Healthcare infrastructure cannot be built with just brick and mortar. It requires a high quality healthcare workforce. India’s doctor : population ratio is one of the worst in the world (1: 2000), compared to a world average of 1: 800 and a US average of 1: 390.

In order to plug the gaps in the healthcare workforce, India has to double the number of its medical colleges, triple the number of its nursing colleges and quadruple the number of its paramedical / allied health science colleges.

What compounds the challenge is that a mere increase in numbers will not suffice. Inadequacies in the quality & skill of health care personnel trained in an outdated system & curriculum can add to the woes of our healthcare system.

To prevent a healthcare workforce crisis in the next decade, India not only needs to scale the volume but also significantly enhance the quality of its health education infrastructure.