Indian Health Care Thread

[Suncity]

Originally Posted by indian soul

Hi,
Here are some pictures of the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre at Kamla Nehru Nagar, CGO Complex, Ghaziabad. It's a part of the AIIMS, New Delhi. It is the national centre for treatment and research on addictive disorders. It does not get publicity like Apollo, Fortis as there is no industry issue here. But it's a part of the health care infrastructure of the country. It featured in Lancet at some point. Enjoy! The photos were taken in 2004- a bit old, no doubt.

Thanks for posting them!



Max Devaki Devi Hospital, New Delhi



Dinanath Mangeshkar Hospital, Pune

[Suncity]

Bombay Hospital, Indore, Madhya Pradesh

[indian soul]

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...ostream&size=l

Did not feel like copying and pasting for copyright consciousness

[WillyWick]

India to Increase Its Allocation for Healthcare Sector

New Delhi: India will endeavour to increase allocation for the health sector from a dismal 0.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to two percent, Minister of State for Industry Ashwini Kumar said Monday.

Speaking in a Global Healthcare Conference organised by the industry lobby Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Kumar said the government had in the past shown a very insignificant level of commitment to healthcare and that was reflected in a mere 0.9 percent of the GDP being devoted to public health.

It would be the endeavour of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to increase the figure to at least 'two to three percent of the GDP in the years ahead', the minister added.

He said that industry too must invest in social sectors like health and education to make growth and economic development meaningful to people.

http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=17552

[Suncity]

Owaisi Hospital and Research Centre, Hyderabad
photo copyright nizams



Wockhardt Hospital, Bangalore
photo copyright chefseehund



KIMS, Trivandrum
photo copyright sudheeshnairs

[kronik]

Rotary plans paediatric Orissa child eye clinic

Orissa will soon have a state-of-art Paediatric Eye Hospital, first of its kind in eastern India.

The sophisticated hospital, to be built by the Cuttack based JPM Rotary Eye Hospital and Research Institute at a cost of approximately Rs 2.2 crore, will not only cater to thousands of children afflicted with eye related diseases in Orissa but also other parts of eastern India.

The proposed Hospital is expected to come up by the end of March, 2008 and will directly benefit children having cataract, refractive errors, and glaucoma and visually handicapped, children with squint and possible Vitamin A deficiency and Measles blindness.

The project also promises to bring hope for the visually handicapped by providing those Low Vision Services and organise integrated education.

Sight Savers International, an international NGO, will contribute about Rs 40 lakhs for the hospital while the balanced amount will be raised from Rotarian and non-Rotarian donors and some corporate houses.

Run by the Rotary Club, Cuttack, the present JPM Rotary Eye Hospital and Research Institute has been in existence since 1992. It has 120 beds of different categories and has examined more than 10 lakh patient in the OPD, which has an average attendance of more than 200 patients.

The hospital is also a Post Graduate Ophthalmology Teaching Institute in private sector, which is recognised by the union health ministry.

"The paediatric hospital, to be located within the existing JPM Rotary Eye hospital premises at Bidanasi, Cuttack, will ensure that no child in the state remain blind due to paucity of funds. Besides giving free consultation and surgery, the hospital will create awareness among the people especially in the rural and tribal areas on preventive aspect of childhood blindness", said the president of the institute, Rotarian Pawan Agarwal.

He pointed out in eastern India states cases of visual disorder among children and child blindness are very high as the problem has not been addressed adequately and systematically due to lack of paediatric eyecare facility.

The JPM Rotary Eye Hospital and Research Institute charges a reasonable fee to the paying patients for their treatment while providing totally free services to about 70 per cent patients through outreach camps in rural areas.

Just wanted to post this story here because our rural breathren need more such services as provided by these fine people.

[kronik]

Reliance Life to set up hospitals, make drugs

Reliance Life Sciences is planning to invest at least Rs 1,000 crore to set up hospitals in the country’s metros and dispensaries in small towns. This is in addition to a similar amount the company has already committed for drug manufacture.

The company is reported to be in talks with various parties across the country for acquiring hospitals. Reliance Life Sciences is also planning to invest approximately Rs 1,000 crore for setting up four state-of-the-art facilities to manufacture generic drugs, discover molecules for new drugs and take contracts for manufacturing drugs for other pharmaceutical companies.

Last year, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani said the group’s future prospects lay in healthcare and life sciences. A source close to the company said healthcare would become the group’s primary focus in about two years. Part of this business would be owning and running hospitals.

The group currently owns and runs HN Hospital in Mumbai. The foray into drug manufacturing will start with the setting up of four FDA-compliant facilities near Mumbai and Pune.

Work on the first facility will begin in March. “Mechanical completion of this will take three months, following which validation will take one month. Commercial production should start by August or September this year,” said a source.

As its profits mainly lie in royalties, Reliance Life is expected to actively pursue research for discovering new drugs.

“Contract manufacturing should (also) be a lucrative business. As the company will have large FDA-compliant facilities, all major pharmaceutical companies are expected to enter into contracts with Reliance,” said another source. The source added that nearly 50-60 per cent of the medicines sold in the country were spurious and the company would be looking at correcting that imbalance with drugs.

[IndiaRocks]

Hope this legislation passes!

http://www.baroda.com/glimpses.html#Medical

Emergency Medical Services: To try and provide emergency medical services in accident cases and serious illnesses, Gujarat proposes to set up an Emergency Medical Services Authority and establish councils in major cities and districts. The necessary legislation will be introduced during the budget session of the Gujarat Assembly that begins on February 22. The city and district councils will register base hospitals and maintain ambulances to provide life-saving medical care to people in the 'golden hour', that is, within the first and very crucial hour of an accident. The proposed body will ensure emergency medical services to all persons (free of cost to Below Poverty Line patients), provide technical assistance to the city and district councils and NGOs, give financial assistance to these councils and accredite trauma centres.

[kronik]

Fortis, Apollo, L&T to set up hospitals in J&K

Three leading groups in the private health sector, Fortis, Apollo and L&T, have offered to set up hospitals under the public-private partnership model in Jammu and Kashmir.

“We have received nearly 17 proposals for setting up hospitals and three big proposals from the country’s leading private players in the health sector. After studying proposals, the best of them will be selected by the government,” said K B Jandial, secretary, health and medical education.

Before giving its nod to the private hospitals, the health department has decided to work out a mechanism under which the mandatory 25 per cent free treatment to poor patients is strictly adhered to by the private hospitals.

The state government has suggested that private players set up hospitals at places other than the two capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar. But a majority of them have shown interest in setting them up in the two cities.

The state government has offered land at concessional rates to the private players willing to establish hospitals and an agreement is likely to be in place after the finalisation of the proposal.

About 50 per cent of the proposals have been received from outside the state and there is one from Saudi Arabia.

Following complaints regarding the denial of benefits to poor patients, the state’s ministry of health has decided to constitute a committee to monitor the process and look into their complaints.

This proposal to private players has been offered by Jammu and Kashmir following the heavy rush of patients to government hospitals and minimise the burden on government doctors and hospitals in Jammu and Srinagar, besides other districts in the state.

[do sul]

There should be a thread on "Indian Pharmaceutical Sector". We are not big NOW compare to those Pharmaceutical MNCs. But there are lot of postive news on the Indian Pharmaceutical sector. I just saw a pleasent news on New Scientist just now.

Since this is a healthcare thread, i won't post the article. but since healthcare is closely related to pharmaceutical, here is the link.

[cbeboy]

India's healthcare spending to cross Rs 2,00,000 cr by 2012


India will spend a huge Rs 2,00,000 crore on healthcare in the next five years as the country, on an economic upsurge, is witnessing changes in its demographic profile accompanied with lifestyle diseases and increasing medical expenses.

"Changing demographics and disease profiles and rising treatment cost will cause the spending on healthcare delivery to over Rs 2,00,000 crore by 2012," a CII-Mckinsey study on 'Health in India' has said.

The healthcare sector contribution to GDP and employment is significant and it is one of the largest service sectors of the economy. Given the appropriate regulatory support and clearer roles for public and private healthcare delivery, the sector can play an even greater role, the report said.

"Revenues from the healthcare sector account for 5.2 per cent of the GDP and it employs over 4 million people. By 2012, revenues can reach 6.5 to 7.2 per cent of GDP and direct and indirect employment can double," it said.

The report suggests that to meet the rising demand, India will need to invest in infrastructure and create cost-effective facilities, "Investment would be needed for building a healthy base of hospitals and medical personnel."

An investment of Rs 1,00,000 crore to Rs 1,40,000 crore would be needed to create the desired capacity, it said.

Close to 80 per cent of the required investment should come from the private sector. The Government's spending on healthcare is around 0.9 per cent of the total GDP, which limits the extent and effectiveness of the coverage it can provide.

Private healthcare will continue to be the largest component in 2012 and is likely to double to Rs 1,56,000 crore. It could rise by an additional Rs 39,000 crore if health insurance cover is extended to the rich and middle class.

The public spending could double if the Government reaches its target spending level of 2 per cent of GDP, up from the current 0.9 per cent, according to the report.

Coupled with the expected increase in the pharmaceutical sector, the total healthcare market in the country could increase to Rs 2,32,000-Rs 3,20,000 crore (6.2-8.5 per cent of GDP) in the next five years.

Outpatient care accounts for 61 per cent of private healthcare spending, of which maximum is on acute infections like fever, diarrhoea and gastrointestinal disease. Inpatient spend is concentrated on groups like cancer, heart disease, accidents, acute infections and injuries that account for 85 per cent of private spending.

Of the expected Rs 1,56,000 crore private healthcare spending in 2012, inpatient spending will account for 47 per cent. The growth will be driven by rise in diseases, especially cancer and cardiovascular disease. Outpatient spend will decrease in terms of share but increase in absolute terms to Rs 74,000 crore, the report added.

[sudheeshnairs]

Originally Posted by Suncity

KIMS, Trivandrum
photo copyright sudheeshnairs

Australian accreditation for KIMS Hospital

Friday March 16 2007 10:01 IST

T’PURAM: With the Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) receiving accreditation of the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards International(ACHSI), it became the first hospital in the country to have a national as well as an international accreditation.

KIMS, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, had received the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) Certification from Indian President earlier this year.

“This is a recognition for the quality of our healthcare service,” said KIMS chairman and managing director Dr M I Sahadulla who will receive the accreditation certificate from ACHSI chief executive Brian Johnston at a function to be held in the hospital on Saturday. Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi will inaugurate the function to be attended by Health Minister P K Sreemathi.

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems...puram&Topic=0&

[kronik]

National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education Bill okayed

The Lok Sabha approved a bill to empower the Central Government to set up new national institutes of pharmaceutical education and research or its centres in different parts of the country.

The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, piloted by Chemicals Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, was passed by a voice vote without any discussion amid opposition's din over the killing of farmers in Nandigram in West Bengal.

NIPER is the first national level institute in pharmaceutical sciences which caters to education and research in this field.

[kronik]

Fortis plans sports science institute, 10 hospitals by 2010

Fortis Healthcare plans to set up a Sports Science Institute and build at least 10 more hospitals here ahead of 2010 Commonwealth Games.

“The Sports Science Institute would train and treat injured athletes and would be the first of its kind in the country,” a source close to the development said.

The company plans to bring in doctors from abroad for the proposed institute. Fortis is on the look out for a place to build the institute.

“The company had selected a few places for the institute, but because of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s drive, it has lost six months and those places have been declared illegal,” the source said.

The company is prepared to invest Rs 50 crore but this could go up to Rs 70 crore because of skyrocketing real estate prices in the national capital. Fortis CEO & MD Shivinder Mohan Singh declined to confirm the development.

Singh said he is barred from Sebi to make any futuristic statements because the company has filed for Draft Red Herring Prospectus (for a public issue) with the market regulator.

With less than three years left for the Commonwealth Games and Fortis’ experience shows that it takes at least six years to set up a fully operational greenfield project. So the company proposes to takeover an existing building and transform it into an institute.

The Delhi-headquartered Fortis began its operations in 2001, with a hospital in Mohali near Chandigarh. Today it has 12 healthcare facilities spread in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana. So far, Fortis’ footprint has been confined to North India. To shed its North India image, Fortis would be starting operations in Navi Mumbai in two months.

By 2010, from 12 operations now, the healthcare provider wants to take its number to 35-40 facilities across India. To acquire a pan-India image, the private healthcare provider is focusing on three strategies - to set up greenfield projects, acquire an existing facility or management contract. So to achieve 40 facilities by 2010,

Fortis would follow the greenfield and acquisition strategy in metros and Tier 1 cities and take management contract route in Tier 2 cities, the source noted. The company is also keen to make its debut in health insurance and waiting for the government to relax rules.

[kronik]

Hindujas, Dubai World plan $1bn health biz

While the Hindujas will spend Rs 1,200 crore in Dubai to set up a world-class waterfront project spread over two million sq ft, Dubai World will partner Hindujas in their attempt to set up a chain of hospitals across India. The initial investment in the healthcare project is Rs 4,400 crore ($1 billion) that is to be equally contributed by the partners.

On the healthcare plans, Hinduja said that the 51:49 JV with Limitless LLC (another Dubai World subsidiary) will initially set up hospitals in cities like Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bangalore. The Hinduja hospital chain is to have its presence in all major cities of the country. "We have already purchased the required land in six locations", Hinduja said.

The healthcare investments of the group will come through it's listed entity in India i.e, Hinduja TMT. The initial investment will aim at having facilities with a cumulative capacity of 2,000 beds in two-three years, he added.

[kronik]

AIIMS clones a non-starter

Three years and four Budget assurances later, the government’s prestigious project to set up six super-speciality hospitals modelled on the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi is yet to start.

Work on the project, which was to fill the gap in tertiary healthcare infrastructure and medical education in under-served states, was to have started in the 10th Plan, which concluded on March 31.

The project, however, has not crossed the preliminary step of finalisation of a consultant to prepare a blueprint.

The health ministry’s first attempt in 2006 failed and a second attempt was initiated in February. As many as 29 companies, most of them consortiums of Indian and foreign partners, have reportedly bid, including the public sector Hospital Services Consultancy Corporation (India) Ltd.

The project – called the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana – was to establish apex healthcare institutes at Bhopal, Bhubhaneswar, Jodhpur, Patna, Raipur and Rishikesh.

The project received Planning Commission’s approval for a Rs 1,000-crore outlay and was cleared by the Cabinet in 2006.

The initial bid was for all six institutes and attracted 16 domestic and overseas players. Every applicant except one failed to secure the minimum qualifying marks at the technical stage. The lone successful applicant quoted too high a price, sources said.

For the fresh bids, the ministry invited separate applications for each institute and segregated the housing component of the project which would be given to an EPC developer on a turnkey basis.

The deadline for submitting applications ended on March 19, and the ministry has started shortlisting the applicants.

Choosing the consultant is expected to take at least three or four months. Assuming no further delays, the blueprint is unlikely to be ready before mid-2008. The hospitals were expected to be functional by that time.

The major difference between the two bids is that while the former looked at one technical collaborator for all projects, the current one is looking at several technical partners to look at individual projects.

The project was first announced by Jaswant Singh, the then finance minister in the previous National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, as part of the interim budget for 2004-05.

[Ajaypp]

MCH administration goes hi-tech

C. Maya

Computerised hospital management system becomes fully operational

# Quick retrieval of information on patients possible
# System implemented by the Centre for the Development of Advanced Computing

Thiruvananthapuram: Patient management, medical records maintenance and day-to-day administration have become easier affairs at the Medical College Hospital here, as the hospital management system implemented by the Centre for the Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) has become fully operational.

The system had been on the run for the past one-and-a-half years and was formally inaugurated last month.

First in State

The Thiruvananthapuram MCH is the first one in the State to be fully computerised, and now that the benefits of an automated hospital management system has begun to sink in among the staff, there have been demands that such systems be replicated in other Government hospitals too.

This is also the first time that CDAC has attempted the computerisation of a Government hospital as mammoth as the MCH here.

The software used here is also the most advanced and sophisticated currently available. The campus-wide network, with fibre optic backbone, links the outpatient clinics of 21 clinical departments, 35 inpatient wards, five operation theatres, nine ICUs, 10 laboratories, nine OP counters, registration and enquiry counters in the hospital.

The system has 250 nodes with 80 computers and as many printers and UPSs, 14 fibre-optic network switches, to be managed by two servers.

"The accent was on developing a user-friendly software, with features that will directly benefit the public. All patient-care activities such as outpatient and inpatient registrations, payward reservations, generation of lab results and discharge summary have been automated. There were some inhibitions among the hospital staff initially, despite the training and motivational sessions, but they have now realised how the system helps them to organise their work better," says G. Alexander, Deputy Director (Hospital Informatics), who led the project.Quick retrieval of consolidated information on patients is now possible for doctors and nurses, making patient care easier.

Accessing information

One of the major problems faced by patients and visitors to the MCH was the difficulty in accessing information, be it the availability of OP clinics or locating a patient who has been admitted as inpatient. Now, a visitor need give only the name of the patient or his/her native place at the enquiry counter and the patient can be easily located using the search facility. This information can be accessed from any terminal.

Nine computerised counters and 12 token display systems are available at the OP division, which caters to an average of 1,000 patients every day. Printed OP tickets are issued to patients, with token numbers so that the crowd can be managed better. For admissions, entering the OP number will automatically sent the details to the ward.

Lab tests can be ordered from the wards by the nursing staff and the results can be accessed from the wards itself, unlike before, when it was the patient's duty to collect the lab reports. Any patient information can now easily be retrieved and this has helped in the generation of a valuable database that will enable doctors to identify disease patterns.

Registries have been set up for accidents and incidents, major accidents with mass casualties, for quick access to information. Information about epidemics or infectious diseases is sent automatically to the Prevention of Epidemics and Infectious Diseases Cell, so that one can easily generate statistics for the information of authorities.

The system has also made ward management and staff scheduling easier for the nursing staff. Duty posting of nurses and deployment of general staff on a day can be easily managed now.Earlier, a good part of the duty time of nurses used to be spent on generating daily ward census reports, diet reports and staff movement registers. These reports are now generated at the click of a button, reducing the burden of paper work.Nursing Superintendents can now glance through the computer chart and re-deploy staff to wards as per requirement. Payward reservations and availability of rooms have all been automated.

The SAT hospital and the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology are yet to be brought into the network.In the second phase, the store, pharmacy, medical records division and the blood bank will be brought into the system, by adding another 70 nodes.Touch-screen kiosks, scrolling display and e-notes taker (a hand-held device) for doctors have been planned.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/04/04/stor...0415901100.htm

The Trivandrum MCH is the state's premier hospital, as well as being its oldest medical college and largest hospital. It is being upgraded to AIIMS status under a Rs 120 Crore joint Centre-State project. This involves the construction of several new blocks, including a high-rise super specialty centre, as well as the acquisition of state-of-the-art equipment.

The Centre for Development of Advanced Computer in Trivandrum is a leader in e-governance and cyber forensics besides traditional fields like high-performance computing.

[kronik]

Boost to public-private truck in healthcare

The Gujarat government’s Malaria Control Society hires private agencies to disseminate information about the disease. In Jaipur, Sawai Man Singh Hospital run by the state government has allowed a private agency to run its drug store round the clock.

The Orissa government has allowed an NGO to run two of its primary health centres. It has also hired Sulabh International for upkeep of the toilets in GB Hospital.

The Government of India has signed deals with private doctors and NGOs to run the TB programme in 14 sites across the country.

The Planning Commission is now looking at prospects of mainstreaming some of these models of partnerships between the government, the private and the non-profit sector for providing healthcare in the Eleventh Five Year Plan period. The proposals have been made by a working group set up by the Commission.

The sick primary health centres in the countryside which have no doctors or pharmacists would be targeted first for the partnership treatment if the recommendations are incorporated in the Plan.

The report of the working group on public-private partnership in healthcare suggests that the government health clinics that need to be contracted out are those which have a large number of vacancies for a long period, high absenteeism, and consistent low performance on all reproductive and child health (RCH) indicators.

“Some states are more prepared for contracting out services compared to others. Fear of losing jobs and perceived shrinking role of the government in the health sector are the main reasons for resistance. Advocacy efforts are required in those states where resistance levels are high for contracting out services,’’ it says.

The report says that the contracting out of existing services and infrastructure can happen in four ways.

First, the government can hand over the clinic, equipment, budget and personnel to an agency. Second, it may hand over just the clinic and equipment and money but allow the agency to choose its people. Third, the government may hand over the clinic and machines but allow the agency to follow its own system. Finally it may give the agency total freedom in having its own staff and system.

The report is silent on user charges.

The report looks at 17 different kinds of partnerships to take healthcare to more and more people in the rural areas and to the poor sections of the society.

These include, contracting out clinics to private sector, hiring private doctors and other personnel on contract, tieups with corporates, NGOs and cooperatives, handing vouchers to beneficiaries and so on.

The report admits at the outset the limited reach of the public sector healthcare system. It says that private sector provides 78 per cent of the treatment in rural areas and 81 per cent in the urban areas. The use of public healthcare is lowest in the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

The report says the deals with private providers could be for a single service or on a long-term basis. The partnerships could be struck in providing services, providing information and awareness, infrastructure and capacity building.

In service partnerships, there could be large-scale hiring of private doctors and nurses on contract — a trend already started by the National Rural health Mission.

It would also include social marketing of products like contraceptives and oral rehydration solutions through NGOs or private players, and using private or NGO vans to provide medical healthcare. Private vehicles, buildings, as well as private trainers are recommended by the working group.

[IndiaRocks]

AIIMS breakthrough...

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/A...ow/1907471.cms

[wcgokul]

:

A 50-day-old Pakistani boy, Ryan, suffering from multiple cardiac defects, breathed a new life in India. His family is happy after he was successfully operated upon by the surgeons at Chennai hospital.

“There is no heart defect left. As long term also, this child can have a normal heart and grow up like a normal child,” said Chief Pediatric Surgeon at Madras Institute of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (MIOT), Robert Coelho.

Little Ryan's father says he's most grateful the visas came quickly. “We never thought we would be going to India keeping in mind that we were Pakistanis. But I am thankful to the Indian government for granting us visa in no time,” said Ryan's father, Tariq.

He also has a little girl called Noor Fatima to thank—her successful visit to India for a heart surgery in Bangalore put the spotlight on the numbers of Pakistani children who could benefit from Indian medical facilities and spurred the government into announcing a special visa quota for them.

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/pak-infa...i/38457-3.html