Historical Background of Indian Healthcare Industry

The healthcare sector is a part of the economy that delivers various drugs, medicines & other services for patients with preventive, healing, rehabilitative, & soothing care. “Health care services comprises the grouping of tangible & intangible facet where intangible features dominates the tangible aspects”. Rooms, beds & other decors are included in tangible things.

The different forms of services related to health & welfare are provided by healthcare industry. Healthcare sector is a sector governed at state level with the assistance of Government of India. It is divided into many sub-divisions, & governed with various interdisciplinary teams of skilled professionals & paraprofessionals to serve the health requirements of the individuals.

Evidences are available to prove the existence of healthcare systems even during the period of Ramayana & Mahabharata. Healthcare systems have changed substantially with flow of time, information & has gone through important changes & developed a lot with the upgradation of Medical Science & related technology.

Considerable increments in healthcare facilities & in the number of healthcare professionals happened during 1950's & 1980's, but the total number of certified medical professionals seems to be falling down in as we have 4 practitioner per 10,000 in 1980s which is reduced to 3 per 10,000 in 1981. The reason behind this decrease in number of certified medical professionals is the fast growing population in the country. There were around ten beds on 10,000 individuals in 1991. The number of primary health centers have grown in the decade. There is no doubt that these centers are the keystone for rural health care system.

Around 22,400 primary health centers, 11200 hospitals & 27400 dispensaries were established in India during 1991. These services started as a part of tiered healthcare system with a focus to provide maximum routine facilities to the wide majority of people in town & refer only critical cases to urban hospitals which are having more sophisticated facilities. These centers focused on creating trust on skilled professionals to fulfil their maximum requirements.

The healthcare industry in India is functioning with the help of both public & private sector. The services & facilities governed by the government of sate as well as of central comes under public healthcare system. The system is helpful in a way as it provides varied number of services & other facilities at free of cost or at concessional rates to the people of rural areas as well as the to the people of lower income group in urban areas. Yet there is a long way to go ahead as the industry is still in the development phase.

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