The private health sector in India

doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7526.1157

BMJ 2005;331:1157-1158 (19 November), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7526.1157

Editorial

The private health sector in India

Is burgeoning, but at the cost of public health care

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Foreigners in increasing numbers are now coming to India forprivate health care. They come from the Middle East, Africa,Pakistan, and Bangladesh, for complex paediatric cardiac surgeryor liver transplants—procedures that are not done in theirhome countries. They also come from the United Kingdom, Europe,and North America for quick, efficient, and cheap coronary bypassesor orthopaedic procedures. A shoulder operation in the UK wouldcost £10 000 ($17 460; ${euro}$ 14 560) done privately or entailseveral months' wait under the NHS. In India, the same operationcan be done for £1700 and within 10 days of a first emailcontact.¹

The recent remarkable growth of the private health sector inIndia has come at a time when public spending on health careat 0.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) is among the lowestin the world and ahead of only five countries—Burundi,Myanmar, Pakistan, Sudan, and . . . [Full text of this article]

Amit Sengupta, joint convenor

Peoples Health Movement, D-158, Lower Ground Floor, Saket, New Delhi-110 017, India
(ctddsf@vsnl.com)

Samiran Nundy, consultant

Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi
(snundy@hotmail.com)

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Wilson, C. (2009). Dis-embedding Health Care: Marketisation and the Rising Cost of Medicine in Kerala, South India. JOURNAL OF SOUTH ASIAN DEVELOPMENT 4: 83-101 [Abstract]
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