Status of public health care delivery system-A case study of nagaon and Nalbari Districts of Assam (India)

The public health care delivery system plays an important role in overall development and growth of the health sector. Evidences show that studies on public health care delivery system are limited both in the Indian as well as in the context of the north-eastern region. This paper is an attempt to assess the status of public health care delivery system and pattern of utilization of health care services in Assam which is a state with ‘weak health outcome indicators’. The result of the study indicate, that the meager concert of the public health care delivery system in the study areas, has an adverse impact, mainly on the poor population, in the form of high out of pocket expenses and low quality of care. Factors like shortages of specialist health personnel's, shortages of medicines, poor functioning of the health centres, lack of infrastructural facilities, shortages of manpower and problem of accessibility has become inimical for the overall development of the health care system especially for the poor population as majority of them depends on government health facilities for treatment.