1. Manthan Topic: Healing Touch
Team Glossarium
Hindu College – Delhi University
PROMOTING UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO PRIMARY HEALTHCARE
INTEGRATED MOBILE HEALTHCARE VEHICLE
FOR RURAL INDIA

2. ACCESS TO UNIVERSAL PRIMARY HEALTHCARE SERVICES IS LIMITED
IN RURAL AND REMOTE AREAS OF INDIA
700 MillionTotal Population
23,458Primary Healthcare Centers (PHC)
1:35000PHCs to Population Ratio
2,533 PHCs Without Doctors
0.6 Doctor per Thousand People
FACTORS LIMITING PRIMARY HEALTHCARE
SERVICE IN RURAL INDIA:
I. INADEQUATE HEALTHCARE
INFRASTRUCTURES
-Remote Locations and Limited
Connectivity
-Poor Power and Electricity Supply
II. LACK OF TRAINED HEALTHCARE
PROVIDERS
-Limited to certain cities and centers
III. AFFORDABILITY OF HEALTHCARE
SERVICES TO THE RURAL POPULATION
RURAL INDIA – A GLANCE
Hypothesis: Failure to establish universal primary healthcare happens due to
lack of infrastructure and awareness in rural areas

3. PROPOSED SOLUTION: MOBILE HEALTHCARE VEHICLE
Mobile healthcare vehicle
refers to a vehicle which
has been modified in
order to simulate a
healthcare center and
facilitate provision of
healthcare service.
It is provided by the
government to partnering
healthcare centers in order
to expand their operations
and reach remote area.
Vehicles are attended my
medical officers from the
partnering centers and
provides services such as
medical consultation,
distribution of medicines,
etc.
• Healthcare services are integrated with existing government
insurance schemes such as Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana
(RSBY).
• Cost of healthcare services shall be born by partnering centers
and refunded by insurance agencies under such schemes
WHAT WHY WHO
HOW

4. PROVIDING PRIMARY HEALTHCARE SERVICE ON A MOBILE VEHICLE
IS AN EFFECTIVE WAY IN REACHING THE RURAL POPULATION
STRENGTHS
MOBILE SERVICE REACHES LARGER NUMBER OF
PEOPLE AND EXTENDS TO REMOTE AREAS
ALLOWS FOR THE INTEGRATION OF HEALTHCARE
SERVICES AND AWARNESS BUILDING PROGRAMS
MOBILITY OF MEDICAL OFFICERS TRANSLATES TO
FEWER REQUIREMENT OF MANPOWER
REDUCTION IN HEALTHCARE COSTS DUE TO
INTEGRATION WITH GOVERNMENT HEALTHCARE
AND INSURANCE SCHEMES
LOW CAPITAL INVESTMENT AS COMPARED TO
BUILDING PRIMARY HEALTHCARE CENTERS

5. PROBLEM-SOLUTION MATRIX
INFRASTRUCTURAL
INADEQUACY
MOBILE VEHICLE
HEALTHCARE SERVICE
LACK OF MANPOWER
DISTRIBUTION OF MANPOWER
FROM STAFFED CENTERS TO
TRAVEL TO DIFFERENT SITES
FINANCING
HEALTHCARE SERVICE
INTERGRATION WITH
GOVERNMENT
INSURANCE PROGRAM
SUSTAINABILITY
MULTI-PARTY INCENTIVE
AND THIRD-PARTY
MONITORING

6. Stakeholder Analysis
Central
Government
Role: Providing healthcare vehicle, monitoring performance of program
Incentive: Ensuring Universal Primary Healthcare to Citizens
Role: Planning operations, supplying medical officer, providing primary
healthcare service, maintaining healthcare vehicle
Incentive: Extension operations and source of revenue
Role: Administering and Operating funding through existing government
insurance schemes
Incentive: Expanding operations and source of revenue
Healthcare
Centers
Insurance
Agencies
Medical Officers
Role: Carrying out healthcare services and awareness programs
Incentive: Employment with healthcare centers with adjusted pay grade
as per operations
Rural Citizens
Role: Utilizing healthcare services, participating in insurance programs
Incentive: Affordable access to primary healthcare services and
awareness programs
Non-Government
Organizations
Role: Monitoring Implementation of the program
Incentive: Proper utilization of taxpayer’s funds and prevention of
corruption

7. WIDE RANGE OF PRIMARY SERVICES CAN BE PROVIDED ON A
MOBILE HEALTHCARE VEHICLE
MEDICAL SERVICE
Consultation with visiting
doctor over various
medical symptoms and
prevention of disease
LABORATORY
SERVICE
Collection of sample for
laboratory checking, with
result intimated on next
visit or by post
SCHEME
REGISTRATION
Promotion and
registration of various
government insurance
and healthcare schemes
AWARENESS
BUILDING
Integrated awareness
building program on
personal hygiene, healthy
lifestyle, and prevention
of diseases
ONSITE PHARMACY
Availability of vitamins ,
pills. and medicines ,
expanding to remote
areas
PREVENTION
SERVICES
Services for disease
prevention, such as
immunization and
vaccination

8. PLANNING
INFRASTRUCTURAL MAPPING
(Partnering Centers Selection)
Quality and Quantity of
Manpower and
Equipment
Ratio of PHCs to
Population
Radius Of Operation
Class A PHC
Class B PHC
Class C PHC
DISTRIBUTION AND OPRATIONAL
MAPPING (Vehicle Distribution)
Class A PHC
Class B PHC
Class C PHC
Most Number of
Vehicles
Medium Number
of Vehicles
Least Number of
Vehicles
Most Manpower
and Target Sites
Medium Manpower
and Target Sites
Least Manpower
and Target Sites

9. PLANNING IMPLEMENTATION
FINANCES
1. Vehicle funding under the
National Health Mission, with
approximate cost of Rs5 Lakh
per vehicle
2. Payment of Healthcare
services, travel, and medical
officer remuneration to be
integrated with existing
government insurance schemes
3. Treatment package and
payment method shall follow
same procedure applied in case
where patient visits center
directly
MANPOWER
1. Medical Officers shall be
outsourced from partner
medical centers, whether
private or public
2. Remuneration for medical
officers shall be included in
insurance schemes.
3. Drivers/clerks to be
employed by partnering
medical centers, with
remuneration package
integrated under existing
insurance schemes
SERVICES
1. Vehicle shall travel
from one panchayat to another
every working day, with
planning coordinated with
district government.
2. Services shall be integrated
with partnering healthcare
centers, including in cases of
hospitalization or need of
secondary and tertiary services.

10. PLANNING IMPLEMENTATION MONITORING
• Implementation shall be supervised by the national
and state department of health and family welfare
through regular checks on operation sites and reports
by partner healthcare centers
Government
Supervision
• Hotline for complain regarding the program shall be
printed on each vehicle. It shall be forwarded to the
District Health and Family Department.
Healthcare vehicle
Complain Hotline
• Non-Government Organization operating in the same
field or region shall be integrated as partners of the
program. In supervising operations.
Third-Party
Supervision

11. Implementation Challenges
Multi-Party Coordination
Coordination between stakeholders on implementation of the program
SOLUTION: Stakeholders must engage in coordinated dialogue to create a clear understanding regarding
respective responsibilities before implementation of the program. Regular discussions should be held upon
implementation to monitor progress and solve any existing issues.
Payment of Healthcare
Integrating Insurance Schemes and
Provision of Healthcare
SOLUTION: Insurance agencies running
government insurance schemes must
ensure prompt payment towards services
provider. Any disputes regarding
reimbursement and healthcare services
must be addressed without disrupting
operations.
Effective Monitoring
Ensuring Proper Utilization of Funds and
Mitigating Corruption
SOLUTION: Third-party reports and
evaluation must be accounted in regular
checks and given considerable attention
in determining authority and distribution
of funds

12. References
• Reddy et.al, “A Critical Assessment of the Existing Health Insurance
Model in India,” (Delhi: Planning Commission of India,2011).
• Mckinsey&Company, “India Healthcare: Inspiring Opportunities,
Challenging Journeys,” December 2012.
• R.Srinivasan, “Healthcare in India: Vision 2020,”
<http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/genrep/bkpap2020/26_bg2
020.pdf>.