India ranked 145th among 195 countries in terms of Healthcare access and quality (HAQ) index in the year 2016, behind its neighbors like China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.
Goa and Kerala have highest HAQ index scores in 2016, each exceeding 60 points, whereas Assam and Uttar Pradesh have lowest, each below 40.
The index was released as part of Global Burden of Disease study released by Lancet, one of the world’s oldest and best-known peer-reviewed general medical journal.
The study used the index to measure quality and accessibility of healthcare, based on 32 causes of death which should be preventable with effective medical care.
For the first time, it also analyzed healthcare access and quality between regions within seven countries: Brazil, China, India, England, Japan, Mexico, and the US.
The Top five countries with highest levels of healthcare access and quality in 2016 are Iceland (1st) followed by Norway (2nd), Netherlands (3rd), Luxembourg (4th), and Finland and Australia (5th).