NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

In April 2012, there were reports of India’s health expenditure being the lowest in comparison to the BRIC Nations despite growing as fast as them. A year later, the ‘progress report’ barely shows any progress.

A recent study by IMS Institute of Health Informatics published on 19 July 2013 has revealed that 72 percent of the Indian population that still resides in rural India has access to just one-third of the all of the country’s available hospital beds while 28 percent of Indians living in urban areas have access to 66 percent of the total beds. Pointing out the disparity in distribution of healthcare services between cities and rural India, the study also notes that those living in remote pockets have to travel more than five kilometres to access an inpatient facility, 63 percent of the time.