Before learning about the difference between private and public health services, let us learn about the healthcare resources in India. For a healthy life and caring during illness, there is the need for appropriate healthcare services like hospitals, health centers, laboratories, ambulances, and blood banks, etc. To maintain these facilities a well-trained staff of doctors, nurses, health workers, and paramedics is needed who can diagnose and treat the illness.

Besides this, medical equipment, machinery, and medicines are needed for treating the patients. Making such resources available is the responsibility of the government.

The healthcare services in India are provided in two ways:

� Public health service
� Private health services

The difference between private and public health services are as follows:

The public health services

The public health services are provided by the government in the form of government hospitals and healthcare centers in rural and urban areas. These are linked together to provide treatment for all kinds of illnesses from common ailments to specialized treatments. Our public healthcare policy envisages a three-tier structure comprising the primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities to bring these services within the reach of the people.

The primary tier: It is designed to have three types of healthcare institutions, namely, a sub-center (SC) for a population of 3000-5000, a primary health center (PHC) for 20,000 to 30,000 people, and a community health center (CHC) as a referral center for every four PHCs covering a population of 80,000 to 1.2 lakh. The health centers in the villages are handled by trained nurses and a village health worker. They all work under the supervision of PHC doctors.

The secondary tier: The district hospitals function as the second tier for rural healthcare, and as the primary tier for the urban population. They supervise the rural health centers.

Tertiary tier: This healthcare is provided by healthcare institutions in urban areas which are well equipped with sophisticated diagnostics and investigative facilities.

In pursuance of this policy, a vast network of healthcare institutions has been created, both in rural and urban areas. Substantial resources have gone into planning and implementing the health and family welfare programs.

The public health services are called so because they are meant for all the citizens of the country, be it in rural or urban areas. Secondly, the construction of hospitals and healthcare centers is done through the money that the public pays in the form of taxes. The required medical equipment and medicines are also funded by the government.

An important function of the public health facility is to provide healthcare facilities either free of cost or at low rates to the poor. Prevention of diseases like tuberculosis, malaria, jaundice, cholera is also a part of public health. The widespread nature of these diseases means that government has to create awareness amongst the people and get their help in the eradication of these diseases.

Let us see this government ad, featuring a government awareness program. The constitution very clearly states that the welfare of the people and providing them health facilities is the primary duty of the government.

The court has directed the government and the public health services to:

� Give every injured citizen instant medical aid to preserve life.
� Give paramount importance to saving a human life irrespective of the fact whether he is innocent or criminal.
� Provide adequate facilities to every citizen and place upon the state the obligation of safeguarding the life of every person.
� Provide necessary treatment as a part of the duty of the medical staff.

Private health services

Private health services are offered by individuals and are profit-oriented. There are a number of private hospitals and nursing homes which have mushroomed in the urban areas. The private health facilities include laboratories with all kinds of new types of equipment to provide facilities for tests, X-rays, ultrasounds, etc.

Several doctors have set up their own private clinics in urban and rural areas. The number of such private practitioners is more in urban than in rural areas. The infrastructure in the private health services is far better than the public one. In fact, the private sector despite being costlier provides 80% of the health services in the state.

Today private healthcare facilities can be seen all around us. There are not only hospitals that give a five-star treatment and charge a hefty amount but also several private shops selling medicines. Big private companies have entered the field of making and marketing medicines.

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