Healthcare in India in the context of Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research


Healthcare in India in the context of Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research

⭐ Core Definition: Healthcare in India

India has a multi-payer universal health care model that is paid for by a combination of public and government regulated (through the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority) private health insurances along with the element of almost entirely tax-funded public hospitals. The public hospital system is essentially free for all Indian residents except for small, often symbolic co-payments for some services.

The 2022-23 Economic Survey highlighted that the Central and State Governments' budgeted expenditure on the health sector reached 2.1% of GDP in FY23 and 2.2% in FY22, against 1.6% in FY21. India ranks 78th and has one of the lowest healthcare spending as a percent of GDP. It ranks 77th on the list of countries by total health expenditure per capita.

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Healthcare in India in the context of Medical ethnobotany of India

The medical ethnobotany of India is the study of Indian medicinal plants and their traditional uses. Plants have been used in the Indian subcontinent for treatment of disease and health maintenance for thousands of years, and remain important staples of health and folk medicine for millions. Indians today utilize plants for both primary medical care (principally in Rural and undeserved areas) and as supplementary treatment alongside modern medical science. It is estimated that 70% of rural Indians use traditional plant based remedies for primary healthcare needs. This reliance of plants for medicine is consistent with trends widely observed in the developing world, where between 65% and 80% of people use medicinal plant remedies.

Herbal medicine in India is largely guided by folk medicine, both in codified cultural practices shared widely (Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani), and highly localized practices unique to individual tribes or tribal groups (Adivasi). Between 3,000 and 5,000 species of medicinal plants grow in India with roughly 1,000 threatened with extinction. Of these, more than 2,400 plant species have been documented for medicinal use.

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