“One Nation, One Health System”: The need, the challenges, and the way forward

Change is inevitable with time. When change happens, the needs, attitude, behavior, habits, etc., will also change. The same is the case with medical practices also. The public is well aware of the strengths and limitations of each medical system and is willing to accept multisystem or integrated systems of approach for their health needs. It is our duty to identify the strengths and limitations of each medical system and to complement the weakness of one system with the strengths of the other system. We aim to provide a holistic approach to alleviate suffering. It can be said that an ailing person is ready to seek advice irrespective of “pathy” or qualification and accepts medical pluralism, including advice from folk practitioners or tribal practitioners. In this method, where the patients seek pluralistic medical advice, there is a waste of time and money in consulting different systems. Also, there are chances of overdosage or synergetic or antagonistic actions of medicines. Unified medical practices that provide all types of medical services at one contact point ensure the utilization of the strengths of all medical systems at the same place, which would ultimately benefit patients. The unification or integration of medical practice needs to be done at a multilevel, and the medical systems should also be available as parallel services. The broad avenues of integration are at the practice level, medical education, and research. Integration is the key to having a patient-centric approach. The integration of medical systems has difficulties but is not impossible. Coordinated, collaborative, and accessible health care is inevitable in a patient-centered approach. Medical professionals from different systems must align their vision and values to benefit patients by crossing pathy barriers with openness. With unified medical systems in the “Indian Health Care System,” India can advance to be a global leader in the healthcare sector.