Majority of patients dissatisfied with hospital services- FICCI report
The report, called Re-engineering Indian Healthcare 2.0, highlighted that 63% of patients surveyed were not happy with hospital responsiveness and wait times, and about 59% patients said hospitals were not concerned about feedback and do not actively seek it.
Dissatisfaction amongst patients for services provided by hospitals has been on the rise, according to a report by EY - Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) released on Tuesday.
Conducted by EY, an online survey of 1,000 patients across India found that around 61% of patients surveyed believed that hospitals did not act in their best interests compared to 37% patients in 2016.
The report, called Re-engineering Indian Healthcare 2.0, highlighted that 63% of patients surveyed were not happy with hospital responsiveness and wait times, and about 59% patients said hospitals were not concerned about feedback and do not actively seek it.
“India needs to re-engineer the healthcare ecosystem with systemic and structural changes, keeping the ground realities in mind, through innovative and sustainable models of care delivery as well as business processes,” the report said. “Private providers too have generally demonstrated far greater enterprise in pursuing the growth agenda than efficiency (both capital and operational), resorting to price increase as a default response for managing bottom line agenda.”
For building trust across principal stakeholders--policymakers, healthcare providers, payors and the public--EY has recommended a ‘5E framework’ comprising integrating empathy, efficiency, empowerment, ease, and environment to achieve the agenda of universal health access and the right to health.
India offers the lowest cost healthcare services when compared with global peers, yet services are overwhelmingly prohibitive to a majority of the population. This calls for a focus on rationalizing healthcare costs across the country. Rural primary health where about 70% of the population resides is a key area for development, the report highlighted.
“Engaging private players for innovative primary care provisioning in remote locations, enabling ‘Make in India’ for frugal medical supplies, increasing the penetration of low cost domestically manufactured products are all steps in this direction,” it added.
“For realising the aspired levels of efficiency, it is imperative for healthcare providers to shift from an incremental performance plus approach to a radical design to cost or direct-to-consumer approach for redesigning their operating models and cost structures,” said Kaivaan Movdawalla, Partner - Healthcare, EY India.
