SURGERY IN INDIA

Surgical practice in India is mostly managed by the central and state governments and is totally government financed, offering free medical aid. However, with the economic growth and affluence of the middle-cla ss population in urban areas, more and more hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics managed by the private sector are arising in cities and to wns. Privately owned hospitals are built and managed by large industri al houses and trusts. It is essential, according to government directi ves, for these hospitals to have certain numbers of general beds that will provide for the economically weaker sections of the population. M edical insurance is popular amongst the urban population-in addition t o well-established insurance companies, many new medical service reimb ursement organizations are forming. Surgical care standards are unifor mly high in the larger teaching institutions and hospitals run by the private sector in major cities in India, in which superspecialty surgi cal care that meets worldwide standards is available in addition to ge neral surgical care. These hospitals are manned by surgeons holding ma ster's degrees in general surgery, superspecialties, and subspecialtie s. In the hospitals and dispensaries in rural areas, only basic surgic al facilities are available; for major surgical procedures, the patien ts are referred to the closest urban hospitals. Therefore, the governm ent of India is placing more and more emphasis on building hospitals t hat offer better surgical facilities away from the cities and towns. A diploma course in surgery is run by the National Board of Surgery, an d these diplomates are encouraged to practice more in rural areas and small hospitals. Economic constraints and the population explosion are the biggest hurdles to progress in surgical care, teaching, and resea rch activities. With the advancement in education and growth of the ec onomy, more and more multinationals are walking into the field of medi cal care, which is proving to be a great boon and providing a rapid in crease in the health care expansion in this country. The World Health Organization and the World Bank are providing considerable aid for dis ease prevention, health care provision, and research activities.