Improve traditional Indian healthcare system: Pitroda (Lead)

The traditional Indian healthcare system was a "comprehensive solution" to healthcare problems as it reached out to the masses unlike Western methods that only touched "the top of the pyramid", National Knowledge Commission chairperson Sam Pitroda said here Thursday.

In his keynote address at the sixth India Health Summit in the capital, Pitroda said: "For a comprehensive solution to our healthcare shortcomings, we need to adopt the traditional Indian model in the healthcare system."

"The Indian healthcare system reaches out to the bottom of the pyramid while the Western method of healthcare reaches only the top of the pyramid," he added.

Titled 'Taking Quality Healthcare to the Masses', the two-day summit was organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Stressing the need to focus on healthcare education and research facilities related to the subject, Pitroda said the key is to lay out a plan to implement the target.

"There should be working groups set up at the state and district level in order to ensure wider reach of healthcare facilities. If we do not have a plan ready for the state and district levels, we can expect little success in this regard," Pitroda said.

"There is a lot of potential in the sector, but it's time we needed a comprehensive approach in taking quality and affordable healthcare facilities to the grassroots level," he added.

Last updated on Nov 5^th, 2009 at 18:49 pm IST--IANS