Muthappan Sendhilkumar, Bagepally Bhavani Shankara, Ponnaiah Manickam
ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology (ICMR-NIE), R 127, TNHB, Ayapakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu600077, India.
Int J Technol Assess Health Care. 2021 Aug 16;37(1):e82. doi: 10.1017/S0266462321000386.
The double burden of communicable and noncommunicable diseases is a major threat to the Indian public health system. AYUSH, an acronym for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa, and Homeopathy, represents the Indian system of medicine recognized by the Government of India. Mainstreaming of AYUSH is one of the key strategies of the Indian government for tackling increasing disease burden through initiatives such as AYUSH wellness centers, telemedicine, and quality control measures for medications in the AYUSH system of medicine. Such investment of resources in health systems may require economic evaluations. However, such evaluations are lacking in the AYUSH system, except for a few in homeopathy and yoga. In the absence of evidence from economic evaluations, researchers and decision makers are guided mostly by clinical efficacy while formulating healthcare strategies. In view of the increasing use of AYUSH across the country, economic evaluations of the AYUSH system are the need of the hour to aid healthcare decision making.
传染病和非传染病的双重负担是印度公共卫生系统面临的重大威胁。阿育吠陀、瑜伽、自然疗法、尤那尼、悉达、索瓦-里帕和顺势疗法（简称AYUSH）代表了印度政府认可的印度医学体系。将AYUSH纳入主流是印度政府通过AYUSH健康中心、远程医疗以及AYUSH医学体系药物质量控制措施等举措应对不断增加的疾病负担的关键战略之一。在卫生系统中进行此类资源投入可能需要进行经济评估。然而，AYUSH系统缺乏此类评估，仅有少数针对顺势疗法和瑜伽的评估。由于缺乏经济评估的证据，研究人员和决策者在制定医疗保健策略时大多以临床疗效为指导。鉴于AYUSH在全国的使用日益增加，对AYUSH系统进行经济评估是当下辅助医疗保健决策的迫切需求。
