Sometimes, someone, suddenly asks some silly question. The problem is, we don’t have much of expertise and wisdom to tell whether the question is silly or serious . The so-called sacred ratio of ideal doctor population ratio (1:1000) has come under vigorous scrutiny as the number of observational studies found little relationship between the number of doctors and the health of a society, community, district, or even a country.
This ratio was attributed to WHO, which denies , it had never recommended any such ratio. It only has some suggestions for a combined medical professionals ratio (that includes Doctors, Nurses, and paramedical professionals). We neither have split figures nor its effectiveness.
Here is some new-news in Times of India ,on the topic. It is time for all countries, planning commissions, and health regulatory bodies to do a deep introspection.
Final message
What exactly is the relationship between the doctor-population ratio and the health of a country? May be the toughest question for the entire medical profession. Meanwhile, one of my colleagues wanted to define the number of cardiologists required per unit of population for optimal cardiac care in my state of Tamil Nadu. I told him, let us sort out the basics, then we shall go for the specialist ratio.
A related article and a chat with AI to find an answer to this frivolous question.
Dr.S.Venkatesan MD 