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14 Health and Related Services 1<br />
INTRODUCTION<br />
The chapter attempts to assess the extent of liberalisation<br />
and the regulatory requirements for delivery of<br />
Health services in each of the SAARC countries, i.e.<br />
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri<br />
Lanka and India. The specific health services that are<br />
studied are ‘Medical and Dental services’, listed under<br />
the ‘Business Services’ section, and ‘Hospital Services’<br />
listed under the ‘Health related and Social Services’<br />
section of the WTO Secretariat’s Services Classification<br />
list, commonly referred to as the W-120 Services<br />
Classification list. 2 The other kind of health services<br />
covered under the W-120 List are services provided by<br />
nurses, midwives, physiotherapists and para-medical<br />
personnel. These are also addressed in this chapter.<br />
This chapter is divided into four broad sections:<br />
• The first section provides an overview of the<br />
commitments under GATS that have been made<br />
by the SAARC countries. The purpose of this<br />
overview is to present the aspects that need further<br />
improvement from the perspective of further<br />
liberalisation under the SAARC framework.<br />
• The second discusses the domestic regulatory<br />
requirements that either facilitate or restrict trade<br />
in health services. The purpose of this segment of<br />
discussion is to flag areas for improvement that are<br />
necessary in the SAARC discussions on trade in<br />
health services. The discussion on domestic regulations<br />
also highlights areas where autonomous<br />
liberalisation are at a higher level than GATS<br />
commitments, and could be areas where SAARC<br />
negotiations could push for firm commitments.<br />
• The third analyses the impact of the regulatory<br />
requirements on the Modes of delivery healthcare<br />
services in the SAARC countries.<br />
• Based on the analysis above, the last section<br />
highlights the focus areas for discussions under the<br />
SAARC negotiations on health services.<br />
At the outset, the main modes of service delivery<br />
and a brief outline on the constraints and opportunities<br />
for the same in the SAARC region, are provided below:<br />
Mode 1<br />
Cross-border delivery of health services through<br />
telemedicine can enable healthcare providers in one<br />
SAARC country to provide services to a consumer in<br />
another SAARC country. While telemedicine is slowly<br />
taking roots within countries like India, the practice of<br />
telemedicine is being attempted by a few hospitals<br />
within India, such as Apollo. 3 The government of India<br />
has also undertaken initiatives such as the on ‘Development<br />
of Telemedicine Technology’, for delivery of<br />
services within India. 4 The government of India is also<br />
reportedly considering guidelines for standardising<br />
delivery of telemedicine services. 5 This is however yet<br />
to be formalised. Cross-border services within the<br />
SAARC region have however been confined to limited<br />
instances of telediagnostic and telepathology services<br />
from India to Nepal and Bangladesh. 6 With the growth<br />
of information technology, however, there is potential<br />
for growth of Mode 1 as a mode of supply among<br />
SAARC countries. This will depend to a large extent<br />
on the mutual recognition of doctors qualified in any<br />
SAARC country by all the other SAARC countries. This<br />
aspect, therefore, needs to be taken up as a potential<br />
area for opening up in the SAARC negotiations.<br />
1<br />
The chapter is based on the report authored by R.V. Anuradha.<br />
2<br />
WTO Secretariat, Services Sectoral Classification List, MTN.GNS/W/120, 10 July 1991 http://channels.apollolife.com/<br />
telemedicine/info/index.htm<br />
4<br />
http://www.spsood.com/telemedicineinindia.htm<br />
5<br />
http://www.mit.gov.in/telemedicine/<strong>Report</strong>%20of%20TWG%20on%20Telemed%20Standardisation.pdf<br />
6<br />
Ibid.