MUMBAI: 55% Indians feel they have access to quality healthcare, 31% rate it neither good nor poor, while 15% rate it as poor. Interestingly, India is placed at the 11th spot in assessment of the quality of healthcare among the 28 countries covered in an Ipsos Global Advisor survey of more than 23,000 adults. Countries surveyed where consumers most tend to rate the quality of their healthcare positively are Great Britain (73%), Malaysia (72%), and Australia (71%). Countries rated lowest by consumers in quality of healthcare were Poland (14%), Russia (16%) and Serbia (18%).
So, what are the major concerns cited by Indians around healthcare systems?
The top three problems cited were –Cost of access to treatment (44%), Poor quality treatment (35%) and Low standards of cleanliness (30%). Globally, the top three concerns that emerged were – Access to treatment/ long waiting times (41%), Staff crunch (36%) and Cost of accessing treatment (32%).
Top 3 public health concerns in India?
Indians are worried most about Diabetes, followed by Cancer and the third biggest concern is Heart Disease. Globally, the top three public health concerns are Cancer, Obesity and Mental Health.
“Making healthcare affordable to all, should be addressed by governments and healthcare providers around the globe as it is among the top three concerns,” says Monica Gangwani, Head of Ipsos Healthcare.
“Lifestyle changes can prevent some of these dreaded diseases.” adds Gangwani.
How does the future of Healthcare look 10 years from now?
There is high level of optimism seen among Indians – 66% say their own health will get better in 10 years (highest across all 28 markets), globally 35% feel so and in Japan only 11% feel their health will improve 10 years hence (lowest); 69% Indians feel that the quality of healthcare (docs, hospitals, medicine etc.) will improve for them and their family 10 years from now, 39% agree globally (across 28 markets), while Germany is the lowest with only 16% being optimistic; 60% Indians feel that the Cost of Healthcare will get better for them and their family 10 years from now – it will pinch the pocket less, 30% agree globally and Germany (at the bottom of the heap) has only 11% agreeing; 72% Indians (highest globally) feel that 10 years hence, the availability of healthcare providers (docs, hospitals etc.) where they live will get better; Germany is most pessimistic at 13% and global average is 37%; 73% Indians feel that the availability of treatments for various health conditions will improve 10 years hence, global average is 47% and Germany is at the bottom of the heap and has only 17% feeling optimistic.
Opinions about interactions with individual healthcare professionals tend to be more favorable among Indians, also of the healthcare system. Majority of Indian adults agree that, the last time they saw a healthcare professional, they were treated with dignity and respect (63%), they were taken seriously (61%), they were shown respect for their values, preferences or expressed needs (61%), they were accepted for who they were (65%), their safety was a priority (66%), and they knew what to expect from their doctor (67%).Interestingly, the study findings suggest that many patients have a close relationship with their providers. More number of Indians agree that the provider they last saw knows them as a person (62%), or that they know that doctor very well (60%),only about half of Indians polled said their doctor showed them emotional support (53%). Looking at 16 healthcare experience attributes, the countries surveyed showing the highest average ratings are India, the U.S., Malaysia, Australia and Canada. Those with the lowest ones are Japan, Russia, South Korea, Peru and Brazil.
Use of Technology
27% Indians report having ever used telemedicine. Among the 27% who have used it, two third saysay they would use it again and one third say they wouldn’t. Reported experience is far more common in emerging countries of Asia and the Middle East and in the United States than it is in Europe.
23% Indians say they currently use a connected health device or tool to manage their health, 24% say they have used one, but are not using any now, and 49% say they have never used one – the other 4% do not know. The five countries where usage is highest are the same as with telemedicine: China (28%), India (23%), Saudi Arabia (22%), Malaysia (18%) and the U.S. (15%).
Sources of Information?
Doctors and other healthcare professionals are the primary go-to source of information about healthcare, symptoms of diseases and treatments: it is the only one which is used by a majority of Indian adults (53%). The other sources most commonly used are online search engines (50%), family and friends (46%),online encyclopedias (32%), hospital/ health system/ health insurer website/ application (32%), newspaper/ magazines (31%), among others.
