This sounds cliched but it is apt in this present scenario.Non-communicable disease continues to be an important public health problem in India, being responsible for a major proportion of mortality and morbidity. Demographic changes, changes in the lifestyle along with increased rates of urbanization are the major reasons responsible for the tilt towards the non-communicable diseases. In India, there is no regular system for collecting data on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) which can be said to be of adequate coverage or quality.
Lack of trained health care workers, primary care providers armed with inadequate knowledge and skills along with ill-defined roles of various health sectors i.e. public, private, and voluntary sectors in providing care have played key hurdles in combating the growing burden of non-communicable diseases.
Empowerment of the community through effective health education, use of trained public health personnel along with provision of free health care and social insurance would prove beneficial in effectively controlling the growing prevalence of NCDs.
The major demographic shifts now playing out call for the Indian health care delivery system to change its paradigm, and dramatically so. An overarching pivot in strategy can be accomplished only through a model that truly integrates and coordinates care but that which starts early in an individuals life.
Healthcare Screening at a young age. We must better define what it does, why it matters and how it makes a difference, clinically as well as economically in order to be recognized as a participant in the solution to our health care conundrums. Align all participating health care professionals in the system. In India only health care is not actually integrated, mostly it remains predominantly freeform – in short, fragmented, in silos.
“Its never too early to start prevention of Chronic disease.. Dr Manoj Chandra Paul
Similarly on the lines at Healthcare at home, Healthcare Screening at Schools though voluntary should be made a part of National Policy, where a child could be screened so that the probability of him developing a chronic disease is down to a minimum. Effectively addressing the complex problem and burden of chronic disease calls for a sustained, multi-sectoral response involving the public, private, health professional and non-governmental sectors. The role of primary or secondary prevention is the mainstay plan for controlling this epidemic. These strategies can be initiated at home and in preschool institutions, schools or after-school care services. However, further research needs to be done to examine the most effective strategies of intervention, prevention
Transform the model of health care. Current mechanisms only provide for care delivered in episodes. But our belief that care starts and stops at definitive points in time must be abandoned. That kind of episodic engagement, short term engagement, though highly valuable, ultimately represents short-term thinking. Rather, health care has to be practiced year-round, and even minute-by-minute. Managing patients with chronic disease should involve daily monitoring of the most vital criteria, including blood pressure, diet and physical activity.
By expanding beyond the traditional episode-based health screening at young age would greatly help in containing some of the grave consequences of chronic disease.
Health care at home and Telemedicine could be the great vehicles of change in the healthcare delivery system and screening of the population and could be adopted at pan India level for addressing this issue, and it is quickly emerging as a microcosm of how our health care system should function across the board; it’s already a precursor of true reform. If we were to add Screening at Schools that would greatly improve the quality and add more healthy years to the individuals life.
