Economic Survey recommends creation of a regulatory body for the healthcare sector

The Economic Survey has recommended creation of a regulator with a view to undertake regulation and supervision of healthcare sector.

Stating that it is pertinent as regulation has grown in importance as a key lever for governments to affect the quantity, quality, safety and distribution of services in health system, the survey, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday recommended creation of a regulatory body.

Significantly, the Economic survey also suggested formation of credit rating agencies to assess the quality of health care providers.

It said that since the bulk of healthcare in India (74 percent of outpatient care and 65 percent of hospitalisation) is provided through the private sector in urban India, it is critical for policymakers to mitigate information asymmetry in healthcare which creates market failures.

Hence it recommended "creating agencies to assess the quality of the healthcare providers - both doctors, and hospitals."

"The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) introduced by the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom 2004 as well as other quality assessment practices introduced by NHS provide a good example," the survey noted.