Health check of the Healthcare

 

There was a post that had gone Viral written by someone whose sister’s son was sent back from his Pre-school in the US saying he came into contact with a Covid infected student and the whole family was advised to undergo a Covid test. She has one of the best insurance in the USA which was costly. They went to the hospital where there was a big queue and were told to come after two days. After two days they stood in the queue for four hours and a very busy nurse asked her to write details. They filled out the form and finally undergo a test where they were told that reports will be sent to them after five to seven days.  CDC has recommended five days of isolation in case of Omicron and they even won’t get a report before that. That’s in the country which spends more than GDP on healthcare. In comparison in India, if someone came in contact with Covid Positive person, they booked the Covid test using an app for the whole family for five which cost only 3750/- for all. The phlebotomist came by 9 Am and reports were available by 4 pm. The government also sent them messages asking them to take care now that the test is negative. Government tracks those who are positive on a daily basis through automated calling and then if they develop symptoms Government asks them to get admitted to the hospital.  And for people who can’t, they send the healthcare workers to take care. In another video, a Polish national has given very positive feedback about her experience of the healthcare system in India while she had Covid.  Nowadays it’s hard to believe anything that is circulated in social media. These may be individual experiences but having seen firsthand systems here, the healthcare system in the US is meant for those who are insured and even then there are limitations especially during Pandemic. But the emphasis on Information systems and mobility has helped Government to be responsive in India. There is an educated pool of partially trained healthcare workers in the Private sector in India. This has reduced costs and helped create sustainable models. During April and May, the Indian government faced flak for not being able to provide healthcare facilities to treat large amounts of patients infected with delta variants. Western Media had insensitively sensationalized the pain of people while focusing on its own political agenda.  But there was hardly any mention of record vaccination or how responsive our healthcare system is dealing with Covid in the second half of 2021. It’s worth taking cognizance by the developed countries as well 

There was a comparative study of various healthcare systems across the world while facing Covid's first wave by the council of foreign research. Health care in the United Kingdom is fully funded and delivered by the government to nearly all people. Some analyses give the country’s National Health Service high ratings for many healthcare metrics, including preventive care, equity, and access. The NHS, paid for mainly by taxes, provides comprehensive coverage, including preventive care, hospital services, pharmaceuticals, and mental health care. The NHS said it would free up tens of thousands of hospital beds by postponing nonemergency procedures and buying space in private hospitals. A London convention center was also quickly repurposed into a makeshift hospital. Additionally, thousands of former health workers were being retrained to assist in the crisis, while specialists in other areas were being redeployed. However, many have raised alarms about a lack of ventilators and protective equipment. The United States, whose health system is a mix of private and public sources, is one of the only high-income countries that has not achieved universal health coverage: around 8.5 percent of the population goes without coverage.  Private insurance, whether employer-based or individually purchased, accounts for two-thirds of the market, while the remaining one-third of people are covered by public insurance plans including Medicare, Medicaid, and veterans’ programs. Medicaid generally covers vulnerable groups, including low-income families, and Medicare covers people over sixty-five years old and some individuals with disabilities. Americans spend far more on health care than residents of any other OECD country. Individuals pay an average of $10,000   annually, and nearly 17 percent of U.S. GDP was spent on health in 2018. Despite being ranked as the most prepared for a pandemic, the country did not ramp up the capacity in the hospitals or boost the production of medical supplies. The United States reported the most coronavirus cases and deaths in the world. Though testing is free, the cost of treatment varies. Also studied were efficient systems in South Korea and Taiwan as well as controlled economies like Australia and Netherlands. These systems did well but their size and scales are not comparable. These healthcare systems have different models than US and UK and were more efficient.  

Like most countries, India is experiencing a massive surge in Omicron now.  The second wave was driven by the more severe Delta variant with a massive spike in excess deaths from April to June 2021. Although the Delta wave was a dark period, even during this crisis many individuals, from all walks of life, and all over India, had worked hard to make things better in exceptional ways. There were medical professionals who, despite the volume of patients, were managing Covid-19 in an evidence-informed, rational way. There were teams vaccinating entire villages once overwhelmed by hesitancy. There were workers ensuring even the remotest areas had adequate oxygen supply. Lessons from these promising practices could be very valuable right now, as India battles a wave of Omicron cases. There was a task force set by volunteers to document these practices. These bright spots were mainly vaccination drives, volunteer-driven technological impact on telemedicine, Operational excellence and decentralized management like control rooms, and finally Covid Guidelines for testing and treatments.  The western media will not mention these bright spots but we cannot afford to slip our way now.