Why Preventive Healthcare for India?

There is an English proverb that states “Stitch in Time Saves Nine”, which means it is better to take necessary precautions for safety, rather than being sorry. The same applies to the field of healthcare, where it is always advisable to take necessary measures to prevent the occurrence of a disease, rather than taking actions once the disease had already occurred. This is the reason why the focus of healthcare across the world is shifting from curative healthcare to preventive healthcare   In India, the growing population has been plagued with multiple lifestyle diseases. The complexity of the same is increased by the fact that these diseases are chronic in nature, which can only be controlled but can never be fully cured.

The seriousness of the matter is evident from the following statistics in India:  

1. Four people die of heart attack every minute
2. Two people die of diabetes every minute
3. One people die of cancer and stroke every minute
4. 35% of deaths due to heart attack, cancer or diabetes have occurred to the population with an age group of 35 to 60  

The onslaught of these diseases can only be curbed if they are detected early. A study indicates that 40% of the cancer cases can be prevented with a healthy lifestyle of the patient and by early diagnosis of the disease. Although the Indian population has been primarily surviving on a curative healthcare so far, the following factors are pushing the same towards a preventive healthcare:

1. Increasing awareness about diseases in both rural and urban areas
2. Increase in disposable income, which allows the population to take pro-active steps in their personal healthcare
3. Increase in lifestyle diseases, which can only be curbed through preventive healthcare than curative healthcare  

But we have only walked a few steps in adopting a preventive healthcare system, as the challenges that lay in our paths are multiple with varying complexity. One of these challenges is the lack of an ecosystem that will allow the individual to make some changes in their daily lifestyle, which will allow them to adopt preventive healthcare.

Healthcare Scenario in India

• 17.3 million or 30% of total global deaths occur because of cardiovascular diseases
• In India FOUR people die of a Heart Attack every MINUTE
• FIVE out of 100 Indians carry a gene mutation that almost guarantees the development of heart disease.
• Diabetes kills TWO Indians while stroke and cancer kills ONE each every MINUTE
• In 2008, more than 35% Indians who died of a heart attack, cancer or diabetes were in their productive years (age 35-60)
• More than 61 Indians go below the poverty-line every MINUTE by spending on treatment to diseases already occurred
• For every 1000 Indians there is less than ONE hospital bed, less than ONE doctor and less than ONE nurse
• WHO indicates that at least 80% of premature deaths from cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes
• Interestingly, 40% of cancers are preventable if a healthy lifestyle is maintained and/or the conditions leading to the disease are DETECTED EARLY!