Surgical Care For Low-Income, Rural Populations: An Alternative Delivery Model From Jan Swasthya Sahyog, India

The case essentially describes the evolution of healthcare delivery model developed by Jan Swasthya Sahyog (JSS), a non-profit organization established in 1999 with the mission of providing affordable health care to the poor in the tribal and rural areas of Chhattisgarh state, one of the poorest states of India. The case begins with an overview of the demographics and background material on the healthcare sector in India, with particular reference to the gaps in health outcomes between rural and urban India and brings out clearly, the poor state of health of the rural population, even in comparison with some of the low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). This is followed by a detailed description of the initial efforts of the founders of the JSS - Dr. Raman Kataria and his team to locate and establish the clinic at Ganiyari village in Bilaspur district belonging to Chhattisgarh state. The case also demonstrates that it is not sufficient to just establish the clinic, but stresses the importance of developing the ecosystem to enable the population to seek and receive health care and take advantage of the facilities. These include development of a referral network, training of local volunteers and educating the public about the importance of seeking health care at the right time. The case also brings out the infrastructural limitations and difficulties encountered in providing even the most basic health care in remote rural settings. This is followed by an overview of the operations at the Ganiyari facility and provides a detailed description of the innovations developed and implemented to minimize the costs of healthcare delivery. It also provides a discussion of the costs and revenues and of JSS operations highlighting its dependence on external funding through donations and grants to keep the organization solvent.

• Healthcare and treatment
• Process analysis
• Global health
• Innovation