5 Urgent Gaps in Healthcare that are a big WARNING!
Table of Contents
Introduction
We always discuss the hunky-dory part of the healthcare industry: how healthcare providers are the second Gods and all that. However, putting a light on the challenges is equally important. There are numerous gaps in how the healthcare industry provides services. These “gaps” are causing the services to lack, which are, in turn, affecting the general population. In this blog, we’ll discuss the significant gaps that are present in the healthcare industry and how to close them so that the experience is improved.
Gaps & Their Types
- Access to Healthcare Services: The gap between the access to healthcare services between urban and rural areas is the most noticeable. No matter the efforts put in by the concerned bodies to improve the state of healthcare services in backward rural areas, there’s still a huge disparity that remains in specific demographics. For instance, the doctor-to-patient ratio in rural areas is dangerously low compared to urban areas, leading to poor and delayed patient treatments.
- Workforce Shortages: We discussed the shortage of healthcare workforce shortly in the previous point when we remarked on the doctor-to-patient ratio. Here’s a statistic by the WHO: there is a projected shortage of 18 million healthcare workers by 2030. We have already noted that this is more common in the rural part of the area, but a shortage affects the whole healthcare system, impacting all of us.
- Technological Gaps: Treatment of some diseases and illnesses needs the availability of specific technology. Such technology may be used either to speed up the recovery or sometimes even to initiate the process. Unfortunately, in some places, the required technology is still not available. The disparity is so significant that where some developed countries are using telemedicine and AI-driven diagnostics, other underdeveloped countries might be suffering from a high number of deaths due to unavailability.
- Education and Skill Gaps: We are aware all education systems are different and differ in their ability to meet the needs of training and education. Knowledge gaps in healthcare education rid doctors of adequate training. Training is the heart of the healthcare sector education. This might lead to an underwhelming treatment process being followed by the professionals, further widening the healthcare gap.
- Policy and Economic Gaps: The government is the crucial instrument in both creating and filling healthcare gaps. We’ll discuss how filling gaps enacts out. The government, with its specific policies and economic decisions, might create substantial healthcare gaps. For example, inadequate funds being assigned to the healthcare sector kind of guarantees that there’ll be a healthcare gap affecting the larger audience.
Consequences
The section heading might surprise you, but be with us here. Yes, it might feel like extra-curricular activities hinder the child’s academic performance. However, multiple research studies have shown that children engaging in more co-curricular activities celebrate enhanced academic performance. The reasoning goes back to the real-life skills discussed in the previous section; a child learns through co-curricular activities. Real-life skills like time management or work ethic might help one succeed in other tasks, such as academics.
Impact on Healthcare Outcomes
What else were you expecting? When there are healthcare gaps, there is a vast discrepancy in the treatment of patients. And what comes as a direct consequence of it is that the patient suffers. Just because one doesn’t avail themselves of the proper treatment they should have gone through, the resulting outcomes might be dangerous. Not to scare you off, this might also mean the death of the patient. So, we know that the consequences are real.
Economic Impact
You might wonder how the gaps in healthcare impact the economy at large, but we’ll prove this in a minute. Think about the costs that are incurred on untreated diseases or medical errors. If we get down to the problem, the cost can actually amount to billions. Indirectly, you also lose human resources, which is actually an economic loss. So, we get that not only the patient suffers, but the economy might also face profound consequences because of healthcare gaps.
Closing the Gaps
Education & Training
This blog makes you aware of the fact that there are probable gaps in the healthcare system. What will help us fill the gaps are education and training. For example, we need more healthcare workforce. And a shortage implies that we need to fill it as soon as possible. GD Goenka, a healthcare academy in Bhilwara, tackles the skill time gap by offering healthcare and paramedic courses that aim to make healthcare professionals in a matter of 6 months to 2 years. This is one of the examples of using education and training to close the gap. However, the point is that it can help immensely.
Technological Innovations
See how there’s a pattern to closing gaps. You need to reverse what opened the gaps. As for technological gaps, we need innovations. It looks simple in theory but difficult to enact. Telemedicine and mobile health services can help smoothen the process and fill the gap. But actually, making this happen is a daunting task. Anyways, this is the only way to close the gap. We could start small, but we need to start.
Policy Reforms & Investments
We have already discussed the massive impact of the government in creating and closing the gaps. The policies that the government issues can make an enormous difference. For example, the budget priority of Sweden and Norway has always been healthcare. Look at them now. They are the most developed and healthy countries, with a life expectancy of a whopping 83 years. The government needs to strategise correctly, and that’s all the difference.
Conclusion
The conclusion is that we need to accept the gaps in the system. We need to take action, no matter how small or big, towards closing the gap. When we’ll all do our part, that’s when we’ll be successful. GD Goenka, the provider of the best healthcare courses in Goa, has already done its part, and we explained how. Will you take a step, too?