CHENNAI: Healthcare in the State and the country is in the hands of the private sector, as shown by a white paper on private-public partnership in the health sector, released on Saturday. According to the findings of the study, conducted jointly by the AIDS Prevention and Control (APAC) Project, Voluntary Health Services (APAC-VHS), IIT-Madras, MSG Strategic Consulting with the support of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Government of Tamil Nadu, 63 per cent of the State’s sick people seek help from private hospitals.
Another fact that emerged is that while 55 per cent of those who are admitted for major ailments in government hospitals are from the poorest sections, 24 per cent in the private hospitals are from a similar background. The paper was released by Dr Girija Vaidyanathan, Principal Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare.
Evolving a public private partnership (PPP) policy for the health sector, third party evaluation of select PPP initiatives each year, clear market segmentation for NGOs, promotion of a clinical implementation act, viability gap funding for creation of health infrastructure under PPP, review systems and procedures to promote good governance in managing PPPs, and incentivising private sector to reach out to the poor are among the 31 recommendations that were made.
Dr Girija Vaidyanathan said the recommendations would have very significant impact on formulation of government policies and decisions. “There should be clarity on policy structure,” she said.
Kerry Pelzman, director-PHN, USAID, India, said PPP in healthcare in India could help face the challenges like lack of human resource and limited access to quality healthcare facilities in rural areas.
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