India’s healthcare landscape has undergone a radical transformation in the last few decades. Once, the general physician (GP) was a familiar and trusted presence in every neighbourhood: a doctor who knew a patient’s medical history, family background, and lifestyle habits.

March 25 marks National Doctor’s Day in India, which is dedicated to celebrating the contribution of medical professionals. The date commemorates the birth anniversary of Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, a visionary physician, freedom fighter, and former Chief Minister of West Bengal, whose dedication to public health laid the foundation for modern medical practice in India. Ironically, this celebration comes at a time when the country is facing a medical crisis: fewer doctors are choosing general practice, leading to a dangerous gap in primary healthcare. GPs have started vanishing from the system, replaced by an ever-expanding roster of specialists.

The Numbers Behind the Crisis

This neglect of general practice is exacerbating inefficiencies within India’s healthcare system. Without primary care doctors to handle routine ailments, non-emergency cases are flooding specialist clinics and emergency rooms. The result is longer wait times, increased medical costs, and preventable diseases turning into life-threatening conditions. The general physician (once the first line of defence) is rapidly disappearing, pushing healthcare toward a system where intervention is delayed until it is often too late.

According to Dr. Gunjan Kishor Sharma, Senior Consultant Physician & Noninvasive Cardiologist, India already grapples with an imbalanced doctor-to-patient ratio of 1:834. However, the real problem is not just the shortage of doctors but the reluctance of medical graduates to pursue general practice.

Specialization Over Generalization

Dr. Sai Kumar, Head of Medical Services at Apollo Home Healthcare (Apollo Hospitals), highlights another key issue: “While the total number of registered allopathic doctors in India stands at approximately 13 lakh as per the National Medical Commission (NMC), primary healthcare and timely medical access remain significant gaps. Community health centres across India face a shortfall of both specialists and general medicine doctors. This urban-rural divide in healthcare is widening, and fewer graduates are willing to practice in remote areas.”

Modern healthcare has become a marketplace, and within this marketplace, specialization is the premium product. Highly specialized fields like cardiology, neurology, and oncology offer not only prestige but also financial security. General practitioners, on the other hand, often work longer hours for lower pay. The workload is immense, with GPs being expected to diagnose a wide range of conditions with limited resources, yet their financial compensation does not reflect this burden.

What Can Be Done?

The decline of general physicians is not an irreversible trend, but reversing it requires urgent action. Dr. Kumar calls for policy interventions to incentivize doctors to opt for general practice. “We need structured financial incentives, better pay scales, and reduced bureaucratic hurdles to encourage young doctors to take up primary care roles.”

Beyond financial incentives, technology could play a crucial role in bridging this gap. Remote monitoring using telemedicine, AI-based diagnostic solutions, and home healthcare services can reduce the burden on traditional healthcare facilities. However, these solutions should complement, not replace, human doctors. The human touch (a cornerstone of primary care) cannot be replicated by an algorithm.

If current trends continue, access to primary healthcare may become a privilege for the few rather than a right for all. The pandemic taught us that robust healthcare systems are essential for national stability, yet we seem to be forgetting this lesson too soon. Dr. Sharma warns, “General physicians are the backbone of early intervention and holistic treatment. We must revive this crucial field before healthcare becomes a privilege instead of a right.”

Unless we act now, India may find itself in a future where only the wealthy can afford healthcare, while the rest struggle to access even the most basic medical attention.

The Cost of Losing GPs

The decline of general physicians does not just impact individual patients, it places an unsustainable burden on the entire healthcare infrastructure. In the absence of GPs, patients often self-diagnose or wait until their condition becomes severe enough to warrant a visit to a specialist. This has led to a scenario where tertiary care hospitals, meant for complex medical cases, are overwhelmed with ailments that should have been treated at the primary level.

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