IMS survey reveals skewed doctor density across India

India may have a healthy reputation as a medical tourism destination, but its own health indicators seem to be in poor state. The latest survey conducted by market research firm IMS Health on nearly 4 lakh doctors across 120 cities in India reveal an uneven spread of medical practitioners and in turn, medical care, reports Archana Shukla.

Citizens residing in northern states Delhi, Pujab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh have access to more doctors as compared to citizens residing in other parts of India. Also read: USFDA cracks down on Indian made 'natural' diabetes drugs
A survey done by IMS Health says the northern belt, home to 28 percent of the country's population, accounts for 31% of all doctors in the country. Delhi leads the chart with 40,500 doctors alone for a population of 1.6 crore and Haryana has the highest density of 2.3 doctors per 1,000 population.
But this does not mean that residents from these states are healthier, that distinction goes to Kerala, which ironically has the lowest doctor density of 1 per thousand amongst the 120 cities surveyed.
Amit Bakliwal MD - South Asia, IMS Health explained the reason for this strange phenomenon. “A lot is to do with literacy and awareness in keeping the health indicators high and which is where Kerala outdoes all other states.”
While the 120 cities under survey boast of an average doctor density of 1.2, the spread of both general practioners and speciaists is quite skewed in favour of cities with large healthcare organisations and medical schools.
Mangalore leads with a ratio of 3.4 doctors per 1000 population followed by Gurgaon, Patna, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Delhi and Mumbai, which have largest number of doctors, have slightly lower density owing to large population base. Where as cities of Mallapuram, Dhanbad, Thrissur have the lowest doctor densities.
 
All of this going to show that India still has a long way to go before the government can achieve it's goal to provide healthcare for all.
“So, it’s not about the average across these 120 cities which is really a concern its more the disparity within these cities,” Kumar Hinduja, Senior Director - Strategic Planning IMS Health India.
While some large cities under survey have good density of medical practitioners, the country as a whole, with an average density of just 0.65 doctors per 1000 population is still far from the world health organization’s recommendation of 4 doctors for a population of 1000, indicating the need to channel investments and policies into the under-served regions.