The Disease Management Association of India (DMAI) has sent a representation to the Union health ministry urging it to take pro active steps towards reforming the current healthcare system of the country by empowering people and enabling them to adopt a pre-emptive healthcare model.
In the proposal addressed to Ghulam Nabi Azad, DMAI stressed that to ensure effective healthcare mechanism it is necessary for the government to concentrate on steps that will ensure more active participation of the general public in understanding the primary and preventive care more seriously.
For this, the association pointed out that it was essential to keep the public updated on all the government- industry dialogue so that they are also well sensitised about the need to move from ‘preventive’ care to 'pre-emptive' care. According to Rajendra Pratap Gupta, president DMAI, pre-emptive healthcare’ considered to start before teen age, starts before the age, when preventive care starts i.e. late twenties. It would include health screening for children when they turn the age of 10, so that children's grow up healthy.
The screenings, he pointed out, should include for obesity, blood pressure and diabetes in every six months. He stated, “These checks would not cost more than Rs. 10 a year, and will help in making India a healthy nation. And major healthcare problems arise due to deficiency of vitamins A, D, B and omega 3. Therefore we must push the government to draft guidelines for all children to undergo tests for deficiency of these vitamins and omega 3, and also initiate tie-up with national level labs for offering these tests at rates mutually agreed by the government.”
In its representation DMAI pointed out that government must adopt a system that more or less relies on the importance for self care. For this they insisted that it is important for the government to come out with a healthcare booklet for all the citizens in regional languages which will have generic names with prices of medicines for all the over the counter (OTC) or non-prescription pharma products for the common, seasonal and acute ailments.
The proposal suggested that the government must make this booklet available to all the citizens on its website and also as an application for use in phone operating systems as well. Healthcare indications with OTC products application must be made mandatory in all languages for cell phones sold in India and urged the Ministry of Communications & IT (MOCIT) to take a lead in initiating this step.
Gupta further stressed that government should come out with ways to support and develop the laboratory testing and diagnostic capabilities in the country since it is far more behind the current needs. At present, it is difficult to have a test for omega 3 done in India even if one needs to get it done. Also, dental examination and eye check-ups must be made mandatory from the age of six years.
DMAI pointed out to ensure that these things are properly followed it is essential to focus on drafting the child health guidelines. And should be taken to ensure that these become the basic requirement for school admissions and thus should be enforced nationally.