Need to re-introduce Indian Medical Service to boost public healthcare sector, say medical experts

To strengthen the public healthcare system and close the significant gap between demand and delivery, medical professionals from the public and private sectors have emphasised the necessity of reintroducing Indian Medical Services (IMS), which are similar to Indian Administrative Services.

To roll out IMS, they have presented the government with a five-point agenda, PTI reports.

The independent think tank Think Change Forum (TCF), which is committed to producing fresh perspectives and devising solutions for surviving in a rapidly evolving environment, recently organised a panel discussion with the theme "Is it time for India to resurrect Indian Medical Services?"

The discourse underscored the necessity of fortifying the public healthcare system and underscored the crucial function that IMS may perform in accomplishing this goal.

The experts during the panel discussion stated that the IMS will help restore the shine and trust that the public health sector has lost to the private sector, stop brain drain from public medical services by luring and keeping the best medical talent, and enable better healthcare outcomes with better-managed facilities and processes because specialists will no longer be managed by generalists.

Enhancing basic preventive healthcare will lower health crises and tertiary cases. It will also facilitate smooth cooperation between the states and the Centre for Healthcare Policy Formulation.

The IMS was in place during the British colonial era but was shut down following independence. The current administration has enacted significant programmes like Ayushman Bharat and made admirable efforts in the healthcare sector.

However, the gap is still huge, requiring systemic changes, the experts noted.