Decoding Healthcare in India: Part I

UdaipurTimes, Oct 11, 2026 - Medical emergencies rarely come with a warning, but being prepared can make all the difference. In the first installment of this five-part series - Decoding Healthcare in India - Udaipur-based writer and entrepreneur Rajesh Chaplot explores how to navigate unexpected medical situations, ask the right questions, weigh your options and make informed decisions when they matter most — helping you face uncertainty with greater clarity and confidence.

Rajesh Chaplot is the recipient of:

• Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Award 2019, the highest Non-Resident Indian Award, conferred upon him by the President of India
• Golden Jubilee Award 2020, the highest Civilian Award, conferred upon him by the President of Uganda

The Uncomfortable Truth We All Ignore

We are all guilty of this. There is a peculiar human tendency to believe that serious illness is something that happens to other people. Disease, hospitalisation, major surgery… these belong in other people's stories. Not ours. Not yet. We lead reasonably healthy lives, we walk sometimes, we eat home food mostly, so surely we are fine!

Then one day, without warning, the body disagrees.

A frightening diagnosis arrives. Or an accident. Or a medical emergency that pushes an entire family into a panic, scrambling for the right hospital, the right doctor, the right insurance papers, the right everything! All at a moment when panic is the last thing that helps.

The cost of medical treatment today, at a good hospital in any Indian city, can drain a lifetime of savings in weeks. And yet, most people walk into this storm completely unprepared.

This article is written for everyone but most especially for the common Indian person who faces real financial crunch at the time of a medical emergency. The goal of this article is simple: to trigger your thinking, to fill your knowledge gaps and to give you a framework so that if and when illness comes, you are not making your most important decisions in your worst moments.

Medical problems, managed with proper planning and knowledge, can be handled far better than most people imagine.

Pre-Illness — The Foundation You Must Build Today

Medical Check-Up: Overcome the Fear

Here is a thought experiment: When did you last go for a full body check-up? If you are under 40, the honest answer is probably never. If you are above 40, you may have done a basic blood test, convinced yourself that "the numbers look fine," and quietly filed it away as your annual health duty completed.

One of the most damaging misconceptions in Indian society is that a basic blood test counts as a medical check-up. It does not. A fasting blood sugar, a CBC and a lipid profile tell you a narrow slice of your body's story. A proper, preventative health check-up examines the full picture of all major organs, all systems, specific disease markers.

The second misconception is more dangerous: the fear of finding something. Many educated, intelligent people, including professionals in their 40s and 50s, quietly avoid full check-ups because they do not want to know. This logic is catastrophically backwards. The whole point of early detection is that diseases caught early are cheaper to treat, easier to cure and far less likely to become life threatening. A cancer detected at Stage 1 has a dramatically different prognosis than the same cancer found at Stage 3. Not because the disease has changed, but because time was wasted.

The recommended approach is straightforward:

If you have no abnormal symptoms and are below 30 years of age, a basic annual check is a reasonable starting point. Once you cross 30, and certainly after 40, a comprehensive full-body check-up should become a non-negotiable annual habit. This check-up should cover all major organs - heart, liver, kidneys, lungs ,eyes, throat, teeth as well as bone density, cancer markers (especially for high-incidence cancers like breast, cervical, prostate and colorectal), thyroid function and other relevant disease-specific screening appropriate to your age bracket and gender.

Such a check-up typically takes one full day. Large corporate hospitals in metropolitan cities offer structured annual health packages. You should then review your reports with a good physician who will give you at least 20 to 30 minutes of proper discussion time and not a 3-minute dismissal with a "you're fine, come back next year."

Any deviation from normal ranges should trigger corrective action or more detailed investigation immediately. Early intervention means lower cost, less suffering and a far higher chance of full recovery. Doing nothing and hoping the problem resolves itself is not a strategy… it is gambling with your life.

One practical note - many insurance policies now cover certain preventative health check-ups with a cap, in a slot of two-or-three years. Review your policy before paying out of pocket.

Family Doctor

Always keep a good family doctor. Visit him first for any problem but do not believe him 100% for any complicated symptom or when symptoms do not disappear within reasonable time. Discuss with him medical check-up reports and also whatever your speciality doctor has investigated and treated.

Good Diet and Exercise

A balanced diet and regular physical activity are the second pillar of staying well. This does not require an elaborate gym routine or a restrictive diet. Around 30 to 45 minutes of daily walking or moderate exercise, combined with a healthy, balanced and timely diet, significantly lowers the risk of lifestyle illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. No need for fancy dieting and depriving yourself. Just eat all but in a balanced and timely manner. Eat at least 2-3 hours before sleep.

Theories Around Diet — Cutting Through the Confusion

This is a subject steeped in a great deal of confusion and it appears that no organised, standardised research exists to settle it. Doctors and well-known dieticians frequently give conflicting advice. Traditional diet formulas rooted in custom often clash with what a doctor recommends, sometimes imposing restrictions that have little modern backing.

Dietary opinion has also shifted its stand considerably over the last 50 years. It started with jaggery which was considered okay to consume. Then brown sugar was marketed as better and then refined sugar was introduced as even better than  brown sugar. And now again it is said jaggery is back in favour, as compared to sugar.

Similarly, doctors in isolation will say artificial sweeteners are not ideal, but they will rarely explain clearly which is the lesser risk for a diabetic - artificial sweetener or sugar. The same confusion applies to cooking oil, ghee and refined oil. This entire area needs a far more organised and standardised approach than currently exists.

Dieticians have similarly left people confused about which is healthier - vegetarian or non-vegetarian food. About incidental questions such as drinking water with a meal versus having wine with it. And because clear, complete explanations are rarely given, the common man is left to interpret the advice as he chooses — often incorrectly. Folk beliefs, such as treating diabetes with kala jamun (black plum), are one example among many. Traditional methods, Ayurveda, personal experiences and medical science all get blended together on what is now called WhatsApp University, which has an outsized influence on ordinary people. Because these reels and forwards are made to generate views and money, they are deliberately sensational — and the common man, simply because he is not equipped to tell the difference, tends to accept them at face value.

The safest course is to eat a balanced diet. Do not stop eating any one food group entirely and do not overindulge in any single item either. Do not let WhatsApp University become your dietician. Instead, take the time to understand the reasoning behind what a qualified, professional dietician tells you, rather than substituting your own logic for theirs.

Tomorrow: Read Decoding Healthcare in India: Part II
At the Time of Illness — The Decisions That Define Your Outcome