India's Healthcare System Performance Compared with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: An Observational Study.

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study is to determine how the Indian health care system is performing relative to health care system of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), given that it is facing sustained financial pressure, increasing population and demand for quality care. This is an observational study using secondary data from major international organizations, ministries of health, other government and non- government agencies in India and KSA. In order to measure the performance of health care systems, four domains such as population and healthcare coverage, healthcare spending, health system capacity and health status were considered. In comparison with KSA, India spends a very low expenditure on healthcare and markedly lower health workforce density. Due to lower healthcare expenditure, India's health services outcomes and health status are low compared to KSA. Although Indian healthcare system has undergone notable progress in the last two decades, it is lagging behind in many healthcare system parameters. If India wants to reach a high performing and a nation with good health outcomes comparable with other G20 member countries, it needs to invest more on primary healthcare, health workforce, strengthening public healthcare system, and prevention and treatment for non-communicable diseases.