Essential medicine shortages, procurement process and supplier response: A normative study across Indian states.

Efficient public-procurement systems are critical for ensuring Access to Medicines (ATM) and enabling universal healthcare delivery. This is especially true of India where public healthcare caters to the underprivileged population who have limited access to medicines. However, essential medicine shortage in the Indian public-healthcare system is significant and is exacerbated by inefficiencies in the procurement system.

A time motion study of community mental health workers in rural India.

Background: Community Health Workers (CHWs) are critical to providing healthcare services in countries such as India which face a severe shortage of skilled healthcare personnel especially in rural areas. The aim of this study is to understand the work flow of CHWs in a rural Community Mental Health Project (CMHP) in India and identify inefficiencies which impede their service delivery. This will aid in formulating a targeted policy approach, improving efficiency and supporting appropriate work allocation as the roles and responsibilities of the CHWs evolve.