The Indian Practitioner

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Strengthening the Base of Healthcare with Focus on Family Physicians


Affiliations
1 Consultant Family Medicine and Holistic Health, Dr Varsha’s Health Solutions, Andheri (West), Mumbai, India., India
 

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


India has a wide range of healthcare providers and systems. The base is formed by general practitioners from both allopathic and alternate systems of medicine. However, the concept of the family physician is yet to find firm roots both at the academic and scientific, as well as the community level. A family physician has a holistic approach and has to engage with all members and age-groups in a family. He/she has to take care of physical health, mental health, and be abreast of social, occupational and economic factors, along with lifestyle, and nutrition. In addition, accessibility, patient comfort, dissemination of information and guidance, along with closer monitoring defines the family physician as compared to a general physician. The pandemic brought forth the importance of the family physician and how they can improve patient outcomes and reduce the load on healthcare infrastructure. It is pertinent in a country like India to formalize the family physician through academic training and qualification, financial and career growth opportunities, exposure in research as well as policy making, and establishing a healthcare structure and referral system with family physicians as its foundation.


Keywords

Family physician, holistic health, healthcare structure, health Infrastructure, general practitioner
Subscription Login to verify subscription
User
Notifications
Font Size


  • Chokshi M, Patil B, Khanna R, et al. Health systems in India. J Perinatol. 2016;36(s3):S9-S12. doi:10.1038/jp.2016.184.Available from:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC5144115/

  • International Institute for Population Sciences and Macro International (September 2007). National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), 2005-06. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. September 2007; Pp 436-440. Available from:https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FRIND3/FRIND3Vol1AndVol2.pdf

  • Thayyil J, Jeeja MC. Issues of creating a new cadre of doctors for rural India. International Journal of Medicine and Public Health. 2013;3(1):8. Available from:https://ijmedph.org/article/50

  • Balarajan Y, Selvaraj S, Subramanian SV. Health care and equity in India. Lancet. 2011;377(9764):505-515. doi:10.1016/ S0140-6736(10)61894-6

  • Government of India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Department of Health and Family Welfare: Availability of Doctors per capita in India. September 15, 2020. Available from: https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/pdf_upload-134559.pdf

  • The Print [internet]. Pain N. Bring back the family doctor. India has too many specialists. Oct 20, 2020. [cited Feb 26, 2022]. Available from:https://theprint.in/opinion/bring-backthe-family-doctor-india-has-too-many-specialists/527083/

  • Kumar R. Frequently asked questions about family medicine in India. J Family Med Prim Care. 2016;5(1):3-6. doi:10.4103/2249-4863.184615. Available from:https://www. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4943145/

  • Lee JQ, Loke W, Ng QX. The Role of Family Physicians in a Pandemic: A Blueprint. Healthcare (Basel). 2020 Jul 5;8(3):198. Available from:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32635633/

  • Family medicine: Report of a Regional Scientific Working Group Meeting on Core Curriculum Colombo, Sri Lanka, 9-13 July 2003. [Accessed on Feb 27, 2022]. Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/205063 .

  • Kumar R. Advocacy to act - Family medicine in health policy: A decade-long journey of the academy of family physicians of India. J Family Med Prim Care. 2020;9(4):1805-1810.Available fromhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC7346948/

  • Medical Council of India Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations. 2000. [Accessed on Feb 25, 2022]. Available from: http://www.mciindia.org/Rules-and-Regulation/ Postgraduate-Medical-Education-Regulations-2000.pdf .

  • Ashraf I, Chan WWT, Prasad R, Kubendra M, Hemavathy D, Prasad S. Family medicine: Perception and attitudes among Indian medical students. J Family Med Prim Care.2018;7(1):205-209. Available from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5958569/

  • Dogra V. Family medicine practice in primary healthcare service delivery in India: Barrier and Challenges. J Fam Med. 2016;3(7):1077. ISSN:2380-0658. Available from:https://austinpublishinggroup.com/family-medicine/fulltext/jfm-v3-id1077.php

  • Bijayraj R. Family Medicine at corporate clinics in India:Current Scenario. J Family Med Prim Care. 2013;2(4):323-325. Available from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC4649882/#:~:text=There%20are%201.7%20million%20 practitioners,rest%20are%20unqualified%20or%20quacks.

  • Pandit N. Concept of family physician is required to relaunch in post Covid-19 era for urban India. J Family Med Prim Care. 2021;10(10):3939-3940. Available from https:// www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8653476/


Abstract Views: 111

PDF Views: 84




  • Strengthening the Base of Healthcare with Focus on Family Physicians

Abstract Views: 111  |  PDF Views: 84

Authors

Varsha Narayanan
Consultant Family Medicine and Holistic Health, Dr Varsha’s Health Solutions, Andheri (West), Mumbai, India., India

Abstract


India has a wide range of healthcare providers and systems. The base is formed by general practitioners from both allopathic and alternate systems of medicine. However, the concept of the family physician is yet to find firm roots both at the academic and scientific, as well as the community level. A family physician has a holistic approach and has to engage with all members and age-groups in a family. He/she has to take care of physical health, mental health, and be abreast of social, occupational and economic factors, along with lifestyle, and nutrition. In addition, accessibility, patient comfort, dissemination of information and guidance, along with closer monitoring defines the family physician as compared to a general physician. The pandemic brought forth the importance of the family physician and how they can improve patient outcomes and reduce the load on healthcare infrastructure. It is pertinent in a country like India to formalize the family physician through academic training and qualification, financial and career growth opportunities, exposure in research as well as policy making, and establishing a healthcare structure and referral system with family physicians as its foundation.


Keywords


Family physician, holistic health, healthcare structure, health Infrastructure, general practitioner

References