High-value claims made by Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries are increasing, reports say. The scheme – officially the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) – offers insurance coverage to economically vulnerable families of up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year. Estimates project that, by the end of the year, high-value claims (those over Rs 30,000) will […]
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Specialists speak out against govt. push against ENDS
Experts have spoken out against the Centre’s push against e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), questioning the merits of an Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) paper concerning the devices’ effects on health. Writing to the ICMR Director-General, the 62 experts from across twenty countries asserted that the Council’s claims about the detrimental […]
Misdiagnosed blood pressure: 42% at risk
As many as 42 percent of Indians could be at risk of having their blood pressure misdiagnosed, suggests research published earlier this week. The Indian Heart Study, which researchers promoted in Mumbai, found there to be a relatively high prevalence of both ‘masked hypertension’ and ‘white-coat hypertension’ in a study of 19,000 people. White-coat hypertension, […]
Blood pressure and brain pathology: A worrying find for India’s elderly
High blood pressure, along with significant increases in blood pressure in midlife, may be associated with brain pathologies in later life, according to an observational study published in The Lancet Neurology journal. High blood pressure is becoming ever more prevalent in the country, which could place considerable burdens on India’s healthcare and elderly care services […]
India’s population growth: Explosion or slowdown?
Is the government planning to bring in a law on population regulation? Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statements cautioning India over what he called its ‘reckless population explosion’ may be a hint. Does India need such a law when it is staring at a slowdown? “Population explosion has been occuring at an unrestrained pace. This population […]
Plastic ban calls in the face of an environmental crisis
One of India’s leading youth politicians has called for a plastic ban to be enacted. “The need of the hour is to ban production, usage and sale of plastic,” proclaimed Aditya Thackeray, who leads the youth wing of the Shiv Sena political party. In an earlier tweet, Thackeray said “banning production, use and sale of […]
Tip of the iceberg: What the AIIMS fire tells us about India’s hospitals
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi resumed services at the beginning of the week following the outbreak of a fire over the weekend. No fatalities or injuries were reported in the blaze, which reportedly originated due to a short circuit. According to reports, the fire broke out on the first and […]
Proposed law to ban violence against doctors
The Centre has drafted legislation to tackle violence against doctors, one of the main issues facing India’s healthcare professionals. Under the law, those who commit assault against doctors and other medical workers could face a prison sentence of between three and ten years and fined up to Rs 10 lakh. In addition, healthcare workers can […]
Calls for AYUSH centres in every state
One of India’s leading alternative medicine practitioners has called for AYUSH centres practising these systems to be established in every Indian state. Dr V. B. Vijaykumar – vice president of the Central Council of Indian Medicine, a body under the Union Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) – issued the […]
Rabies vaccine shortage in Karnataka
Karnataka’s hospitals are grappling with a shortage of the rabies vaccine, with many forced to procure them from other sources. Rabies is one of India’s most lethal diseases, killing every person it came into contact with in 2017. Since 2010, only six people have survived rabies infections despite the disease being entirely vaccine preventable. Rabies […]