‘Health is Wealth’ is an old saying, so while recovering from a poor health due to diseases or disorders can cost us money and cause physical, mental and financial hardship for the entire family, while staying healthy is relatively inexpensive and worry-free. Our ability to seek timely medical advice or detecting early signs of health issues helps preventing serious health problems.
Poor Health is an expensive affair a staggering 58.7% of national health expenditure in India is from Out of Pocket Expenditures (OOPEs)* i.e expenditures directly made by households at the point of receiving health care. Nearly 40% to 50% of OOPE is spent on medicines, 10% on diagnostic tests, and 13% on doctor consultations. This creates significant financial burden on households specially for the ‘not so rich’ segment of people.
Focus on preventive healthcare can help individuals, families (households) to stay healthy. Joining a planned healthcare program can help us to avoid physical, mental and financial challenges arising out of health issues. We all know that maintaining a balance diet and active lifestyle is important for good health. However, we can only do that much for a healthy living . The next best thing is to observe, know and recognise early signs and seek proper medical advice before they turn into irreversible conditions.
Our body is an intelligent machine and mostly shows early signs and changes, much before we start realising of serious health issues. Still most of us neglect seeking medical advice on time due to effort of locating doctor or medical services and high cost or time constraints.