Pilot program in India using traditional practitioners to fill health care worker gap

The New York Times' "India Ink" blog examines how "a growing number of 'affordable health care' entrepreneurs are focused on developing new solutions for the rural and remote parts of the country." According to the blog, "Across India, access to health care remains a pressing problem, exacerbated by the country's large population and shortage of doctors. Nowhere is this challenge more acute than in rural India, which is experiencing a severe shortage of qualified health care practitioners." But one pilot program in Tamil Nadu is training and certifying traditional medical doctors "to serve as 'independent care providers' in a rural setting," the blog states, noting the program was developed in conjunction with the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Lavakare, 11/29).