Chennai Health Infrastructure/ Hospitals/ Medical tourism/ Health Research - Discussions & Updates

[TShyam]

Are you CTVS or biomedical scientist?

Try researching Chitra valve. It was developed by the biomaterials division of Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Science and Technology, Trivandrum and is India's only indigenous heart valve. I am not sure of its resistance to calcifying and other details. Better do a pubmed search.

[satishanu]

Within a week of approval to the Express Shunt Device, a new technique of surgery for glaucoma, by the Indian government, Chennai’s first successful glaucoma surgery, using this device, was conducted by Vasan Eye Care Hospital on a 67 year old patient, Ms Leelavathi.

City’s first closed eye Glaucoma surgery

Glaucoma is a condition where the pressure of the eye builds due to improper flow of fluids from the eye and results in the loss of sight. It is a building problem that is prevalent in 5-10% of the world’s population.

Dr.Aravind Venkataraman, Chief Medical Officer, Vasan Eye Care Hospital, Anna Nagar said, “Traditionally glaucoma is treated through non intrusive procedures where patients need to respond to medication.” He also added that in certain cases patients do not respond to conventional methods and require surgery to correct eye pressure and that this procedure often has heightened risks and disadvantages, most common being nerve damage and uncontrolled fluid drain and in certain cases even blindness. “The recent inventions and modifications of the Express Shunt device have helped to improve results in glaucoma surgery.”

Ms Leelavathi, a homemaker said, “The only problem I felt was that my eyesight was going down, I dint have any other problems like pain. I underwent the traditional glaucoma surgery for my right eye in 2009. Now I had to undergo the surgery for my left eye too and the new technique was used for it. Though both were successful I feel comfortable more quickly this time than last time.”

Commenting on the surgery, Dr.Aravind said, “This new procedure will bring down the chances of infection that occurs in open eye surgery. As it makes the patient recovery shorter without an serious implications for vision, it offers a better alternative to traditional surgery methods and devices.” The cost of the surgery is around Rs.50,000.

SRC: http://chennaionline.com/City360/Cit...ma-surgery.col

[satishanu]

Representatives of 16 universities from the United Kingdom were in Chennai as part of their tour to the sub-continent to scout for opportunities to have research, training and exchange programmes with the city's hospitals and medical colleges.

In a seminar jointly organised by the UK Trade and Investment, The Training Gateway UK, and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here, the teams outlined their objectives of the visit and interacted with leaders of several medical colleges, and hospitals. The delegation comprised 26 members, from schools of health, life sciences, nursing, and midwifery, community and child health.

Mike Nithavrianakis, British Deputy High Commissioner in Southern India, said “UK universities, colleges and companies are no stranger to the health care sector across India. Apollo Hospitals, Rajan Eye Care, M.V. Diabetes, India Diabetes Research Centre, Shasun Chemicals, and Orchid are some of the institutions in the region with diverse links with the UK's healthcare sector.”

P.K. Mohapatra, past chairman, CII (Southern Region), said the Mission comes at the appropriate time. By 2020, the Indian health care industry is likely to be worth US $ 275 billion. Between 2009 and 2012, the health care spend of the GDP has risen – from 5.5 per cent to 8 per cent. From the beginning, the country has been quite dependent on the private sector, where almost 75 per cent of the spending lies.

Sudha Seshayyan, Registrar, Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University, explained the structure of the Indian medical/dental and allied medical sciences courses in the State. She also assured the support of the university to the visiting team, particularly in the area of allied health sciences.

Amanda Selvaratnam of The Training Gateway said the visitors brought a wealth of expertise in the health and allied sciences, biomedicine, occupational and community health and training, among others. The aim was to establish mutually beneficial partnerships, research tie-ups and exchange of P-G students.

src: http://www.hindu.com/2011/06/28/stor...2863660900.htm

[bonoslack7]

http://www.medindia.net/news/Intervi...on-87071-1.htm

“I’m proud to be in Chennai that is fast becoming the hub of deceased organ donation in India,” said Dr. Francis L. Delmonico, world renowned organ transplant surgeon and a vigorous campaigner for diseased organ donation programs all over the world, on his two day visit to Chennai, South India today. Dr. Delmonico is President-elect of The World Transplantation Society, Professor of Surgery Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Medical Director of the New England Organ Bank and Advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO) among other things.


Addressing a gathering of transplant co-coordinators, doctors, government representatives and the media, hosted by MOHAN Foundation (Multi Organ Harvesting Network), a key player in promoting and facilitating organ donation in many parts of South India, Dr. Delmonico lauded the efforts made in Chennai to improve India’s rate of deceased organ donation, saying Delhi and Mumbai need to learn from Chennai’s example in this area. Sharing the WHO critical pathways and his experience in clearing some hurdles in organ donation and transplantation, Dr. Delmonico said he visited the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu, Ms. Jayalalitha yesterday, June 28, 2011 and discussed how the deceased organ donation program could be taken forward in the state.

Dr. Sunil Shroff, Managing Trustee of MOHAN Foundation elaborated on the course module for the Transplant Coordinators’ Training Program evolved by MOHAN Foundation that trains candidates to liaise with hospitals and bereaved families to facilitate organ donation and transplantation. The triumph of the cause lay in the fact that organs donations and transplantations have been a made possible by a shared effort of nurses, doctors, hospitals, the government, facilitators and bereaved families of deceased organ donors. Dr. Delmonico observed that MOHAN Foundation’s representatives should have “greater access to intensive care units (ICUs), medical authorities in hospitals and others sitting in the sidelines to make the donation process smoother.” Mr. P.W.C. Davidar IAS observed that Tamilnadu had come a long way in having the procedures in place to facilitate organ donation and pledged to continue working to make things easier from the government’s side.

Ms.Veena, Transplant Coordinator, MOHAN Foundation made a presentation on the organ donations achieved in Government hospital in the last year till date. Out of the 76 brain dead patients identified, families of 49 agreed for organ donation and 27 families said, “No” to organ donation for various reasons such as religious beliefs, anger at the medical treatment, anger and grief at the situation etc. Besides these, several roadblocks identified by the foundation that hampered organ donation were presented and discussed. Some impediments discussed, revolved around identification of brain dead patients, maintenance of brain dead patients, lab results, brain death certification, police inquest, authorization for organ removal, postmortem and transportation.

Dr. Delmonico presented certificates to the participants of the Transplant Coordinators’ Training program conducted by Mohan Foundation in April 2011. Dr. Delmonico said his visit to Chennai was prompted by Tamilnadu’s success in the deceased organ donation program in the last 2 years. The organ donor rate in the southern state in India stands at 1.2 per million population which is 15 times the national average. The success lies in the coming together of government administration, government and private hospitals, NGOs like MOHAN Foundation and NNOS.

[Raji7373]

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily...efault&pub=TOI

Chennai: They stopped the baby's heart, laid ice cubes around her head to bring down the body temperature and pulled out a walnutsized tumour that blocked blood supply to the heart.
On Wednesday, nearly 10 days after the four-hour surgery, doctors at Fortis Malar told reporters that the surgery was not just life-saving but rare as the tumour they removed was leiomyoma, generally found in the womb.
Three-day-old Asiffa was rushed to the hospital when she became unconscious. Doctors found she had turned blue as the tumour on the right side of the heart blocked blood supply to the heart. The oxygen levels dropped drastically. The test showed a walnutsized tumour blocking the flow of blood between the right atrium and right ventricle (2 of the 4 chambers in the heart connected by valves). “At that time, we didn’t know if it was malignant and decided to remove it as early as possible,” said cardio-thoracic surgeon and director of cardiac care Dr KR Balakrishnan.
On June 18, Asiffa was wheeled in for surgery. After anaesthesia was administered, she was connected to the heart-lung machine and the heart was stopped. “We wanted the heart to be still. The machine took over the heart's role,” said Dr Suresh Rao, head of the department of cardiac anaesthesia and cardiac critical care. But there was another challenge. The blood was flowing rapidly and it was difficult to operate. That’s when the doctors decided to bring down the body temperature to 15 degrees Celsius from the normal 37 degrees. At low temperatures, the body’s metabolic rate reduces and blood circulation slows down. “We placed ice cubes near the baby’s head. This reduced the body temperature,” said Rao. In 30 minutes, the tumour was removed and the baby’s body temperature was raised to normal.
Asiffa, now 20 days old, now has a near-normal heart, said doctors. The tumour was revealed through laboratory tests as leiomyoma but doctors still don’t know why the child developed the tumour. Medical literature says only three persons, all above 40, had so far had this tumour in the heart.
“Children usually get tumours in the eye and stomach. There may be different reasons for the tumour to have formed in the child’s heart. As of now we don't rule out genetic reasons,” said Rao

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily...efault&pub=TOI

[bonoslack7]

http://www.business-standard.com/ind...equity/442343/

Frontier Mediville, the proposed medicity project of Chennai-based KM Cherian promoted Frontier Lifeline, is looking at raising Rs 16-20 crore through private equity (PE) to invest in the first phase.

The company has initiated talks with PE firms to raise capital and expects to finalise the deal in the next six weeks. However, it would not look at a significant dilution of promoter stake in the project at this stage.

“We are looking for a small amount of around Rs 16-20 crore fund from PE firms. This would go into the Rs 160-crore Phase I of the project. We expect the first phase to be ready by November this year,” said Alamelu Sankaran, chief operating officer, Frontier Mediville.

The Rs 1,000-crore Frontier Mediville project is coming up on 350 acre of which 42 acre had received SEZ status from the central government in 2009. The project is expected to be ready in three phases.

The first phase will comprise a medical science park in the SEZ zone in Elavur village, almost 40 km from the city. It also includes a research and training centre and an animal laboratory to house clinical research organisations (CROs). The company would lease out the research facilities to CROs for which it is in talks with around 12 companies. It has arranged a term loan of Rs 90 crore from State Bank of India (SBI) and Bank of Baroda for the first phase.

The company would also look at raising fund through strategic investors or PE players for the second phase, which would involve around Rs 500 crore.

Phase II will include a Rs 144-crore bio hospital with 200 beds in the SEZ. The bio hospital, which the company claims to be the first of its kind in India, is designed as state-of-the-art tertiary care in all sub-specialties of medicine supported by modern basic sciences including stem cell technology, tissue engineering and nanotechnology.

It would also focus on integration of traditional and alternate medicinal technologies such as ayurveda, naturopathy, and siddha to the services. Another 750-bed multispeciality general hospital would be developed outside the SEZ in the second phase, she added.

[bonoslack7]

http://www.securingpharma.com/40/articles/983.php

Indian and Canadian researchers found no evidence of falsification of medicines in a sampling study carried out in the city of Chennai, though more than 40 per cent of drugs were substandard.

"There is still surprisingly little basic research data to support widely-repeated claims about the prevalence of drug counterfeiting," according to the researchers, from Children's and Women's Hospital in Vancouver and Apollo Hospital in Chennai.

"The quality of at least some anti-infective drugs in Chennai is below commonly accepted standards but we found no evidence of criminal counterfeiting," they write in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics (August 2011).

The team divided the city of Chennai into ten areas, selecting 10 outlets selling medicines from each. Samples of three anti-infective drugs - artesunate for malaria and the antibacterials ciprofloxacin and rifampicin - were bought from each of the 100 outlets and analysed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) techniques.

The drugs were tested for a range of parameters developed by the researchers looking at manufacturing standards, counterfeiting, decomposition, poor quality control and adulteration.

Ciprofloxacin samples stood up well to the testing, although the quality range for artesunate and rifampicin was much broader. Overall, 43 per cent of all the samples tested fell below the widely accepted manufacturing range of 90 to 110 per cent of the stated content, but no sample fell below 50 per cent of the stated dose.

"Poor drug quality was most likely due to decomposition during storage or poor manufacturing standards," conclude the authors.

[dineshderick]

Chennai, Jul 14 : For the last three months, 25-year-old upcoming Iraqi Actor Inam Hakeem had been spending sleepless nights as blood was found in the sputum periodically besides suffering from breathing problems.

Doctors at Iraq diagnosed that she had a big tumour at the septum of the heart valve between two chambers of the heart. Biopsy reports to ascertain whether the mass was cancerous tumour proved inconclusive.

She was caught in a horns of dilemma because if the cancer tests proved positive, the tumour could not be removed from the heart. A local doctor referred her to Global Hospitals and Health City in the southern Indian city of Chennai which had been treating patients from Iraq frequently.

Hailing from Baiji-Salah El-Dien in Central Iraq, Inam's condition was such it could turn critical anytime as the possibility of the tumour rupturing loomed large.

[bonoslack7]

http://www.livemint.com/2011/07/1417...urgery-ce.html

Apollo Hospitals opened a day surgery facility in the Alwarpet area that allows patients to recover at home after an operation. It will also house a 24-hour emergency unit and a chest pain clinic for cardiac patients.

“This will be a state-of-the-art facility designed to motivate patients going in for elective surgeries and also those requiring short-stay surgeries,” said Prathap C. Reddy, chairman and founder of Apollo Hospitals group.

The Indian healthcare services firm plans to increase the number of such centres in the city to five and introduce the facility in other major metros as well.

Managing director Preetha Reddy, who just returned from a trip to Africa, where the group plans to expand, said the cost of the day surgery centre was over Rs5 crore.

Prathap C. Reddy said that although revenue per bed will be relatively lower because of the short stay, the turnover will be high. He expects the facility to break-even in six months. The company is also raising funds for expansion.

[satishanu]

Indians may not be feeling too kindly towards Pakistan at the moment, but one Pakistani was definitely thanking India on Thursday.

For 54-year-old Pakistan national Riaz Mohammed would have surely perished but for a heart donated by a Chennai man’s kin.

“We had searched all around the world, before we found Dr Cherian’s Heart Foundation on the Internet,” recalls Haseena Riaz, the patient’s elder daughter. With a history of heart trouble and having undergone a bypass surgery in 2003, Riaz was in “a terminally critical state when he arrived here on June 23,” reveals Dr Prakash Hiremath, the transplant surgeon. Though the possibility of Riaz receiving a heart seemed remote, his wife, daughter and brother decided to take a leap of faith, flying him to Chennai from Dubai, where the family is based.

“We registered him with the Tamil Nadu Network for Organ Sharing, but we are required to give preference to an Indian national from the city, and then region,” said Dr KM Cherian. With three others on the list, Riaz seemed out of luck when the family of Balaji (32), offered his organs for donation after his demise at Global Hospital in Perambakkam on July 8. “Balaji was a perfect match unlike the others,” added Cherian. After minor delays, they were given the go-ahead and the transplant was carried out at Frontline Hospital on July 10.

After a tense five-and-a- half hour surgery, the heart was successfully transplanted into Riaz. “He is recovering well and may be discharged within 15 days,” added Dr Hiremath. Meanwhile, the family has been made to feel at home. “Everyone asks us if there is any animosity, but honestly we have only been showered with attention and kindness here,” says Haseena as her mother Sakeena Riaz holds back her tears.

Riaz himself managed to raise himself up to say a lone sentence in Urdu, “Thank you India...thank you.”

src: http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chenna...st/294259.html

[arun82]

Country's med capital to get 3,000 more beds

CHENNAI: The private hospital sector in the city is expected to increase its bed strength by mid-2012 by nearly 25% — at least 3,000 beds in four leading hospitals . Experts, however, feel these numbers need to be tripled to meet global standards. Just half, they add, are used by Chennaiites. The rest are shared by patients from across the state and country and even foreigners.

According to statistics from hospital research groups, the city has an estimated 12,500 hospital beds. This works to 2.1 beds per 1,000 population against the national average of less than 1 bed per 1,000 population . Chennai is better than Delhi (1.4), Mumbai (0.8), Kolkata (0.8), Hyderabad (1.5) and Bangalore (2.1) but still does not satisfy World Health Organisation norms of three beds per 1,000 persons.

The expansion, doctors say, is because Chennai hospitals are overcrowded. "This is unavoidable because most doctors work in cities and people believe treatment and care in city hospitals are superior to those in rural areas," says hospital consultant NJ Gowrishankar of HSB Consultancy.

The Fortis Group is planning a hospital with about 1,500 beds in a new block leased out in Vadapalani and Apollo Hospital is planning one with 550 beds in the southern suburbs by end of 2012. Global Hospitals and MIOT Hospitals, too, are looking at 500-bed units, each with 150 beds for cancer therapy.

Global Hospitals, says its executive director Chandra Sekhar, has been planning to expand in the city for over three years. "Apart from the 500 beds on campus, we are planning two 100-bed hospitals in the city to act as feeder services for the main hospital," he adds.

While 150 beds on the main campus will be allotted for cancer therapy , the rest will be shared by different specialties. The hospital, like many others, says only 50% of patients are from Chennai. "There are people from west, centre and other parts of South India besides those from abroad," Chandra Sekhar said.

There will also be recruitment of doctors and specialists trained abroad. Global Hospitals chairman Dr Ravindranath says he always meets Indian doctors whenever he visits the UK or the US. "Many want to come back because of the good infrastructure and greater volume of patients," he adds.

Besides, many patients want a stay in a hospital to be luxurious. "Many in the corporate sector go abroad frequently. They look at hospital facilities there and ask for the same here. We are forced to upgrade services," says Dr PVA Mohandoss, who heads MIOT Hospitals.

The 500-bed hospital is constructing a 15-floor building to double its capacity. The new unit will have state-of-the-art facilities for cancer therapy and organ transplant . "We are also giving equal importance to aesthetics and are planning facilities like TV, AC, wi-fi , good food and landscaping. These are no more just for international patients. Many Indians are willing to pay for these facilities," says Dr Mohandoss.

Such facilities, some senior doctors believe, will make hospitals affordable . "Some years ago, when Sri Ramachandra
Hospital was started outside the city, people thought the management was crazy. But it was able to fill beds and see profits. Large hospitals will be able to get substantial discounts on equipment and drugs, just like government hospitals. Plus, the competition will help bring down rates," says a senior cardiac surgeon at the Government General Hospital.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...ow/9243427.cms

[chennaidesi]

Originally Posted by arun82

Country's med capital to get 3,000 more beds

CHENNAI: The private hospital sector in the city is expected to increase its bed strength by mid-2012 by nearly 25% — at least 3,000 beds in four leading hospitals . Experts, however, feel these numbers need to be tripled to meet global standards. Just half, they add, are used by Chennaiites. The rest are shared by patients from across the state and country and even foreigners.

According to statistics from hospital research groups, the city has an estimated 12,500 hospital beds. This works to 2.1 beds per 1,000 population against the national average of less than 1 bed per 1,000 population . Chennai is better than Delhi (1.4), Mumbai (0.8), Kolkata (0.8), Hyderabad (1.5) and Bangalore (2.1) but still does not satisfy World Health Organisation norms of three beds per 1,000 persons. The expansion, doctors say, is because Chennai hospitals are overcrowded. "This is unavoidable because most doctors work in cities and people believe treatment and care in city hospitals are superior to those in rural areas," says hospital consultant NJ Gowrishankar of HSB Consultancy.

The Fortis Group is planning a hospital with about 1,500 beds in a new block leased out in Vadapalani and Apollo Hospital is planning one with 550 beds in the southern suburbs by end of 2012. Global Hospitals and MIOT Hospitals, too, are looking at 500-bed units, each with 150 beds for cancer therapy.

Global Hospitals, says its executive director Chandra Sekhar, has been planning to expand in the city for over three years. "Apart from the 500 beds on campus, we are planning two 100-bed hospitals in the city to act as feeder services for the main hospital," he adds.

While 150 beds on the main campus will be allotted for cancer therapy , the rest will be shared by different specialties. The hospital, like many others, says only 50% of patients are from Chennai. "There are people from west, centre and other parts of South India besides those from abroad," Chandra Sekhar said.

There will also be recruitment of doctors and specialists trained abroad. Global Hospitals chairman Dr Ravindranath says he always meets Indian doctors whenever he visits the UK or the US. "Many want to come back because of the good infrastructure and greater volume of patients," he adds.

Besides, many patients want a stay in a hospital to be luxurious. "Many in the corporate sector go abroad frequently. They look at hospital facilities there and ask for the same here. We are forced to upgrade services," says Dr PVA Mohandoss, who heads MIOT Hospitals.

The 500-bed hospital is constructing a 15-floor building to double its capacity. The new unit will have state-of-the-art facilities for cancer therapy and organ transplant . "We are also giving equal importance to aesthetics and are planning facilities like TV, AC, wi-fi , good food and landscaping. These are no more just for international patients. Many Indians are willing to pay for these facilities," says Dr Mohandoss.

Such facilities, some senior doctors believe, will make hospitals affordable . "Some years ago, when Sri Ramachandra
Hospital was started outside the city, people thought the management was crazy. But it was able to fill beds and see profits. Large hospitals will be able to get substantial discounts on equipment and drugs, just like government hospitals. Plus, the competition will help bring down rates," says a senior cardiac surgeon at the Government General Hospital.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...ow/9243427.cms

Chennai 2.1 beds need to increase to 3.0 soon to be called as Health Capital.

[bonoslack7]

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper...cle2234472.ece

Surgical Avenue's showroom was inaugurated in a model way – by donating wheel chairs and welfare aids to economically downtrodden children, at Chetpet on July 10. To mark the inauguration of Surgical Avenue's first showroom in the city, the management donated wheel chairs, physiotherapy and diagnostic devices to MANASA, a school for special children.

Surgical Avenue, which was started by Suresh Jain, Vinod Jain and Mukesh Jain, has been manufacturing hospital equipments for more than 25 years.

The showroom will showcase products like hospital furniture, operation table and light, high pressure sterilizer, operation microscope, ventilator, surgical diathermy, surgical instruments, laparoscopic instrument, medical gas cylinder, X-Ray Machine, ultrasound scanner, ECG machine, medical monitor laboratory and diagnostic instruments.

The promoters of Surgical Avenue have plans to expand operations by opening more showrooms in major cities all over south India.

The showroom is located at 69, McNichols Road, Chetpet.

[bonoslack7]

American Eye Care Hospital will inaugurate its fourth centre at Tirupati Nagar, Valasarawakkam today. Actor Vivek will inaugurate the centre and the project of planting 10,000 saplings.

[Raji7373]

Inam Hakeem was a very worried woman when she got on the plane to India.
The 24-year-old Iraqi actress had been coughing up blood in the past three months, and doctors in Iraq had found several coin shaped lesions inside her lungs but could not tell what the patches were.

A CT scan gave her even more reason to be alarmed -it revealed the presence of a massive 8x6 cm growth inside the petite woman's heart. The average adult human heart is only as big as a tightly closed fist.

“My doctors gave me a death warrant. They said I had rare lung and heart tumours that were inoperable,“ said Inam, a popular cinema and TV actor in Iraq.

When doctors in Chennai opened the young woman's heart, they found that the mass was not a cancer, but a tapeworm infection.

“We were in a dilemma, because operating on a tumour of such huge dimensions in the heart is not an option,“ said Madhu Shankar, cardiothoracic surgeon at Global Hospitals.
“However, we could not confirm whether the mass was cancerous or not and we had to act quickly as the liquid-filled swelling could burst at any time, endangering the patient's life,“ the doctor said.

After stopping the patient's heart, doctors managed to remove the confounding growth. To their surprise, they found it was a parasitic tapeworm infection.

“Tapeworm infestations are rarely seen in the heart. However, in countries like Iraq and Turkey tapeworm infections are endemic and are believed to be contracted from dogs and sheep,“ Dr Madhu Shankar explained.
However, Inam said she does not own a dog. The actress is elated.

“I was so depressed, I really thought I was going to die,“ the pretty woman says, ecstatic that she can return home this week.

http://dc-epaper.com/PUBLICATIONS/DC...Mode=undefined

Is she a iraqi actress or an Iranian...!!

[Raji7373]

http://photo.outlookindia.com/defaul...n=1&pgid=43022

[murlee]

MIOT Hospitals to open Rs 280-cr cancer speciality centre

Chennai-based MIOT Hospitals is investing Rs 280 crore on a 600-bed 6-star facility for cancer treatment.

Called ‘MIOT International', the centre will specialise in cancer surgery, medical oncology, radio therapy, bone marrow transplant and nuclear medicine. The project is being funded by bank loans.

Construction by L&T is underway and the 13-floor centre, near the existing hospital in Chennai, is expected to be ready in 6-12 months. It will house 14 operation theatres, a bunker, a sterilisation unit, 500 premium rooms and 100 beds for critical care.

The centre promises to be of “international” standards, offering latest technology and premium service. The room charges will be double the current rates at MIOT.

“MIOT International will be a modern hospital; we have imported equipments, including a Rs 28-crore ‘True Beam' radio therapy machine from US manufacturer, Varian,” said Dr P.V.A. Mohandas, Chief of MIOT Hospitals.

Though MIOT International is not exclusively targeted at international patients, Dr Mohandas believes it will attract several people from all over the world. “Healthcare has become extremely expensive world over and it is still cheap in India,” said Dr Mohandas.

Around 100 doctors, primarily doctors from the US and UK looking to come back to India, have been hired for MIOT International.

The current bed-strength at MIOT Hospitals in Chennai is 500. It employs around 170 doctors.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...cle2235876.ece

[murlee]

Private hospitals laud Govt's new health insurance plan

Private hospitals in the city have welcomed the Tamil Nadu government's new health insurance scheme.

Although the finer details are yet to emerge, the broad outlines of the policy are in the right direction, say healthcare providers who are not unduly worried about the priority given to government hospitals.

According to Mr Krish Ramesh, Wholetime Director, Fortis Malar, the announcement that the scheme will cover diagnostics and post-operative care is a welcome one.

Ms Preetha Reddy, Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals, said, “People who need healthcare will be able to get it; the scheme is going to be something everyone will be proud of.”

The new health insurance scheme, which comes in place of the erstwhile government's scheme, extends medical cover up to Rs 4 lakh (for four years) from Rs 1 lakh before.

It covers 950 types of medical treatment compared with the previous Kalaignar Insurance Scheme that covered 642 types.

The new scheme also seeks to give government hospitals priority over those in the private sector.

Certain types of treatments will be permitted only in government hospitals and special wards will be set up for this in hospitals approved by government. (The earlier scheme was criticised for its private sector skew.)

Ms Reddy said: “Government hospitals are definitely upgrading themselves so they should be given priority. Private sector should work alongside the government, not in competition to it.”

Mr Ramesh said unless the full details are known it's difficult to comment.

The new health insurance scheme extends medical cover up to Rs 4 lakh (for four years) from Rs 1 lakh before. It covers 950 types of medical treatment compared with the previous Kalaignar Insurance Scheme that covered 642 types.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...cle2236541.ece

[Raji7373]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/...cle2237677.ece

With people from across the country and abroad preferring to get treated in city hospitals, Chennai is increasingly becoming a hub of medical tourism.

Nigeria, Kenya, Burundi, Congo, Bangladesh, Oman and Iraq are some of the countries from which patients fly down to Chennai for medical attention around this time of the year. Besides treatment, patients on the road to recovery and caretakers also get to go on sightseeing tours.

Most leading hospitals, which receive a steady stream of patients from other States and abroad every day, have separate wings for international patients. Sri Ramachandra Medical Centre, for instance, receives up to 100 overseas patients a month. However, there are no consolidated statistics about the number of patients that the city receives.

“We get 15 to 20 patients a month from around the world,” says T.I.Joshua, Manager-International Business of Fortis Malar. “Treatment for cardiac, orthopaedic, and neurosurgery are the main reasons for people choosing this hospital. Oncology is catching up,” he says.

Mr.Joshua believes that many countries have fully-equipped hospitals but lack specialists and experienced nurses. This hospital also provides rental accommodation for patient's relatives. “The service apartments in Adyar charge between Rs.2,500 and Rs.4,000 a night. We have recently started service apartments for Rs.1,500 per night,” he adds.

Several private hospitals have tied up with governments of other countries. Representatives of Madras Medical Mission say that every month, 14 persons from abroad, mainly from East African nations, come to the hospital as medical tourists. The hospital is preferred by international patients for kidney transplants and cardiac surgeries.

A. Aloyse, a professor from Tanzania, has been in the city for a month now with his relatives to undergo kidney transplant.

“My government sent me here for treatment and my expenses are covered by it. The hospital provides food and accommodation for my son and brother-in-law, who is the donor. The quality of treatment is good,” he says.

Besides overseas patients, a sizeable number of patients come from within India. While some of the patients like Om Mahajan from Nagpur come to the city on doctors' advice, several others choose Chennai for quality healthcare.

Ram Swarup Rai of Kanpur underwent a cataract operation at Sankara Nethralaya, which receives nearly 500 overseas patients a month.

“I cannot expect such facilities in my city. All doctors here speak Hindi. I have found a lodge for Rs.190 per night,” he says. Patients from other parts of the country, however, cannot afford rental accommodation offered by city hospitals.

Surendra Prasad from Aurangabad says, “We managed to stay in the hospital for a day. As my wife Meena Devi's surgery is over, we will have to find if anyone will let us stay with them for a few nights.”

The increase in overseas patients' visit to the city has paved way for companies to facilitate medical tourism. Jose Manavalan, Chief Executive Officer of one such organisation that operates in T.Nagar, says international patients choose Chennai for quality and cost-effective healthcare. “We have tied up with many hospitals. We take care of the selection of hospitals treatment, travel, accommodation and follow-up camps in their country. We also organise tours for them.”

Keywords: medical tourism, international patients, food and accommodation, affordability

[Raji7373]

Doctors from a Chennai hospital have successfully treated an Iraqi woman’s cancer using stem cell therapy.
After three relapses of the dreadful Hodgkin’s disease, a lymphoma thatt is a leading cause of cancer, Wizdan was close to giving up hope.

The 38-year-old mother of two had had several rounds of chemotherapy and radiation in the past two years, but the cancer would always reappear after a six month break.

The virulent type of cancer that affects the white blood cells in the lymph nodes seemed indestructible in Wizdan’s case, and doctors in Iraq and Lebanon suggested that she visit India for further treatment.

“Wizdan had swellings of the lymph nodes in her neck, armpit and groin. Her cancer kept relapsing every six months, and we realised that she required an extremely high dose of chemotherapy — but such strong medication would also destroy her healthy tissue along with the cancer cells, leaving her with abysmally low immunity,” explained Anita Ramesh, medical oncologist at Sri Ramachandra Medical Centre here.
Stem cell transplant was the patient’s only chance of

survival after the intense chemotherapy. Without the stem cell transplant, Wizden would contract infection and bleed to death within a week after her chemotherapy, Dr Anita explained.

Before starting the cancer treatment, Wizden was given growth factors to lure the bone marrow stem cells into her blood stream. The blood was then passed through a machine called a cell separator, which isolated her stem cells.

“We stored the yield of stem cells in a pouch using liquid nitrogen frozen to minus 90ºC, and then started her on the high-dose chemotherapy, which completely killed all the cancerstricken lymph cells,” said Dr Anita, explaining the operation.