sidharth Nath Singh on Tuesday announced on Tuesday that around 1.18 crore families from Uttar Pradesh will be benefited by Rs 5 lakh health insurance under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. While …

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