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ASIA’S FIRST MONTHLY MAGAZINE ON THE ENTERPRISE OF HEALTHCARE

VOLUME 12 / ISSUE 02 / FEBRUARY 2017 / ` 75 / US $10 / ISSN 0973-8959

COVER STORY

FEATURED INTERVIEWS

SPECIAL FEATURE

Green
Hospitals
PARTNERS FOR ARUN KUMAR
SINHA
RAJESHWAR
TIWARI
AMEERA SHAH VIKRAM
Managing Director THAPLOO
AMRIT PAL
SINGH
DR VINEETH
ABRAHAM
CHANGE Adnl. Chief Secretary,
Dept of Health &
Principal Secretary,
Health, Medical &
and CEO, Metropolis
Healthcare Ltd
CEO, Apollo Tele Health Founder & CEO,
Services & HealthNet hospitalforsalelease.
Director,
Baby Memorial
Family Welfare, Family Welfare, Global Ltd com Hospital, Kerala
Govt of UP Govt of Telangana
marketing@randox.com
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ASIA’S FIRST MONTHLY MAGAZINE ON THE ENTERPRISE OF HEALTHCARE

Volume 12 Issue 02 February 2017

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Contents FEBRUARY 2017 | VOLUME - 12 | ISSUE - 02

12
Cover Story
Startups Dazzle
Indian Healthcare
Startups are providing a great stimulus to various
stakeholders in the Indian healthcare industry, signifying a
new beginning based on disruptive thinking, convergence and
cooperation to improve healthcare delivery

26
Special Story

Green Commandos
Win Immunisation Battle in MP Hills
Pati block of Barwani district in Madhya Pradesh is one of the 10 most backward blocks of the country. Providing government
services and welfare schemes in Pati block has always posed a big challenge there. Addressing the need for immunisation
under such challenging conditions, Tejaswi Naik, Collector of Barwani, has made a major breakthrough

32
Special Feature
Green Hospitals:
Partners for Change
Green hospitals are able to increase their efficiencies and
environmental stewardship while improving patient safety and
care. Keeping in view these advantages, hospitals in India
need to incorporate environmentally sustainable practices in
their operations

6 FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com
Leaders Speak Corporate Interview

22 24 16 18

Arun Kumar Sinha Rajeshwar Tiwari Amrit Pal Singh Krishan Tyagi
Adnl Chief Secretary, Dept of Principal Secretary, Health, Founder & CEO, Co-founder and CEO of
Health & Family Welfare, UP Medical & Family Welfare hospitalforsalelease.com MediMetry,

28 62 30 38

Dr Sushmita Ghoshal Vivek Srivastava Ameera Shah Dr Vineeth Abraham


Head, Department of CEO & Co-founder Managing Director and CEO, Director
Radiotherapy at PGIMER HCAH Metropolis Healthcare Ltd BMH

46 48
Green Hospitals

34 36

Dr Keyur Parikh Dr Fazal Ahmed


Chairman Director, AYUSH
CIMS Hospital Medwin Hospital
Sudhir Pillai
Sales Director-South Asia, 50 52
Honeywell Environmental &
Energy Solutions

44

Himanshu Zota Shailendra Trivedi


Director Director Channel Management
Zota Healthcare and Operations, R&M India

Dr Sivakumaran Arvind Goenka


40
Chief Operating Officer Director
KMCH RMG Polyvinyl India Limited
NIPI: Building Synergies for Development

8 FEBRUARY / 2017
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ehealth.eletsonline.com 9
Startups Shine as State of
Healthcare in India Perks Up
editorial
Despite all its complexities and dichotomies, India is endowed with great
entrepreneurial spirit. Embellishing the essence of India are all kinds of
startups, consistently driving the nation towards ensuring general well-
being of nearly one-fifth of the humanity here.
With health being an important parameter to evaluate a happy society,
the startups appear to be shouldering a huge responsibility in this
domain. Our cover story -- ‘Startups Dazzle Indian Healthcare’ -- in our
latest issue highlights, how the Indian startup ecosystem is warming up
to new disruptive ideas from health-tech startups to rapidly plug the gaps
in healthcare delivery -- making it more inclusive and affordable.
Growing concern on the adverse effects of environmental degradation
has dominated public discourse in recent times, causing much hue and
cry. Addressing the need to make our healthcare providers sustainable,
the movement to promote Green Hospitals is gaining momentum in India
too. To highlight major advantages of having environmentally sustainable
healthcare institutions, our special feature ‘Green Hospitals: Partners for
Change’ underscores how patients’ fast recovery is closely linked to the
hospitals’ ability to utilise natural resources in optimum way.
Our bouquet of interviews and write ups once again will help people
enlighten a bit more comprehensively about the Indian healthcare
industry, its course of progression and goals to reinvent in order to
expand its reach and intervention to boost quality of healthcare. The
various perspectives, expressed by the skippers of the Indian healthcare
industry and decision-makers in public health space, highlight the
significance of revamping and deepening our expertise in providing
world-class quality health services and the various steps already set in
motion to achieve these goals.
We expect that the new insights gained by our readers through our
endeavour in this issue will help them explore emerging opportunities
and bridge the gaps in the healthcare delivery.
Looking forward to our readers’ valuable feedback.

Dr Ravi Gupta
Editor-in-Chief
ravi.gupta@elets.in

10 FEBRUARY / 2017
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FEBRUARY
FEBRUARY / 2017
/ 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com
ehealth.eletsonline.com 1111
Cover story

Startups Dazzle
Indian Healthcare
Startups are providing a great stimulus to various stakeholders in the
Indian healthcare industry, signifying a new beginning based on disruptive
thinking, convergence and cooperation to improve healthcare delivery,
writes Vivek Ratnakar of Elets News Network (ENN).

A
s India aspires to lead the world, the startup eco- going a transformation of sorts to make healthcare more
system in the country has seen a new spark of ener- inclusive. It also served as a hunting ground for venture
gies impacting almost every sector of the economy. capitalists and big investors looking to fund promising
Their impact in improving health delivery system innovative ideas that can help them grow their capital at
is all the more apparent, as it has already started to yield faster rates than any other sector -- highlighting the po-
fruits. This has pushed the government and health indus- tential of healthcare startups in the country.
try to see healthcare startups in a new light – where they Given that technology holds the key to deliver quality
are the torch-bearers of new hope in helping India achieve healthcare to people in a country like India where close
its goal of “healthcare for all”. to 70 per cent of the people live in rural areas, the prom-
The health startups have been quick to leverage tech- inence of startups in disruptive technologies like tele-
nology to offer out-of-box disruptive solutions to the Indi- medicine, technology apps based on mobile telephony
an masses, now empowered by smart phones and better underscores that they can, to a great extent, help India
internet connectivity. in achieving universal healthcare in a relatively shorter
The importance of healthcare startups in India was re- time-frame.
cently bolstered during the Health Tech India-2017, organ- But how do startups look at governmental push in help-
ised by the Confederation of Indian Industry concurrently ing them gain strength.
with the 22nd edition of International Engineering and “The last budget saw (Finance Minister) Arun Jaitley
Technology Fair, from February 3-5. The startups which announcing a slew of tax cuts and commitments for eas-
set up their stalls at the first comprehensive show dedicat- ing the clearances. The last budget was successful in es-
ed to health technologies in the country was inaugurated tablishing the commitment of the current government to
by Faggan Singh Kulaste, Minister of State for Health and the startup ecosystem of the country,” said Pawan Gup-
Family Welfare. ta, Co-founder, Curofy, a Delhi-based health tech startup
It served as a convergence point for various health which has emerged as one of India’s largest communities
technology companies to showcase their innovations to of verified doctor networking platform.
provide a fillip to the healthcare sector, which is under- In 2016, the Indian healthcare tech startups showed

12 FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com
Cover story

traction with 73 deals worth over $113 million struck,


highlighting the future potential of disruptive thinking in
healthcare delivery.
Given that technology holds key
Keeping that in mind, the government in the Budget to delivering quality healthcare
2017-18 did not disappoint Indian startups. “Being a start-
up we are happy to hear that government has decided to
to people in a country like India
relax the income tax liabilities applied on startups. The where close to 70 per cent of
profit deduction period for entrepreneurial juggernauts
has also been increased from the previous three out of five the people live in rural areas,
years. The startups can now claim 100 percent deduction the prominence of startups in
of profits for three out of the first seven years,” said Mudit
Vijayvergiya, another Co-founder of Curofy. disruptive technologies like
Reflecting on the incentives provided by the govern- telemedicine, technology apps
ment to healthcare startups, Abhishek Dwivedi, Co-found-
er, Alternacare, said, “As a startup we appreciate the in- based on mobile telephony
itiative took by the government to relax the income tax
liabilities applied on startups. The profit deduction period
underscores that they can, to
for entrepreneurs has also been increased from the previ- a great extent, help India in
ous three out of five years. The 100 per cent deduction of
profits for three out of the first seven years which can be
achieving universal healthcare in
claimed easily is a great step.” a relatively shorter time-frame
As per the experts, the government plans to convert
1.5 lakh health sub-centres into health wellness centres the government,” said Dwivedi.
which would surely grow the preventive care inclination Besides startups in health tech sector, there is also
in the country. A large chunk of health tech startups are a great scope for startups in research and development
in preventive healthcare space and the step would further (R&D), in order to evolve molecules and drugs that are
boost their growth. relevant to Indian conditions, according to Dr Soumya
Another move by the government -- the push towards Swaminathan, Director General, Indian Council of Medical
digital payments, (by making online transactions tax Research (ICMR).
free) – “would bring more people to consume internet and Development of a molecule is not only a painstaking
hence it would support the entrepreneurs solving ineffi- affair but costly as well. Multinational corporations can
ciencies in healthcare, food, finance, retail, supply chain, easily fund such projects that cost several billion dollars.
etc using technology. Not only this, using BHIM app, peo- That is not the case with Indian industry and laborato-
ple with no credit debit cards can also transact using this ries, where R&D takes a back seat or hamstrung by lack
app. This move is also a boon in the startup ecosystem by of funds. Imaginative schemes should be drawn up to ad-
dress these issues in a cost
effective manner.
“Some of pharma com-
panies or start up can take
up early development mol-
ecules and drugs and once
it passes certain stage they
can collaborate with larger
Indian companies or even
multinationals since dis-
covery of new molecules is
fraught with very high risk,”
she opined.
Despite advances in
sciences, there are gaps be-
tween biology and technolo-
gy. Critical medical care for
patients suffering from non-
communicable diseases like
diabetes, cancer, cardio-vas-
cular diseases etc. can also
be addressed by health tech-
nology startups.

FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com 13
Industry View

Ensuring Quality
Healthcare Delivery
The fast paced developments in healthcare IT industry is ensuring availability of
healthcare data at fingertips but due to lack of a standard way in which health
records can be shared or stored, we are unable to unlock the full potential of
healthcare industry, writes Abhimanyu Bhosale, Co Founder and CEO, Livehealth,
for Elets News Network (ENN)

F
or the past two years, the healthcare IT industry has of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning. In-
grown quite rapidly, venturing into newer areas like novation in areas which disrupts the technology used by
online consulting, Personal Health Records (PHRs) healthcare providers will stand as a key milestone in the
and home healthcare. Who would’ve thought few future of healthcare.
years ago that we would be able to avail healthcare servic- IT systems used by healthcare provider have more or-
es at our doorstep, get our medical records delivered right ganised and accurate information than any other source.
on the app with automated trackers to help you track your Companies like our, chose this challenge to make health-
health and get personalised insights on your fingertips. care systems more standardised and affordable. Since last
Social entrepreneurs have also contributed their bit year we have upgraded more than 350 diagnostic centres
in making healthcare more affordable. Companies like and laboratories to fully automated processes. By enabling
iBreastExam are making breast cancer screenings more them to dispatch reports to patients and consulting doctors
quick, easy and accessible. UberHealth is making afforda- in a click of a button, over our mobile apps. Thereby not
ble medical devices aimed to reach the masses. But look- only reducing their daily workload and human errors but
ing at the ecosystem, how will so many different services also making it very convenient for patients and doctors.
and devices work together? What about your personal By structuring medical records in a way computers
health records? Many platforms are trying to consolidate can understand and analyse, Livehealth has made them
healthcare data, the so-called PHRs, and almost certainly accessible across the spectrum of healthcare services,
every health record is either in files or PDFs. But health the healthcare provider, doctors and patients, owning the
records are more than just files. These are a snapshot of same copy of the medical record. This enables a whole
your health. new level of interaction, where for the first time, medical
Health records serve as an evidence to help predict the information is truly shared across stakeholders. This is
possibility of an illness in the future or hold the key to your already reducing the amount of time spent per test for di-
diagnosis during a medical emergency. But we still don’t agnostic centers by more than half also sparing the time
have our health records anywhere close spent emailing or sharing medical records
to what we can call information. Also, our with doctors and patients. This also reduc-
healthcare providers don’t have the IT es the time it takes for doctors to get re-
systems to share medical records in a for- ports and act on the information.
mat that our smart phones can read. By understanding and highlighting cer-
tain vitals and critical parameters in re-
ports, Livehealth gives doctors more time to
THE PROBLEM OF ARCHAIC spend interacting with patients and acting
SYSTEMS on information than looking through files.
We have always presumed that health- The feedback that we get is that this is defi-
care institutions use the best and the nitely what everyone thinks is the future of
most futuristic IT systems to help improve ehealthcare. But there is still a major chal-
patient care. Well that was in 2005, and lenge ahead, that is, collaboration of servic-
those systems are obsolete and archaic es. We need services that work with each
now. We live in a different era, in a mobile other. Services that plug-in information on
and more connect world now. But more consent of patients and more collaborative
than 90 per cent of healthcare provider platforms for a more improved and connect-
use IT systems build years back, which ed healthcare. We look forward to see that
limits the healthcare potential in the age in the years to come.

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ehealth.eletsonline.com
Industry View

FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com 15
Corporate Interview

Ultimate Remedy for


“HOSPITALS IN
LOSSES”
- The Game Changer
Great ideas are often born out of necessity and the need of the hour is not to
build new hospitals with massive loans and investment but to buy/lease distressed
hospitals available worldwide, says Amrit Pal Singh,
Founder & CEO, hospitalforsalelease.com, an
idea whose time has arrived.

E
very story that’s worth telling needs to be said – especially
when it has the potential to incite human ingenuity to innovate
for the public good. The healthcare sector today is on the cusp
of transition, which tends to rely heavily on the wealth of ideas
to trigger change.
While not all new concepts may stand the test of time, some pio-
neering ideas are powerful enough to alter the course of the health-
care sector, impacting lives of billions of people in the process.
‘hospitalforsalelease.com’ is one such idea that is as close as it can
get to being enterprising.
Underlying this idea is the will of Amrit Pal Singh, Founder and CEO, hos-
pitalforsalelease.com “to make an impact in the life of patients worldwide by
making a win-win approach for hospitals and investors.”
Launched on 26th January 2017, hospitalforsalelease.
com is already creating disruptive ripples across the
global healthcare industry. But like many trailblazing
ideas, this too derives its strengths from personal ex-
periences of Singh which made him “find a solution”
to the plight of patients as well as hospitals across
the world.
“My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer,
stage 1, by a leading corporate hospital. When
we told them to start the treatment, we were
informed there were no hospital beds availa-
ble for the next three months. Reason being
my mother was an ECHS empanelled pa-
tient,” says Singh.
Singh had no option but to go for al-
ternative medical treatment. “Those
doctors kept treating my mother for
the next one year with absolute confi-
dence and guaranteed results.”
But when her condition started de-
teriorating, she was rushed back to the

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ehealth.eletsonline.com
Corporate Interview

corporate hospital, and now after diagnosis, they declared


that she was in the last stage of cancer and they must start Our portal has a global reach,
the treatment to save her life.
“The hospital immediately admitted her, did chemo-
and it is unique in the sense
therapy and all other treatments. However, after one and that hospitals and investors
a half month of being admitted to the hospital, she died. I
was in a shock that even after paying a huge amount for worldwide are registered on
medication, treatment and ICU admission she died in just a single platform, 24x7. It has
one and a half month because that corporate hospital gave
us hope that things were improving daily,” Singh adds. complete confidentiality as
“The above incident and also when I saw the plight of the database is encrypted and
patients undergoing unwanted lab tests, ICU admissions,
expensive medications, unwanted surgeries, unwanted secured; registration is free, and
implants in the body, huge patient bills and unwanted
medical insurance claims, I was disturbed,” says Singh.
no brokerage charges. You can
During his association with the top management in close the deal directly offline
the healthcare industry for business development, Singh
started to develop marketing teams for some of the lead-
amongst yourself
ing corporate hospitals, and it was then the reality sank “The need of the hour is not to build a new hospital
in. He began connecting the dots, and soon the big picture with massive loans and investment but to buy/lease a dis-
started emerging, clearing all the doubts that fogged his tressed hospital available worldwide. Hence, an investor
mind ever since he lost his mother. The bed manager of a gets a ready hospital, staff, infrastructure, medical equip-
hospital allocates the beds to patients who can earn the ment, and existing patient flow which he can upgrade soon
highest revenue that day. Preference is for cash patients enough with a minimum investment as compared to build-
at high income than empanelled patient at credit and less ing a new hospital,” says Singh.
revenue, due to which less number of beds is allocated for “Now since the investment is the least as compared to
empanelled patients. If the hospital would have given her building a new hospital, there is no need for the hospital
the hospital bed and started her treatment when she was investor to set up huge revenue targets for everyone in
diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer, she would have been the hospital and focus is on providing ethical treatment to
alive today. “What happened with my mother and me, I do the patients with complete transparency. It will result in a
not want that to happen to anyone else,” he says. win-win situation for both the hospitals and patients,” he
At the same time, he also saw the plight of hospitals adds which is explained in the video https://www.youtube.
and their management under considerable stress and in com/watch?v=_Kx44O3fXgo&t=4s
massive financial losses -- forcing them to take patients According to Singh, hospitalforsalelease.com gives a
for a ride. global platform to investors and hospitals to collaborate
This is illustrated here https://www.youtube.com/ to grow together.
watch?v=2QgsPUXwLKs “Our portal has a global reach, and it is unique in the
Singh kept thinking what can be done to bring a change sense that hospitals and investors worldwide are regis-
in the healthcare industry to fix this problem worldwide tered on a single platform, 24x7. It has complete confiden-
and after pondering over a solution to fix the problem, he tiality as the database is encrypted and secured; registra-
came up with the unique idea of hospitalforsalelease.com tion is free, and no brokerage charges. You can close the
The biggest challenge was to understand the pain ar- deal directly offline amongst yourself,” says Singh.
eas of the hospital management in running their facility Besides improving the operational efficiency of hospi-
profitably. tals, hospital for sale lease facilitates leasing out expen-
“Various challenges like soaring infrastructure costs, sive medical equipment to hospitals.
medical equipment costs, staff challenges, evolving health- Now you can register your hospital for free on the web-
care compliances and fewer patient walk-ins have pushed site for sale/ lease and find investors worldwide. Also, in-
many hospitals out of business,” Singh observes. vestors can now contact the hospital owners directly and
“The ROI doesn’t happen as projected while taking negotiate the deal directly at 0% brokerage charges.
massive loans to set up the new hospital and revenue Let us bring a change in the healthcare industry by
shortfalls severely impact the income of the business. The spreading this idea worldwide.
hospital management is subjected to high stress and pres-
sure, often leading to bankruptcy,” he adds.
For Singh, the remedy was to help out hospitals on the
verge of failure as business enterprises and find a win- Amrit Pal Singh is an MBA, a globally travelled,
win solution for both the hospital management struggling out-of-box thinker, strategist and game changer who
to cope with rising costs without compromising on good wants to make an impact in the lives of billions of
patient care. people worldwide.

FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com 17
Corporate Interview

MediMetry:
Reinvigorating
Online Healthcare
Initially launched as a platform for only pregnant women and new mothers,
MediMetry has grown into an online doctor consultation platform covering
over 10 domains and making healthcare more accessible and convenient,
says Krishan Tyagi, Co-founder and CEO of MediMetry, in an interview with
Elets News Network (ENN).

What is the vision behind Medi- MediMetry users can reports and health history securely
Metry? How does it function? and privately with the doctors.
MediMetry was launched in 2014. Ini- openly ask health- MediMetry aims to make health-
care more digital, accessible and con-
tially aimed to solve issues related to
pregnancy and post pregnancy care,
related queries on a venient, covering over 10 domains in-
Dr Bhawana Tyagi and Krishan Ty- public forum for a free cluding mental health, sexual health,
agi, a couple who learnt a lot about traditional domains like ayurveda
challenges of new parents during the
doctor consultation and homeopathy, among others.
birth of their daughter, fused their and doctors can give
skills together. Krishan, who gradu- Who are the key people driving
ated from IIT and completed his MBA an insight on how to MediMetry?
from Indian Institute of Management, proceed with solving Krishan Tyagi is the Co-founder and
combined his exemplary product de- CEO of MediMetry. He is a technolo-
sign skills with Dr Bhawana’s medi- the issue. Later, users gy strategist and product visionary.
cal know how to establish MediMetry, can go for one-on- Prior to founding MediMetry, he had
a product that aims to re-innovate been in various key product leader-
how online healthcare functions. one private paid ship roles at Winshuttle. In his stint
MediMetry is an online doctor con-
sultation platform, which provides
consultations at Winshuttle, he led the SaaS-based
offering of its enterprise suite. Prior
an opportunity to connect with the to his last role, he worked with Ari-
best doctors promptly. Initially, the cent and played an instrumental role
platform was launched for only preg- in architecting the 4G LTE stack.
nant women and new mothers. How- He holds a B. Tech degree in Elec-
ever, looking at the growing number trical Engineering from IIT Delhi,
of online care seekers, the founders MBA from IIM-Indore and has suc-
decided to expand their services in cessfully completed the Executive
multiple streams. Leadership programme from Univer-
MediMetry users can openly ask sity of Pittsburgh. At the core of his
health-related queries on a public heart, he is an innovator, thinker and
forum for a free doctor consultation a philosopher.
and doctors can give an insight on Dr Bhawana is the Co-Founder
how to proceed with solving the issue. and Chief Medical Officer of MediM-
Later, users can go for one-on-one etry. She is responsible for medical
private paid consultations, for which quality by ensuring that doctors are
patients are connected to the doctors on-boarded after a strict vetting pro-
within 30 minutes of posting the re- cess. She has also done a training
quest. They can share their previous programme to handle online consul-

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ehealth.eletsonline.com
Corporate Interview

tation efficiently. She also heads the through online consultations and any really good feedback from our us-
whole consultation feedback and person living even in the remotest ers. We are available both on web as
peer review process at MediMetry. part of the country can get the ben- well as mobile and users can consult
She is a dentist by profession who efits of specialists MD/MS consulta- through chat, phone or on a video
moved to MediMetry to marry the tion through chat, tele-calling or a call. Now apart from going strong on
medicine with technology. She has video call. MediMetry is accessible B2C, we will soon start going after
nine years of practice experience and throughout the nation through its B2B sales where employers can pay
holds a B.D.S degree from Chaudhary website medimetry.com and through a small amount of subscription fees
Charan Singh University, Meerut. its android app medimetry.com/app. and then employees can consult on
a discounted rate. Also, we are plan-
What is the current number of How do you benchmark quality ning to open the app for Middle-east
doctors and users active on the of consultations? How has been and African countries by mid of 2017.
platform? users’ response so far? Besides telemedicine, diagnostic
MediMetry currently has over 50 doc- Providing the best quality care is market and Medicine e-commerce
tors for more than 10 specialisations. the Mantra for MediMetry. We have are the fastest growing segments of
Each doctor has the bandwidth of a three-step screening and verifica- the modern healthcare and MediM-
handling up to 25 consultations per tion process to get the best doctors etry aims to integrate all of them on
day and we strive to connect our us- on board, who hold MD/MS qualifi- our platform to provide an end to end
ers to doctors within 30 minutes of cations. All the experts go through a holistic user experience for Indian
their submitting their private paid screening round conducted by Medi- Market.
consultation. MediMetry has more Metry’s in-house doctors’ team and
than 10,000 users and has daily foot- only after thorough verification, they What is the platform’s USP?
print of 500 unique visitors daily and are registered on the platform. Also, MediMetry is an online doctor consul-
they are not only from tier 1 and tier during the on-boarding process we tation on the go. With our mobile and
2 cities but also from tier 3 cities ask- provide training to our doctors to ef- web presence, we are positioned as
ing for general health queries like ficiently handle the challenges of on- pocket doctor. With its full fledge ser-
diet charts to analysis of their lab test line consultation along with adhering vices, MediMetry strives to provide:
reports. to our quality standards. Moreover, ♦ SkipAppointment: No more
each consultation is reviewed by peer Queues, connect anytime, any-
Which specialties are being specialist doctors and quality is con- where, just with one click
offered on MediMetry? Are tinuously monitored by our in-house ♦ SkipTravel: No more Traffic
MediMetry services available doctors’ team as well. Jams, Driving in Cold, Doctor is in
pan India? We have received overwhelmingly your phone Literally
MediMetry currently has over 50 doc- positive response from our users and ♦ InstantConsult: Pain Today,
tors spanning across more than 10 most of them are visiting us time and Get Solution Today, Get Instant
specialisations like dermatology, den- again. Answers to your query.
tistry, psychiatry, gynaecology, pae-
diatrics, sexology, diets & nutrition, How do you plan to scale up What are the key challenges
general medicine, ENT, oncology, the platform? you have faced till now?
physiotherapy, ayurveda and home- We have been helping users for the Key challenge in India is the lack of
opathy. These doctors are available last one year and have received some awareness that online doctor con-
sultation can actually happen as
well as the tendency to rely on self
or pharmacist medication instead of
MediMetry currently has over 50 doctors for a doctor consultation. Besides, an-
more than 10 specialisations. Each doctor has the other challenge is the lack of stand-
ard rules and regulation for doctors
bandwidth of handling up to 25 consultations per for online prescription. As far as the
day and we strive to connect our users to doctors telemedicine is concerned, the mar-
ket is still in learning and developing
within 30 minutes of their submitting their private phase. As technology is reaching in
paid consultation. It has more than 10,000 users all the corners of the country and
government is also promoting tele-
and daily footprint of 500 unique visitors and they medicine through its various initi-
are not only from tier-1 and tier-2 cities but also atives like SEHAT, it is required on
the part of authorities to come up
from tier-3 cities with the standardisation on online
medicine and prescription.

FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com 19
Corporate Interview

Bridging
Healthcare Barriers
via Technology
By synergising healthcare services, Information and Communication Technologies
(ICT), medical equipment and patient information system, Apollo Telehealth Services
(ATHS) is tapping its full potential in delivering and reaching remote and inaccessible
locations as well as meeting urban healthcare needs, Vikram Thaploo, CEO, Apollo
Tele Health Services and HealthNet Global Ltd tells Elets News Network (ENN).

T
he Indian Healthcare system has notched up several able to penetrate geographies which have remained dis-
significant achievements in last 50 years particular- connected over a long time.
ly in terms of life expectancy, infant mortality rate The increased usage of internet-enabled mobile devices
and success in dealing with various dreaded dis- is changing the way we communicate. Apollo has recent-
eases. While “Medical Tourism” has become a reality in ly launched the next generation web-based Telemedicine
some of the states in India and private healthcare in India platform “Ask Apollo”, with a pool of Apollo specialists
is comparable to the best in the world, large segments of available for consultation online. Through the website
our population have no access to them. We have the best “Ask Apollo”, patients from across the world can connect
doctors in the world; we also have one of the biggest gaps to Apollo renowned doctors via voice, video, web.
in healthcare manpower. This widespread and inherent In a first of its kind healthcare service delivery innova-
variance in our healthcare system has a profound impact tion in India, Apollo’s Himachal Pradesh Tele Health Pro-
on the health of our nation. India contributes to 16.5% of gramme has been providing the much needed emergency,
the total global population and 1/5th of the world’s share specialty and super-specialty consultation services to
of diseases. But the true import of this statistic becomes locations at 14,000 feet above sea-level in the Himalayan
clear when you consider the pre-existing inequality in mountain range. Due to high altitude, rugged terrain and
healthcare services provisioning; this skew is further com- extremely cold winters, these areas remain cut off from
pounded by geographical, socio-eco- the rest of the country for five-six
nomic bottlenecks. months. Providing essential services
With the vision of bringing interna- in this region poses challenges to the
tional healthcare standards within the state administration.
reach of every individual, Dr Prathap Apollo recently launched anoth-
C Reddy in 1999 established Apollo er innovative PPP model with the
Telemedicine Networking Foundation Government of Andhra Pradesh to
(ATNF) and Apollo Telehealth Servic- manage and operate 164 eUPHCs
es (ATHS), which is the largest and (Electronic Urban Primary Health-
oldest multi-speciality telemedicine care Centres) across nine districts
network in South Asia. in Andhra Pradesh for three years.
With the vision of providing health- eUPHCs will serve the urban poor
care services to rural and remote lo- families which are below and near
cations across India, Apollo has been the poverty line, thereby catering
able to quickly connect to 60,000 rural to the healthcare needs of approxi-
endpoints under the aegis of “Digital mately 20% of the total population of
India”, a central government initiative Andhra Pradesh. Such innovations
to help them become Rural TeleClinics; show that Tele Health PPPs that ap-
thereby delivering quality healthcare ply technological advancements in
to the rural population seamlessly healthcare can change the health-
from their neighbourhoods. By ena- care landscape, thereby bridging the
bling remote doctor access through VIKRAM THAPLOO gap between quality of healthcare
Telemedicine at Common Service Cen- CEO, Apollo Tele Health Services services and equitable access for
tres (CSCs), Apollo Hospitals has been and HealthNet Global Ltd. all.

20 FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com
Green Hospitals

FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com 21
Leaders Speak

Overcoming
Challenges to Ensure
Salubrious Future
As Uttar Pradesh makes fast strides in the public healthcare space, Arun Kumar
Sinha, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Health & Family Welfare,
Government of Uttar Pradesh, highlights key achievements and challenges that
need to be surpassed to deliver quality healthcare services across the state, in an
interview with Arpit Gupta of Elets News Network (ENN). Excerpts:

Can you please highlight some ban areas, we have the Urban Health to operationalise this urban health
key initiatives undertaken by Mission. It includes urban ASHA (Ac- arrangement. So far our initiatives
the Department of Health & credited Social Health Activist) work- are concerned, now the urban ASHA
Family Welfare and how is the ers, urban PHCs (Primary Health workers are undergoing training.
department ensuring health- Centres) and urban CSCs (Communi- Similarly, paramedics and doctors
care in urban as well as rural ty Health Centres). are also now in place. In urban areas,
areas of the state? Earlier, the manpower was not health posts have been upgraded and
As you know all the medical care available in adequate numbers but being looked after.
schemes in the country have been with the beginning of NHM this issue
brought under the umbrella of NHM has been resolved. Now urban ASHA How PPP is used to deliver bet-
(National Health Mission). In Uttar workers and urban PHCs and CHCs ter healthcare Services in Uttar
Pradesh also, public healthcare is have started functioning. Pradesh?
being covered under the NHM. In ur- Currently, the challenge in UP is In rural areas also the NHM is aid-

22 FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com
Leaders Speak

UP Health Sector Strengthening Pro- India, so is there any plan to


ject (UPHSSP) in association with bring digital transformation in
the World Bank, which is assisting us the department to promote
in strengthening 51 hospitals across e-governance, m-governance
the State. The remaining hospitals, to ensure better healthcare
PHCs and CHCs are taken care of un- delivery?
der the NHM. We are trying to bring Information Technology (IT) is a good
them to the NABH (National Accred- tool to enhance our efficiency and
itation Board for Hospitals & Health- productivity. Keeping that in mind,
care Providers) level, so that quality we are running a lot of pilot projects
healthcare services can be delivered. across the State. Through the use of
However, the main challenge we IT, we can increase the efficiency of
are facing is the non-availability our manpower. There are initiatives
of medical officers. We have made like M-Sehat in place and the ASHA
one arrangement for superannu- workers are capturing data through
ated doctors. If they are physically tablets. Whereever we are finding
fit, they can work till the age of 65. opportunities, we are trying to adopt
Then, on contractual basis also we them. Initially, we run the projects as
are supplementing doctors like an- pilot before upscaling them.
esthetists, gynecologists as per our
requirements under the NHM and What are your future plans and
UPHSSP. That is helping us meet the what have been your achieve-
manpower requirement. We are also ments in the past couple of
sending teams to five states which years?
ing us to plug the healthcare gaps. are good in health sector to learn In the Uttar Pradesh healthcare and
On major initiative we have taken in from their experiences and know medical sector, the biggest achieve-
Uttar Pradesh is in the area of diag- which good practices we can adopt ment has been that a lot of attention
nostics. We plan to introduce the PPP in our state. has been diverted towards improv-
model wherein agencies would collect ing it. For example, 108 and 102 am-
samples from district hospitals and Please share your views on bulance services were introduced,
community health centres. They (ser- super specialty services in the which have proven to be a big suc-
vice providers) have been selected State. Are there any plans of cess.
and will start functioning in the next the department to boost super Recently, we witnessed a number
two-three months. specialty facilities in the State? of railway and bus accidents and in
Similarly, in the area of dialysis, In UP we have two departments. One all those situations we responded
we have decided to start it in all the is the Medical Health and Family Wel- immediately through our ambulance
divisional headquarter hospitals. fare Department and another is the services.
Two such facilities have already Medical Education Department. The We have also brought many pub-
started functioning in Azamgarh and former has been given the mandate lic-private partner arrangements like
Allahabad. for primary and secondary health- in diagnostics, CT scan and dialysis
We are also working on introduc- care sector, while the tertiary health space, which is a new intervention.
ing CT scan services through the PPP sector is with the latter. For super Earlier, we had only in-house facil-
mode. All the district hospitals, which specialty services, the Medical Edu- ities but now we are using the effi-
were not covered till now, will soon cation Department is better placed ciency of private sector to meet our
get this facility. to resolve your queries because they needs. That has been a big change in
The department’s another key form the policy for it. the last two-three years.
initiative is the ALS (Advanced Life However, I believe that we need We have also increased the use of
Support) ambulance service. We have to consolidate the entire govern- technology. Earlier, our procurement
ambulances with us and service pro- ment-run healthcare sector because of medicines used to depend on the
viders have been selected to equip UP is a big state. We have good re- manual method but now we have a
these ambulances and run them. Now, sources, but we have lot of gaps that software in place to connect our DG
ALS ambulances will be available in require to be filled so that the effi- office with vendors directly. It has
all the districts of the State. ciency of the services we are provid- brought in a lot of transparency and
These facilities are in addition ing is enhanced. efficiency to our system. It has im-
to what we already have. As Utter proved management of medicines.
Pradesh (UP) has a big healthcare There is a lot of talk about smart These initiatives will help us in the
infrastructure, we have launched the cities, smart health and digital long run.

FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com 23
Leaders Speak

Nursing Telangana
Healthcare Services
Back to Life
With more focus on improved healthcare services for mother and children, the
Government of Telangana is revamping the State’s healthcare sector, says
Rajeshwar Tiwari, Principal Secretary, Health, Medical & Family Welfare, in an
interview with Sudheer Goutham and Harshal Desai of Elets News Network (ENN).

What kind of steps government care accessible to every citizen of the providing better health services to
is taking to bring more effective State. The budgetary allocation for the people.
and transparent healthcare health sector has increased consid- The Government of Telangana is
systems for the benefit of the erably after formation of the State. focussing more on the maternal and
people in Telangana? How For the year 2016 budget allocation is child health. The institutional de-
do you envision the idea of a `5966 crores. Apart from this around liveries in Telangana stand at 96%
Healthy Hyderabad? `1000 crore is allocated under the Na- and special focus is now on increas-
The Government of Telangana is tional Health Mission. This shows the ing the deliveries being conducted
making all efforts to make health- government’s commitment towards in government health facilities. All

24 FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com
Leaders Speak

the government hospitals are being vide health care delivery services at ry Health Centres (PHC); of these
strengthened to provide effective and the door steps in urban slum areas. around 350 work 24*7. The main fo-
transparent healthcare to the poor. cus of these PHCs is to provide ma-
Regarding the health care delivery What about the Urban Health ternal and child health services, dis-
in Hyderabad, since Hyderabad has and Nutrition Days? ease control services and outreach
an estimated population of 7.7 mil- Outreach through Urban Health and activities. The government is taking
lion with population density of 18,480 Nutrition Days (UHND) and Special elaborate efforts to improve the func-
people per square kilometer (47,000/ Outreach Camps meant to address tioning of these PHCs. All PHCs are
sq mi) with 1,466 slums (notified and health needs of this vulnerable pop- now being painted to give them a bet-
unnotified) having a population of ulation. Outreach Sessions will be ter look. With the formation of small-
22,87,014, it poses a different chal- organised at locations such as com- er districts, the district collectors are
lenge to the state to provide health munity structures, primary schools, able to visit these PHCs physically.
services to the poor. anganwadi centres or any place that Efforts are underway to standardise
As per norms there should be is accessible to the vulnerable pop- the labour rooms available in these
one Urban Primary Health Centre ulation, in coordination with ASHA PHCs.
on every 50,000 citizens. At present and MAS members through the teams
the city has 112 functioning UPHCs. of mobile health units in coordination The state is also planning to set
The gap is being filled by establishing with respective UPHCs. up super speciality hospitals in
more UPHCs under National Urban The mobile health units/UPHCs and around Hyderabad. Will
Health Mission (NUHM). The pro- will identify the areas to visit and you please brief us on this?
posed UPHCs are being established park vehicles very near to these slum The government plans to ease the
as the e-UPHCs. population for better access to the workload on hospitals like Osmania,
health care services. They will also Gandhi etc., by establishing four su-
What kind of functions the UP- make tie up with local UPHC for re- per speciality hospitals around Hy-
HCs linked to? ferral and tracking of the patients derabad. These hospitals will have
These UPHCs will function from 8.00 and pregnant women and children 500 beds for multi specialties and an-
am to 8.00 am and will be equipped for immunization. Special outreach other 200 beds exclusively for Moth-
with ultrasound machines for screen- sessions with specialist doctors can er and Child care. These hospitals
ing pregnant women. All the existing be clubbed with these mobile clinics will come up in the Victoria Memo-
UPHCs are being renovated. Mahila for better outcomes. Drugs, Lab kits rial Home, L.B. Nagar, Mylardevpal-
Arogya Samithies are formed with and other equipment will be procured ly and Rajendranagar and near Pet
the assistance of Mission for Elimi- separately for mobile health units. Basheerabad Police Station and Mi-
nation of Poverty in Municipal Areas yapur Bus Terminal.
(MEPMA). Each UPHC will be provid- Please elaborate the concept
ed an untied grant of `1,00,000 per of e-healthcare centres which Research and development
month. All the ANMs will be provided have been launched by the institutions play a crucial role in
with Tablet PCs for tracking of preg- boosting the healthcare sys-
state government. How these
nant women and children through tab tem. Is the state government
centres are going to boost the
based app called “ANMOL”.
healthcare sector? planning to invest in these
However accessing these health
The government has recently launched areas?
facilities by slum and vulnerable pop-
e Health Centres at Rasoolpura in Hy- The R&D is generally done in the Na-
ulation is minimal as health seeking
derabad under Public Private Part- tional level institutions like ICMR,
behaviour is poor. Further, 1466 no-
nership (PPP). e-UPHC will have am- NIN etc. However, the state Institute
tified and identified slums are scat-
biance of corporate clinics that could of Health and Family Welfare do un-
tered across both Hyderabad district
change the perception about govern- dertake some research studies. This
(city) and Greater Hyderabad Munici-
ment healthcare institutions. More year about 5 research studies are
pal Corporation (GHMC) parts of oth-
e-UPHCs will be established in Hyder- planned to be conducted.
er districts, i.e., Ranga Reddy, Medak
abad. In these e-UPHCs all necessary
and Medchal. The health facilities
diagnostic tests are done and will be How the state government is
were neither built based on vulnera-
available on an MIS system. willing to support start ups in the
ble population nor were slums devel-
oped around the Health facilities for healthcare domain? Any spe-
better access to the health care. How significantly the govern- cific area where the govern-
Hence, to address the health is- ment is working to improve the ment wants start up to focus?
sues of the vulnerable sections of the facilities at the primary health- The government will support the start
community and to take on a proactive care centres in the rural areas? up in health care. It mainly wants to
health care approach, the urban Mo- Please elaborate. focus in the areas of mother and child
bile Clinics have been planned to pro- Telangana currently has 683 Prima- health care.

FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com 25
Special Story

Green Commandos
Win Immunisation
Battle in MP Hills
Pati block of Barwani district in Madhya Pradesh is one of the 10 most backward
blocks of the country. Providing government services and welfare schemes in Pati
block has always posed a big challenge because of the extremely difficult terrain
and the tradition of the tribes to reside in scattered dwellings. Addressing the need
for immunisation under such challenging conditions, Tejaswi Naik, Collector of
Barwani, made a major breakthrough, writes Elets News Network (ENN).

All the women and


children of 130 remote
hamlets of 33 villages
falling under eight
health sub-centres
were immunised in

M
just two days
aking use of the Vanband- villages falling under eight health
hu Scheme – a Government sub-centres were immunised in just
gating through difficult inhospitable
of India initiative –Barwani two days. This led to the rise of im-
terrain and harsh weather condi-
Collector Tejaswi Naik re- munisation programme from 40 per
tions, carrying their heavy immuni-
cently launched a major immunisa- cent to 100 per cent in the area.
sation kit and other required stuffs
tion campaign in the most backward As many as 130 Auxiliary Nurse
to cover the whole area. These Green
area of the Pati block of Madhya Midwifery (ANMs) who have been
Commandoes went door to door to
Pradesh – Rosar. All the women and hailed as the Green Commandos
all the houses in 130 hamlets.
children of 130 remote hamlets of 33 worked tirelessly for two days navi-
They used to start their day at
eight in the morning and end by five
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE IMMUNISATION CAMPAIGN in the evening. Under the scheme,
these commandoes were provided
with lunch, water, and some light
• 100 per cent coverage of women and children snacks in the form of packets for
for immunisation and medical examination. the whole day. The lodging arrange-
• Children and women suffering from malnutrition were examined and ments for the ANMs in the evening
provided treatment. Their names have entered database so that proper were made free of cost at girls hos-
follow ups can be done. tels at Rosar, where they interact-
• The immunisation grew from 40% to 100% within two days. ed with young girls. Inspired by the
• In total, more than 200 hamlets scattered over an area of 40 sq. km. work of ANMs, now many of these
spread over more than 400 hills were covered. girls aspire to follow the same career
• 130 ANMs were deployed to the area which normally is covered by six path. In this initiative, local angan-
ANMs to meet the targets. wadi workers, teachers and forest
guards also helped the ANMs.

26 FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com
Special Story

FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com 27
Industry View

AiMeD – Preparing
Roadmap for Indian
Medical Device Industry
The Indian medical device industry is facing the challenge of competing
with imports with deep pocketed MNC importers and pseudo
manufacturers in a very adverse eco system. That is encouraging imports-
based trading instead of manufacturing, says Rajiv Nath, Founder and
Forum Coordinator, Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD),
in conversation with Elets News Network (ENN). Excerpts:

As the founder and forum co- manufacturing, with Department of tioned initiatives) which includes:
ordinator for the Association of Commerce and Engineering Export i) Request to government to ad-
Indian Medical Device Industry Promotion Council (EEPC) a focus is dress Inverted Duty Structure and
(AiMeD), what are the key initi- on creating brand India and a coor- nominal Tariff Protection: 
atives have you set in motion? dinated overseas marketing plan to - Revise Basic Duty on Import
AiMeD has created a dialogue with unleash our export potential.  of Medical Devices to 10% Basic, as
various government departments   earlier (now 7.5% done on January
and ministries to highlight the issues What are your key achieve- 19, 2016 for 78 items, 21 pending) 
faced by the medical device industry ments in the healthcare indus- - Government to revise special ad-
and prepare a strategic roadmap to try? ditional duty on medical devices to
address India’s import dependency More than AiMED’s list let me share 4% as earlier to enable business vi-
in medical devices to reverse it to the government’s Progress Report ability (Done on Jan 19th 2016 for 78
make India one of the top five med- (some of them triggered by aforemen- items, rest 21 to be covered)
ical devices manufacturing hubs in - Government reduced duty on im-
the world.  ported Raw Material to 2.5% on Jan
We have submitted a defined 19, 2016 for above 78 items. 
roadmap and task list with Depart-  ii) For enabling consumer protec-
ment of Industrial Policy & Promotion tion our proposed tax-based disin-
(DIPP) and Department of Personnel centive are pending. However, steps
(DOP) to enable ‘Make in India’. are being taken by Department of
With Ministry of Health and Fam- Consumer Affairs to ensure all med-
ily Welfare (MoH & FW) we have re- ical devices carry an MRP whether
quested for regulations to address they are an OTC product or not and
patient safety while creating trust for NPPA is bringing Stents under price
India-made devices but not of tradi- control.
tional License Raj-type relying on  iii) QCI introduced ICMED 13485
inspection by government inspectors Quality Certification System as a
but by unbundling of regulations and pre-cursor to medical device regu-
ensuring maximum governance with lations for enabling confidence in
minimal government and ease of do- quality of Indian products (Done on
ing business by utilising third party 15th March 2016) and have held a
certification bodies.  series of workshops in Delhi, Mum-
Some of the other key initiatives bai, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, and
include Department of Revenue Bangalore with financial support
and Tariff Commission a review from Department of Commerce on ca-
of the inverted duty structure that pacity building of Manufacturers for
was making imports cheaper than building QMS - Quality Management

28 FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com
Industry View

Systems capability development for that it affects affordability and acces-


getting CE and ICMED Certification.  AiMeD and Invest India, sibility to poor patients. Our conten-
 On our request to create a Sepa- signed a memorandum tion is being to make manufacturing
rate Rule Book for Devices, the Mo- viable and profitable as before and
of understanding (MoU)
H&FW responded favourably and reverse ongoing trend of manufac-
to transform India turers becoming importers / traders.
subsequently on 19 October, 2016 the
initial draft of the separate rules to into a global medical Later domestic competition will bring
regulate medical devices was shared devices manufacturing down prices.
with the stakeholders and upload- hub in keeping with the Regulations, (Short Term Correc-
ed on website for public comments. government’s ‘Make in tion of Amending Rules , Schedule
Comments have been collected and India’ mission. MIII, Guidelines, etc.) with the plea
collated and the draft updated and Under the agreement, that it would lead to further confusion
rules are in process of notification. and affects accessibility and better to
they will jointly work with
 Also in response to our request wait till a law is passed. Our conten-
for a Separate Law from Drugs & central government, state tion being to use the available short
Cosmetics Act, a draft Medical Device government departments term solutions of administrative cir-
Bill has, meanwhile, been prepared and agencies to establish culars and of executive orders rather
by MOH&FW and is going internal appropriate policies and than delay till availability of lengthy
review within the Ministry, thereafter regulatory framework to legislative process.
Stakeholders will be invited for con- promote manufacturing Mandatory MRP & Price Capping –
sultations and thereafter we expect With the plea that it will scare away
of medical devices and
this to be uploaded on the website for investment. Our contention being
components. that affordability and competition is
public comments before being pre-
sented to the parliament by ministry. getting skewed - not lower ex-facto-
 v) On our request to government and purportedly claiming to being an ry price but higher retail price wins
to review and pull back its Auto Ap- Indian manufacturers without actu- and consumers are suffering from
proval Brownfield FDI Policy - it’s ok al manufacturing it in India - manu- artificial inflation and domestic man-
to retain this for 100% Green Field facturing site and country of origin ufacturers suffer from loss of market
Projects for manufacturing, not trad- needs to be clearly labeled to ensure share unless they match ever in-
ing - for ensuring choice of Indian transparency and tracking and the creasing MRP and trade margin.
brands to Indian consumers , RBI has site where there is a value addition ICMED – Self Certification and
initiated investigation on the 100% of over 40% and there’s a change of Self Regulation, with the plea that it
FDI policy for potential misuse and sub-heading of classification  indicat- creates a parallel mechanism with
its impact.  ing transformation of an output from CDSCO so better to have only one
more than one input so at least it’s an control and are afraid it could be used
What are the key challenges assembly of components. as a non-tariff barrier in due course.
faced by the Indian medical Our contention being it provides
device industry? How government policies can credibility to Indian products and low
The Indian medical device industry is remove impediments to make cost access to local certification rath-
facing the challenge of having to com- India a global hub for medical er than getting expensive overseas
pete with imports with deep pocketed equipment manufacturing? certification for CE / ISO 13485 etc.
MNC importers and pseudo manufac- Most of the policy decisions taken in and respect for Indian brand, a law to
turers in a very adverse eco system the past have been based on White regulate all devices may not be there
that is encouraging imports-based Papers published at the behest of for a few years and a law can permit
trading instead of manufacturing so MNCs who are ruling the roost in CII voluntary certification.
that even existing Indian manufac- and FICCI – (importers  with over- Preferential Market Access – With
turers are shifting to imports as that seas manufacturing facilities) who the plea that it restricts access to
is more convenient and more profit- are comfortable to access the large quality products in the absence of
able than to produce in India. From unregulated Indian market with min- regulations. Our contention is it will
being a manufacturing-led economy, imal tariff barriers and while they boost domestic manufacturing and
India is becoming a trading and ser- make right sounding noises they have also stop usage of USFDA compliance
vices-led economy in the past decade. been opposing most of the five cor- as a mandatory qualifying criteria in
Manufacturing was brought back rective strategic actions suggested by many tenders. Why should Indian
into focus by the honourable Prime AiMeD that could strengthen Make in manufacturers be denied access to
Minister with his slogan and vision India or help make Indian manufac- our own Indian market unless they
of Make in India and starting point turers more competitive and thereby comply with a foreign country regu-
is to make illegal - pseudo manufac- increase their market share, such as:  latory approval of CE / USFDA ? It’s
turers by clearly defining it as falsely Tariff Correction, with the plea unfair. Use ICMED! 

FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com 29
Corporate Interview

Taking Indian
Healthcare to the World
With 35 years of experience in delivering accurate reports, Metropolis has earned
the reputation of being India’s leading and only multinational chain of diagnostic
centres with presence in UAE, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, Mauritius and Ghana,
Ameera Shah, Managing Director and CEO, Metropolis Healthcare Ltd, in an
interview with Elets News Network (ENN) says the company wants to grow to 2,000
centres and about 200 labs in the next three years. Excerpts:

We are eyeing 10-12% growth the


coming year.
We currently have about 1,200
centres and 150 labs. In the next
three years, we want to grow to 2,000
centres and about 200 labs.

How do you see e-health land-


scape evolving in India?
Healthcare in our country has cer-
tain issues in terms of lack of easy
access, lack of consumer knowledge,
high cost and too many middlemen.
All these have led to a scenario
where there is a reduction in the ef-
fectiveness of the healthcare system.
India will see an evolution in the
e-health space more in terms of
What are your expectations technology, thereby, providing con-
from the government on the What are your plans for the sumers with better access to quality
policy front. year ahead? knowledge and healthcare solutions.
Government should spend more on We started off very low; there was Through ease of access to informa-
healthcare sector. GDP (Gross Do- no brand, no regulation, and no com- tion and health services such as e-di-
mestic Product) contributes very monality in pricing. The healthcare agnostics and e-pharmacy, people
small percentage for the healthcare. condition was worse than it is to- from remote locations can also have
If the government spend increases, it day. We transformed the industry in access to quality healthcare without
will hugely encourage the healthcare many ways. We changed an uneven excessive cost.
sector as a whole. and unorganised industry to create a
chain of reputed diagnostic centers. How will the introduction of GST
Which governement steps will Today, Metropolis Healthcare Ltd affect the healthcare industry?
further push the healthcare is present across Sri Lanka, Africa The introduction of GST will affect
industry’s growth? and the Middle East. Our main aim more on the healthcare sector. GST
Healthcare is one of the important was to expand in emerging markets will affect more for patients and cus-
sectors in the country. There are var- that do not have proper access to tomers more.
ious regulations such as custom duty healthcare.
on medical devices and import duty We are more aggressive on our Are you looking for any IPO
on medical equipment. expansion plans. launch?
The Government should minimise We are looking for three-four While there have been numerous
some of the restrictions and tax in- markets for expansion. Currently, rumours, we haven’t made any deci-
centives to push the sector growth. healthcare industry growth is 10%. sion yet.

30 FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com
Corporate Interview

FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com 31
Special Feature

Green
Hospitals:
Partners
for Change
Green hospitals are able to increase their efficiencies and environmental
stewardship while improving patient safety and care. Keeping in view these
advantages, hospitals in India need to incorporate environmentally sustainable
practices in their operations, writes Vivek Ratnakar of Elets News Network (ENN).

N
o one ever actually thinks of good hospitals as massive producers of people who work and live in them.
waste, but they are in reality. It is a fact that is often overlooked when In relation to hospitals, research-
we think of hospitals as care providers that are so critical to a healthy er found that green hospitals ben-
society. efit patients and the medical staff
Green buildings are indeed healthy buildings and a green hospital is built working in them alike. One study, for
around a facility that recycles, reuses materials, reduces waste, and produces instance, noted improved quality of
cleaner air for its occupants -- patients as well as staff. care, fewer blood stream infections,
According to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), improved record keeping and a low-
which certifies green building standards, the design of green buildings min- er number of deaths among patients.
imises impact on the environment by reducing the use of energy and water. In India, “few hospitals have
Environmental disturbance is also limited during the building process and by gone to the extent of getting Green
the choice of the building site. certification from the authorities to
“Overall, the initial scientific evidence indicates better indoor environmen- set an example to others. The con-
tal quality in green buildings versus non-green buildings, with direct benefits cept being discussed and debated
to human health for occupants of those buildings,” says Dr Joseph Allen from in many conferences and conclaves
the Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health in the US. shows that the healthcare leaders
Allen and his colleagues conducted the first comprehensive review of stud- are supporting this and everybody
ies that focused on green buildings and summarised the health benefits for the is serious in implementing”, says Dr
Sivakumaran, Chief Operating Of-
ficer (COO), Kovai Medical College
Green Ratings that Every Hospital Should Aspire For and Hospital.
He also provides useful insights
on the many benefits of becoming
• IGBC Green Healthcare rating by Indian Green Building Council green hospitals. Introducing envi-
• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum rating ronmental sustainability measures
developed by the US Green Building Council in hospitals not only results in signif-
• Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) rating by icant savings, but also ensures that
Griha Council which was founded by TERI (The Energy and Resources operating costs remain low, he says.
Institute, New Delhi) with support from Ministry of New and Renewable The implications of Green hos-
Energy, Government of India pitals are clear -- given the return
• ASHRAE standards accredited by the American National Standards on investment, all hospitals should
Institute (ANSI) adopt and expand their sustainabili-
ty programmes.

32 FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com
ORGANISER HOST PARTNER HEALTHCARE PARTNER

Special Feature

Department of Industries
Government of Rajasthan

healTh Track

Smt VASUNDHARA RAJE


Hon’ble Chief Minister of Rajasthan

Shri Shri
P P CHAUDHARY RAJPAL SINGH SHEKHAWAT
Key themes Hon’ble Minister of State, Department Hon’ble Minister of Industry
• mapping of Electronics & Information NRI, Govt Enterprise, DMIC
Technology, Government of India Government of Rajasthan
healthcare
e-Initiatives Across
India
• CsR in healthcare
• smart technology
for smart
healthcare
• Best healthcare
Initiatives
• Public Private proGraMMe chair session co-chair special aDDress
Partnerships in Shri Shri Shri
healthcare AJITABH SHARMA NAVEEN JAIN J P GUPTA
commissioner of industries Secretary principal secretary &
• Disruptive & secretary - csr Department of Medical, commissioner,
healthcare Government of rajasthan health & Family Welfare Department of health &
startups MD nhM, ceo shaa Family Welfare,
Government of rajasthan Government of Gujarat

Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd Middle East Office


stellar iT park, office no: 7a/7B, 5th Floor, annexe Tower, c-25, Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd (FZE)
sector 62, Uttar pradesh, india - 201309, phone: +91-8860651632 saiF Desk Q1–05–130/a, p.FEBRUARY
o. Box: 124939, sharjah, U.a.e
/ 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com 33
Green Hospitals

Being one of the first green


hospitals in South India, how
do you see this concept being
received in the health industry?
In a developing country like India, the
environment is not healthy due to var-
ious reasons. With sick environment
no country can develop a healthy so-
ciety. Keeping these responsibilities
in mind, many healthcare providers
have taken initiatives to provide an
environment which is friendly and
healthy. Few hospitals have gone to
the extent of getting Green certifi-
cation from the authorities to set an
example to others. The concept being
discussed and debated in many con-
ferences and conclaves shows that
the healthcare leaders are support-
ing this and everybody is serious in
implementing. As a reputed health-
care leader, KMCH has implemented
many green initiatives and got “Best
Green Hospital” by AHPI in 2016.

What are the key benefits of a


green hospital?
The benefits of a green hospital are
many. The patients are most benefit-
ted. Patients can feel fresh and pleas-
ant in a green location. After reliev-
ing stress get reconnect with nature.
Studies show that the recovery of
patients can be faster in green hos-
pitals and can eliminate sick building
syndrome. The doctors and nurses
will feel motivated, if a patient is re-
covered fast and hence stress level

Treatment with
is reduced to both. This can improve
the quality of care and turnover of
patients. When faster recovery and
fresh feeling is assured, hospital will

a Green Touch
get more repeat customers and the
reputation of hospital goes up. An-
other important benefit is reduction
of operational cost in which any man-
Being one of the first leading hospitals to have agement is interested in this compet-
itive environment.
pioneered the green concept in healthcare space
in South India, Kovai Medical College and Hospital Which key steps an ordinary
(KMCH), Coimbatore, sees it as its responsibility to hospital can take to become
green?
provide green environment for faster recovery of An ordinary hospital can take small-
patients. In an interview with Elets News Network (ENN), er steps towards this to enjoy the
Dr Sivakumaran, COO, KMCH, talks about the key benefit. Right from changing bulbs
to LED, regulating the speed of
benefits for hospitals for going green. standard three phase induction mo-

34 FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com
Green Hospitals

tors running at various locations of a monitors and fans when not required.
hospital, generating and consuming The energy from state electricity is
bio gas from food waste, installing very costly and dependability is in
solar heaters to generate hot water question. If hospitals can afford to
for patient rooms, constructing build- invest in solar plant, the energy cost
ing which can utilise the natural light will be substantially reduced and
in day time, rain water harvesting, on a long run, solar energy will be
providing food without preservatives profitable. For 4 MW generations, it
in the hospital dietary and canteen, requires around `25 crores (without
using environmental friendly house- land cost) as capital investment and
keeping chemicals, using electrically the payback period is 5 years only.
operated vehicles for internal move- If this investment is not viable, then
ments, proper treating of effluent hospitals can look for buying solar/
water recycling of treated water for wind energy which is cheaper than
flushing and gardening are few ini- the state electricity tariff. Hospitals
tiatives leading an ordinery hospital can go for Building Maintenance
to a green hospital. Using solar/wind System (BMS) with which the vari-
power energy will bring down the op- ous energies used in mechanical and
erational cost drastically. electrical equipments, lighting, pow-
er system, fire system, security sys-
What are the most important tem, etc. could be monitored through
features of a green building? computer. This could be controlled
A green building is one which im- and monitored from the desk without
proves the patient’s well-being and wasting time in moving around. The
able to utilise the natural resources cost may vary between `5 lacs to `25
to the maximum extent. It should not lacs depending on the specifications.
contribute to the burden of disease.
It need to be planned in such a way How technology is incorporat-
that there is an ample moving space ed in developing green build-
for relaxation and enjoy the ease en- ings?
vironment. Lot of greeneries can be Technology can play a vital role
part of the building to make the pa- and benefit the hospital. Right from
tients fresh and energetic. Apart from switching on/off the lights at various
this having watch on other elements locations, regulating AC tempera-
like water conservation, better waste ture, monitoring the speed of the
handling, energy conservation sys- motor is possible by sitting in a com-
tem, reduced use of fossil fuels, less puter system which can be operated
usage of virgin materials are all form at a remote place. Many a times, pa-
part of green building features. tients switch on the bath room lights
throughout the night. This is waste of
Which important national and energy and it is impossible to request
international accreditations, them to switch off every time. If tech-
certifications a hospital should nology is applied, the room sensor
target to acquire to get the will sense the movement and auto-
Green tag? matically switch on and off. Similar
IGBC Green Healthcare rating sys- logic is applicable to usage of water.
tem is awarded by Indian Green If it is a sensor based operation, the
Building Council. They award certi- water consumption could be consid-
fication at different level like Silver, erably decreased. By having proper
Gold and Platinum depending on the sewage treatment plant, the treated
best practices at local, national and for hospitals to reduce their water could be used for gardening,
global levels. carbon footprints? flushing and laundry usage. Usage
Leadership in Energy and Envi- Efforts on reducing carbon footprint of battery operated vehicles for the
ronmental Design (LEED) is a Green are nothing but directly reducing internal movement can reduce fuel
Building Rating System, developed by waste and controlling on energy us- consumption and can reduce the air
the US Green Building Council. age. This can be initiated by smaller and sound pollution. An automated
steps like inspection on insulation, water level controller can save lot of
What are the cost implications heating, lighting, watch on computer water getting wasted.

FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com 35
Green Hospitals

Making What are the benefits of a


green hospital?

Hospitals
A green hospital would incorporate
all the features of a green building
with an added emphasis on patient
well-being, namely:

Environment
• Comfort (temperature, humidity
and air purity)
• Precise environs in critical and
controlled areas like Critical Care

Friendly
Units, Intensive Care Units and
Operation Theaters
• Tight control on spread of infec-
tion and disease
A green hospital uses natural and scarce resources A green hospital aids in patients’ cu-
rative process, is a productive work-
efficiently. A well-executed green hospital project can place for the staff, and uses natural
deliver better returns for the investors, says Sudhir Pillai, resources efficiently. A well-executed
Sales Director-South Asia, Honeywell Environmental green hospital project can deliver
better returns for the investors.
& Energy Solutions, in an interview with Elets News
Network (ENN). Which materials are usually
incorporated into your products
What are the most important to help hospitals reduce their
components of a green build- carbon footprints?
Almost 60 per cent of the energy used
ing?
in a hospital is for air conditioning
A green building refers to both, the
and lighting. The challenge is to con-
building structure and the processes
serve energy without impacting the
spanning the entire life-cycle of the
performance of critical equipment.
building. Some of the components in-
Honeywell offers a suite of Building
clude sustainability of the site, inno-
Management System (BMS) that in-
vation and design, energy efficiency,
cludes controllers, integrators, and
water efficiency, usage of environ-
field devices to help hospitals opti-
ment-friendly materials and resourc-
mise their energy usage.
es, indoor environmental quality,
waste and toxic material reduction,
and satisfaction & productivity of Which important national and
building users. international accreditations,
certifications a hospital should
target to acquire in India to
become green?
KEY OFFERINGS OF HONEYWELL IN HEALTHCARE SPACE
The three most important accred-
itations for green hospitals are
Honeywell has a comprehensive list of offerings for various
LEED Platinum Rating, GRIHA and
categories of healthcare facilities. The offerings include:
ASHRAE.
• Building management systems (BMS) for higher energy efficiency and
workforce productivity. Two of the most popular BMS brands are Trend
and Web Enabled Building Managment System (WEBS)
How technology is incorporat-
• Precision airflow control for critical spaces provided by Phoenix Con- ed to develop green buildings?
trols Systems Technology is incorporated in all as-
• Smart and conventional field devices pects of construction and usage of a
• India’s first anti-bacterial range of flat switches (Blenze plus) and cable green building starting from design,
management solutions installation, commissioning and us-
• Solar water heaters age of green buildings. For example,
• Barcode scanners and mobile computers to enhance staff productivity a building management solution soft-
• Personnel protective equipment offering head-to-toe protection ware optimises energy usage without
• Security and fire protection solutions. compromising on the comfort and
well-being of building occupants.

36 FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com
Green Hospitals

FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com 37
Corporate Interview

BMH: Pioneering
Value-Based Care
Kerala-based Baby Memorial Hospital (BMH) follows the ideology of “more than
care”, setting it apart from other super-specialty hospitals in the State. With stress on
value-based care, BMH has been able to successfully improve quality, efficiency
and accountability of care, while finding ways to decrease costs and inefficiencies,
says Dr Vineeth Abraham, Director, BMH, in an interview with Elets News Network
(ENN).

What is the vision guiding Baby ese (known as ‘Baby’), with only 52 trauma care unit that functions 24/7
Memorial Hospital? How is it beds. The hospital now boasts world- throughout the year.
different from other super-spe- class amenities, which include more Adhering to ethical medical prac-
cialty hospitals in Kerala? than 800 beds; over 40 medical and tices coupled with compassion, the
The vision of Baby Memorial Hospital surgical departments with focus on hospital comes together as a family
(BMH) is to provide affordable and sub-specialisation; paramedical sup- to provide a good ambience for re-
accessible healthcare for all. Dr K G port system; 16 world-class operation cuperation. With its array of best-in-
Alexander, Chairman and Chief Phy- theatres; 13 fully equipped ultramod- class technology, breadth of resourc-
sician, started the hospital in 1987 as ern ICUs comprising 150 critical care es which comprises 300 doctors and
a tribute to his father, late K C Vargh- beds; a well-equipped accident and over 2,000 nursing, paramedical and

38 FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com
Corporate Interview

administrative staff, Baby Memorial ♦ Online Appointments from our numerous CSR activities,
Hospital relentlessly strives to keep ♦ Video Consultation some of our noteworthy works in the
up the ideology of “more than care” ♦ Online Query Management – “ask recent past include establishment
-- setting it apart from other such hos- a doctor” of the first integrated burns unit in
pitals in the region. ♦ Online Chat Services Kerala and introduction of INNOVA
♦ Fully Automated lab with Labo- IGS 520 with PCI assist in Cardiac
Please tell us about key servic- ratory Information Management Sciences for the first time in India. We
es offered by Baby Memorial. Systems also successfully held the 3rd HEAL
BMH provides holistic services to ♦ Fully integrated Hospital Informa- (Healthcare Excellence through Ad-
provide best outcomes and patient tion Management Systems ministration and Leadership) Confer-
experiences through its nine (Cen- ♦ Electronic Medical records ence recently.
tres of Excellence) and numerous ♦ Interactive Service Displays
other ancillary specialties and sup- ♦ Digital signages How the hospital is leveraging
port services. ♦ Digital token systems new technologies to improve
The BMH Centres of Excellence in- ♦ Integrated Email and SMS gate- its operational efficiency and
clude: ways quality of services?
♦ BMH Heart Centre offering spe- In its shift to value-based care, BMH
cialised services like Cardiology, What have been the achieve- has been able to successfully improve
Cardio Thoracic Surgery and Car- ments of Baby Memorial Hospi- quality, efficiency and accountabil-
diac Anaesthesia tal in recent times? ity of care while finding ways to de-
♦ Institute of Neuro Sciences offer- Baby Memorial has been a flag bearer crease cost, reducing inefficiencies
ing Neurology, Neuro Surgery and when it comes to healthcare services and medical errors.
Interventional Neurology innovations and achievements. Apart To further advance care team
♦ Institute of Liver and Gastro collaboration, BMH has implement-
Sciences offering Gastroenterolo- ed ERP system to integrate health
gy, Gastro Intestinal Surgery and Adhering to ethical system communication platforms
Bariatric Surgery
♦ Institute of Oncology is known for
medical practices with EHRs and other clinical admin-
istrative systems. This integration
its specialised services like Medi- coupled with empowered clinicians to deliver bet-
cal, Surgical and Radiation Oncol-
ogy and Nuclear Medicine
compassion, the ter, more efficient care across the pa-
tient’s journey by remaining connect-
♦ Centre for Orthopaedics, Spine hospital comes ed with the latest patient information.
and Sports Injuries
♦ Plastic, Micro-Vascular and Re- together as a family This mobility centered connectivity
between clinical systems, EHRs and
constructive Surgery to provide an ambient communication systems improved
♦ Renal Care with services like Urol- the quality of patient-centered care.
ogy, Nephrology Renal Transplant environment for Leveraging newer technologies
♦ Women Care having world-class recuperation that enables real-time care, team
offerings like Obstetrics and Gy- communication, collaboration, ef-
naecology, Infertility and Laparo- ficient resource utilization and
scopic Surgery and Foetal Medi- optimizing workflow in clinical en-
cine vironment has helped to achieve
♦ Child care with offerings including operational efficiencies and improve
Paediatrics, Neonatology, Paediat- overall patient outcomes at BMH.
ric Surgery and Child Guidance Real-time communication has
been seamlessly integrated between
How is Baby Memorial utilising systems at BMH to ensure clinicians
Information and Communica- have the right information at the
tion Technology (ICT) to bridge right time. The need for integration,
gaps in healthcare delivery? real-time communication and the
Baby Memorial Hospital has always ability to provide analysis and report-
focused on Information and Com- ing to key stakeholders have helped
munication Technology (ICT) as a BMH meander through the complex
core area of development and that financial and operational challenges
has helped bridge time and distance that hospitals face and come out win-
between clinical care and patients. ning.
Some of the offerings at BMH are:

FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com 39
Public Health

NIPI: Building
Synergies for
Development
The beauty of Norway India Partnership Initiative (NIPI) is that it has a high risk profile
and the willingness to take risk, which means the organisation is willing to fail, willing
to test things and if they don’t work out get rid of them and move on, says Rannveig
Rajendram, Counsellor, Royal Norwegian Embassy, New Delhi, in an interview with
Kartik Sharma of Elets News Network (ENN).
Norway is known worldwide as ing in India is obviously not funding. So, the focus shifted on big donors.
the top country when it comes It is all about technical support. We We do still have bilateral relations
to human index, how do you do not have a bilateral programme in trade, environment, renewable
see Norway supporting India to as such in India, but we have a energy, etc, but we are not provid-
improve on human develop- 50-year-old relation. We were one of ing funding as such but only tech-
ment? the first donors that had full-fledged no-managerial support.
I think Norway doesn’t have to teach programme in India. However, because of a common
a lot to India. India is probably more As, over the time, India evolved interest between the then prime
important to Norway than Norway is and developed, there was no need of ministers Manmohan Singh and Jens
to India. This is because of its sheer funding. So far as small donors are Stoltenberg to cooperate in achieving
size. NIPI (Norway India Partnership concerned, in 2003, India said that the MDGs 4 and 5 to reduce maternal
Initiative) is a good example in that administrative cost of managing the and child mortality, they agreed to
sense because what we are provid- funds is outweighing the benefits. have a programme despite the fact

40 FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com
Public Health

that we are not engaged bilaterally. ing an important role in provid- We also find that India has an in-
So, we do not have a cooperation ing smarter healthcare? credibly strong civil society which is
agreement with the government as Many actors are doing excellent very important in terms of account-
such, but we are working through work in the field of innovating tech- ability.
our partners. nology for that purpose. But that is India is one of the few countries I
not our main concern. When we talk have worked in where there is also
What are the key areas where about innovation, many people see it demand from the general public
NIPI has been active over the as synonymous to technical innova- to know about what is going on in
years? tion. But what our innovations are terms of public spending or electoral
NIPI is only active in maternal and focusing on is finding new ways in process, etc.
child health. We are working on re- organising the healthcare system.
search projects between Norway and Where do you see the maternal
India in other areas as well. But our Apart from Rajasthan which and child healthcare in India
main focus is on child and mother other states NIPI is focusing on? in the next few years? For how
health. It’s not a programme as such Besides Rajasthan, we are focusing long Norwegian government
but we are testing innovations in this on Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Odi- plans to extend its support?
particular field and if any of these in- sha. We have limited support in Jam- I think the challenges are incredible
novations found successful, it would mu and Kashmir. in India. However, much we achieve in
be taken over by the government. the Indian health sector, the high pop-
The beauty of NIPI is that we have What sort of challenges you ulation growth prompts us to do more.
a high risk profile and the willing- face while working in these This is the second phase of NIPI
ness to take risk because without States? and we have been working here for
risks there are no gains. In devel- There are challenges on the ground. 10 years, which is not very long in
opment lingua, you always want to Implementation always comes with terms of human development pro-
showcase the best example but don’t challenges. I think innovations are gramme. I think what we are looking
want to fail. However, I have learnt always about finding ways around into the future is how do we consol-
a new phrase – ‘failing with digni- challenges. Everything we do is idate the results of what we have
ty’. It means that we are willing to about identifying the bottlenecks. achieved so far. It is about learning
fail, willing to test things and if they We face all the challenges that any- from the results -- both good ones
don’t work out we have to get rid of one with a sincere mission faces in and not so good ones. Then, building
them and then move on. It is the best the social or medical sector. But un- on the experiences in future to find
example of how a development work til now we haven’t encountered any common platform between India and
should be carried out. It is one of the challenges that we cannot work on. Norway to see how we work in the
key success factors. future.
The second factor of our success Are you also providing funding We are also looking for possibil-
is that we work only with and with- for testing innovations? ities of using the experiences here
in government structures. We don’t There is limited funding involved so that India can play a role region-
have any parallel structures and we when the innovations are tested. Ob- ally. We know there are countries in
work in total alignment with govern- viously, when we are working on fi- close proximity that are interested
ments. We are a partner in the Na- nancial incentives for ASHAs to car- in learning from India’s experiences.
tional Health Mission. ry out our programmes, we need to Then there is also the global agenda.
provide some financial incentive to India is a huge actor on the global
Survival of mother and child is them through state health missions level. So, I see there is a possibility
one of the important targets, do for a limited period. of having more dialogue on global
you have any mission beyond The financial support from Nor- issues.
that also? What about the over- way is absolutely minimal. The mon-
all development of the child? ey that we are providing is almost There is a young breed of start-
Going by the fact that we are a small negligible when compared to what is ups in India, how do you see
donor, our scope is up to the age of put in by the National Health Mission aligning your goals with the
one year on the newborn projects. itself. healthcare startups?
Obviously our job is not done after What we need to see is that we all
the child has survived and is one- Despite bottlenecks, what are need to work together. We need to
year-old, but beyond that our oth- the good things you find in work on regional as well as global
er partners are taking care of the India? level. There is a need for lot of com-
overall development of the child and In India, there is a lot of energy, cre- mon research to be done. The best
mother. ativity and willingness to do some- minds from private sector need to be
thing about the issues that we are working closely, as there are enough
Do you see technology play- facing. issues to be addressed.

FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com 41
Leaders Speak

Palliative Care: A
Collaborative Way to
Fight Cancer
Palliative care, with its focus on providing relief from not just physical symptoms
but also pain, mental stress and psychological trauma that a cancer patient
nearing death suffers, has become an integral part of the National Cancer Control
Programme. Dr Sushmita Ghoshal, Head, Department of Radiotherapy at PGIMER,
shares her experience and vision on this pioneering treatment with Priya Yadav of
Elets News Network (ENN).

M
edical care for people afflicted with cancer is no
more restricted to just treating the disease phys-
ically. With more than two third of patients queu-
More nurses are showing
ing up in the Regional Cancer Centre at Post inclination for doing palliative care
Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research
(PGIMER) palliative care, the institute has formulated
courses than doctors. The basic
what is now called the “Chandigarh Model” to provide principle that we are following
comprehensive care.
With an increase in number of cancer patients and at PGI is to learn about the basic
rising morbidity, palliative care, which is a specialised ingredients of palliative care and
medical care for those with terminal illness, has become
an integral part of National Cancer Control Programme apply it to everyday practice

42 FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com
Leaders Speak

problems,” says Dr Ghoshal. This


means that radiation oncologists
are coming together with psychi-
atrists, and doctors from various
other departments to tackle the
physical, psychological, econom-
ical and even spiritual issues of
the patients facing death.
PGI is running a certificate
course for counselling patients
suffering from terminal illnesses. Though palliative care
is more associated with cancer disease, it is relevant and
necessary for any illness that is terminal – be it kidney
failure, stroke or any other disease that cannot be cured.
“More nurses are showing inclination for doing palliative
care courses than doctors. The basic principle that we
are following at PGI is to learn the basic ingredients of
palliative care and apply it to everyday practice. So, no
matter where the doctor or the nurse goes they can still
practice as much as they can,” says Dr Ghoshal.
Somehow, palliative care is more organised and availa-
ble in the southern states of India compared to northern
states. North of Delhi, PGIMER is the only centre that
is providing palliative care. Besides regular out-patient
department, the institute is running home care and a 20
bed hospice in collaboration with Red Cross.
PGI’s initiative and quality of PGI’s initiative and quality of treatment provided has
treatment provided has earned earned it accreditation from European Society for Med-
ical Oncology as ESMO Designated Centre of Integrated
it accreditation from European Oncology and Palliative Care for the period 2016 to 2018.
This was declared at the 18th ECCO-40th ESMO Europe-
Society for Medical Oncology an Cancer Congress held at Vienna, Austria in September
as ESMO Designated Centre of 2015. PGI is the only government centre in the country to
earn this distinction.
Integrated Oncology and The number of cancer patients who are queuing up
Palliative Care for 2016 to 2018 at PGIMER for treatment has been going up every year.
Last year, 6,236 new patients sought treatment at the
Regional Cancer Centre. Out of these,
as well. A multi-disciplinary approach, two-thirds would require palliative care,
palliative care focus is to provide relief says Dr Ghoshal. “Our misfortune is
from not just physical symptoms but that we get patients when they are in
also pain, mental stress and psychologi- advanced stage. Early detection is the
cal trauma that a patient nearing death key to treatment. So, now we are trying
suffers. to spread awareness as much as we
The head of department of Radio- can. We are trying to catch them young
therapy at PGIMER, Dr Sushmita Ghos- – we organised a flash mob in Sector
hal, who is also in-charge of the Region- 17 to catch people’s attention and then
al Cancer Centre at the institute, shares involved them in an interaction about
her experience and vision. “Palliative cancer. There are many cancers like
care has come a long way in the past that of breast, cervix and oral which
decade or two but has still a long way to can be treated completely if detected
go. In a country like ours it would be too early.”
much of a luxury to have dedicated and Apart from caring comprehensively
specialised palliative care. So we have for patients facing imminent death,
come up with a unique model, referred PGIMER is going all out to make people
to as Chandigarh Model, where multiple aware that they can adopt a healthy life-
disciplines are working as a unit and style to prevent cancer and, if afflicted,
taking care of the patient’s multiple save life by reporting early.

FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com 43
Green Hospitals

Wonderfloor:
Providing Bespoke
Flooring Solutions
to Hospitals
With advantage of providing dust free and germ free bespoke solutions for
all departments of a hospital, Wonderfloor’s international quality products
have been installed in prestigious hospitals across India and the world, says
Arvind Goenka, Director, RMG Polyvinyl India Limited, in an interview with
Elets News Network (ENN).

How hospital flooring solutions Does vinyl flooring fulfill this re- cords which create an impervious
are different from other flooring quirement? There are so many surface.
solutions? joints in a PVC tile flooring?
Hospital floorings should be resilient, Vinyl floorings are available in rolls Vinyl is a plastic and is it not a
need to have minimum joints which and tiles. For hospital floors only the health hazard?
ensures no accumulation of dust and rolls are recommended. The rolls can Plastics are not a health hazard. Are
germs in the joints and also it helps be installed from one end to the other you aware blood bags are also made
in noise free and vibration free move- joint-free. These floorings are availa- from Vinyl. All our drinking and ir-
ment of wheeled stretchers and trol- ble in wide widths and the joints are rigation pipes are of vinyl material.
leys. thermo-welded with special welding Rather for hospital use, Wonder-

44 FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com
Green Hospitals

floor’s vinyl floorings have an addi- A hospital must see the credential of the supplier
tional imported and sophisticated
ingredient which is a fungicide and as well as the product for adhering to the basics.
does not allow any bacteria or fungus
growth on the floor.
Recyclability, non VOC and local availability of PVC
Wonderfloor adds this ingredient flooring can contribute towards getting points for
in the entire thickness of the floor
and not only on the top surface as
a Green building
done by some other manufacturers. cladding offers good impact resist- shades and colours to suit the ar-
Vinyl flooring is Hygienic and that’s ance, are easy to clean and maintain. chitects theme and decor. For insti-
why used highly recommended for Also special accessories like skirt- tutional projects customisation of
sensitive area like operation thea- ing, capping, etc, are offered to hos- shades, colours and patterns are also
tres, ICU, blood banks, burn centre, pitals. possible.
clean rooms, pharmaceuticals, etc.
Are these products available in Which important national and
You have informed about the several shades & colours? international accreditations,
floors, what about the walls? Wonderfloor has a vast palate of certifications a hospital should
They are exposed to germs & target to acquire in India to
dirt. become Green?
Hospital walls are often difficult to Wonderfloor’s products Wonderfloor’s products have been
maintain. Peeling of paints/scratches/ are produced using installed in prestigious hospitals like
stains is quite common due to move- AIIMS, Apollo, DMH-Pune, Global,
ment of wheel chairs, stretchers, trol- latest technology at its Raheja, Jaslok, Hinduja, Metro, Rock-
leys, people leaning against wall, etc.
Wonderfloor offers special wall
factory near New Delhi. land, among others. All its products
are tested as per building safety reg-
claddings for use in Hospitals. These The company is also ulations and meet international quali-
are normally two metres in height
and are on continuous lengths. It of-
the top exporter of PVC ty requirements. A hospital must see
the credential of the supplier as well
fers a joint free installation between floorings from India as the product for adhering to the
two doors or windows. The wall clad-
dings are equipped with germicidal and exports to Europe, basics. Recyclability, non VOC and
local availability of PVC flooring can
ingredient thereby offering a fully Middle East and several contribute towards getting points for
protected environment. These are a Green building.
available in matching colours and other countries
shades with the floorings. The wall Please tell us about your key
offerings in the healthcare
space?
Wonderfloor’s products are pro-
duced using latest technology at its
factory near New Delhi. The compa-
ny is also the top exporter of PVC
floorings from India and exports to
Europe, Middle East and several
other countries. Wonderfloor offers
complete solution for almost all de-
partment of a hospital. The range
includes homogeneous flooring,
conductive flooring, wall cladding,
heterogeneous floorings, fitness
flooring, anti-skid flooring and so
on. Also produced are sports floor-
ings for gymnasiums, kindergarten
schools, badminton and table tennis
courts etc. The company also pro-
duces floorings for residential and
commercial buildings and for buses
and trains.

FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com 45
Corporate Interview

CIMS: Building
coordinated patient care in the most
humane and empathetic manner.
We want to share a small story

Trust through
written by one of our patient’s rela-
tives: “Recently one of our relatives
was admitted to your health centre
for delivery. Her case was of the rare

Quality Care &


of rarest category. High risk was
involved while treating her and in
spite of best medical care, only mir-

Patient First
acle could have saved her life. But
everything went smoothly and the
delivery was normal. Both mother
and child are recuperating well. Our
entire family expresses our gratitude
for the efforts taken in this
Can you share the vision of CIMS? Who are the key case. The infrastructure
people driving the hospital’s growth? of the hospital is in-
Our vision is to become one of the most trusted hospitals in deed fascinating.
India by providing personalised care for the best patient Equipped with
experience, which was conceived by a group of elite state-of-the-art
doctors and made a reality in the form of Care Institute facility the
of Medical Sciences (CIMS) Hospital in 2010. Since its medical cen-
inception, CIMS has established its reputation as a tre can be
trusted healthcare provider and doubled its capacity
to become a landmark 350-bedded hospital focused
on quality, safety and patient trust.
The board of directors, most of them practicing
clinicians, has been driving the growth of CIMS. At
the hospital, we are a team of medical, para-medical,
nursing, volunteer and administrative staff working
closely to deliver personalised experience to our pa-
tients coming from all over the world.

What are the key features that help CIMS


Hospital stand apart?
We strive to be an institution of excellence by strictly con-
ducting within our philosophy of care, compassion, cour-
tesy and competency. Our first priority -- “PATIENT FIRST
ALWAYS” -- is imbibed in the culture of CIMS which makes us
stand apart from other hospitals. The hospital has contributed
towards clinical excellence in healthcare industry. It is the first
hospital in Gujarat to have successfully performed heart trans-
plantation. Alongside, its ethos rests on the pillars of innovation,
technological superiority; patient’s well-being, ethical practices,
research and academics. We are rated as one of the best
hospitals in cardiology across India.
We truly believe in providing smooth and

Striving to be an institution of excellence


based on its philosophy of care, compassion,
courtesy and competency, CIMS Hospital
is at the forefront of leading the healthcare
revolution in India, says Dr Keyur Parikh,
Chairman, CIMS Hospital, in an interview with
46 Elets News Network
FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com
(ENN). Excerpts:
Corporate Interview

compassing Gujarat, Rajasthan and


termed as one of the best in Gujarat. We are proud to be the Madhya Pradesh) to have procured
The hospitality shown by the serving
staff and their dedication will always recipient of several ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane
Oxygenation) machine to save lives.
remain in our heart. The experience
will remain with us for a lifetime.”
awards in recognition Angiography in seven seconds only –
of excellent delivery The fastest angiography machine is
Please brief us about your ser- at CIMS with stent boost technology.
vices and key achievement?
of healthcare services. We also have 3 Cath labs with stent
We have ultra-modern facilities which The American College of boost facility -- the only private hospi-
are supported by expert clinicians in tal in Western India that can boast of
departments of cardiac sciences, on-
Cardiology certifies CIMS such facility.
cology, orthopaedics, dentistry, pae- Hospital as an “ACC –
diatrics, neurosciences, urosciences, Please tell us about innovations
women health, and gastro sciences, Center of Excellence” happening in the Indian hospi-
critical care and emergency medicines tal sector. How do you plan to
-- all under one roof. The manifestation tients’ needs as compared to the pre- adopt them?
of commitment towards patient care is vious year. Simultaneously, we will Today, patients from adjacent coun-
numerous milestones achieved by the be expanding our services by adding tries visiting India to receive spe-
CIMS Hospital. The biggest achieve- paediatric bone marrow transplanta- cialised medical treatment are on
ment has been getting the interna- tion, in vitro fertilisation and blood the rise. The paradigm shift from
tional quality accreditation like Joint bank by December 2017. We have unskilled to skilled work force is also
Commission International from the planned for digitalised ICUs and OTs booming in the Indian healthcare in-
USA, which is a symbol of quality and (e-ICU and e-OT), which will reduce dustry leading to a qualitative jump
patient safety. The hospital is proud the errors and will optimise access in service. Moreover, healthcare has
to be the recipient of several awards to patient records for providing bet- become accessible to all the strata
in recognition of its excellent delivery ter treatment and care as we are of the society with hospitals offer-
of healthcare services. The American working towards becoming a green ing affordable healthcare. Also, with
College of Cardiology (ACC), one of hospital by reducing paper usage globalisation, innovations in medical
the leading global institutes, certifies and wastage. To cater to the services technology are available all across
CIMS Hospital as an “ACC – Center of of the needy patients suffering from the country giving patients access to
Excellence”. In addition, CIMS Hos- chronic diseases and requiring radi- leading healthcare solutions. Also,
pital was also honoured by national otherapy, we have expanded the ra- personalised clinical care path-
accreditation bodies like NABH (Na- diotherapy services for oncology pa- ways are being developed all across
tional Accreditation Board of Hospital tients through Khambatta Trust and medical centres on the basis of ev-
and Healthcare Providers) and NABL with other philanthropic bodies. idence-based medicine creating a
(National Accreditation Board for strong structure and framework to
Testing and Calibration Laboratory) How do you leverage tech- dispense healthcare services.
for its quality standards. We became nology to improve healthcare The decision to accredit ourselves
the first hospital in Gujarat, Madhya delivery? with leading national and interna-
Pradesh and Rajasthan practicing In order to achieve the mission of tional accreditations like JCI, ACC,
operation theatre activities in envi- CIMS Hospital, we are equipped NABH, NABL, Green OT certification
ronment -friendly and safe manner with the latest diagnostic and inter- is a testament to our commitment to
and certified as “Green Operation ventional equipment to take care of adopt all the newer innovations tak-
Theatre”. The journey goes on as re- in-patient, out-patient and day care ing place globally.
cently we have received the National patients in the most professional
Quality Excellence Award and were manner. CIMS Hospital through CIMS Which are key developments
recognised as the “Best Multispecialty Cancer Centre is the first hospital in you see transforming the health-
Hospital in Gujarat”. Asia to commission the Elekta Versa care sector in near future?
HD Linear Accelrator -- the most ad- Digitalisation in healthcare sector
Can you throw some light on vanced radiation machine for cancer is evolving fast, which is improving
the hospital’s short-term and treatment. In a short span of a year, healthcare delivery continuously.
long-term goals? we have commissioned the second At CIMS, we have recently installed
CIMS Hospital is driven by “Patient Linac Machine (Elekta Synergy). the facility of digital operation the-
First”, always and “Quality Care” And in the area of radiology, we have atres and ICUs for better continuity
which build trust. In terms of infra- installed CT Scan-Revolution EVO of care. Digitalisation in healthcare
structure, the hospital has expanded model (first in India) and MRI Sig- has also given easy and fast access
its current bed capacity by adding na Explorer (first in Gujarat). CIMS to read reports and deliver diagnosis
200 more beds to cater to the pa- Hospital is first in Western India (en- and treatment.

FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com 47
Corporate Interview

Medwin Hospitals:
Bringing New Synergies
to Healthcare
Medwin Hospitals has recently established the AYUSH wing to treat many
diseases in by bridging the gap between the Indian traditional medicine
system and allopathy. The hospital is first of its kind in the corporate sector
that is bringing new synergies to improve healthcare delivery, says
Dr Fazal Ahmed, Director, AYUSH wing at Medwin, in an interview with
Elets News Network (ENN).

What is the vision behind Med- and acclaim from more than 150 pri- Our rates are comparatively much
win Hospitals? How is it differ- vate and public sector enterprises lower than other corporate hospitals
ent from other super-specialty that rely on the hospital for treat- in the city. The philosophy of winning
hospitals in Hyderabad? ment of their employees. Over the over medical maladies with meticu-
Medwin Hospitals is the first su- years, it has constantly evolved the lous applications of the medical ad-
per-specialty corporate hospital of quality of super-specialty health- vances is being nurtured by our team
our state. The deeply ingrained cre- care. So much so, that today the of eminent and experienced medical
do – “healthcare with a smile” – has name of Medwin Hospitals is synon- professionals. This distinguishes us
earned Medwin Hospitals accolades ymous with excellence in healthcare. from other hospitals.

What are the key services of-


fered by Medwin which make
it one of the finest hospitals in
the region.
Patient safety is paramount at Med-
win Hospitals and it is the under-
lying motto of the Medwin quality
movement. We have an active system
in place to ensure patient safety and
treatment outcomes, in the form an
established continuous quality im-
provement programme. The qual-
ity movement at Medwin hospitals
addresses all aspects of quality in
healthcare as envisaged by the Na-
tional Accreditation Board for hos-
pitals and health care providers
(NABH) in its book of standards. It
is a very good centre for cardiology
headed by renowned senior cardiol-
ogist Dr Ramesh Babu, (Managing
Director) and oncology driven by a
team of expert oncologists.
Another milestone is the estab-

48 FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com
Corporate Interview

lishment of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga,


Unani, Siddah and Homeo) wing at FACILITIES AT MEDWIN HOSPITALS
Medwin, the first of its kind in the
corporate sector.
All our facilities including pathology, biochemistry, microbiology, immu-
Please tell us about recent nology, vascular laboratory, cardiology and radiology and imaging are fully
achievements of Medwin Hos- automated and have facilities for tumour maker studies, electrophoresis,
ELISA, chemilumiscence, western blot and CD 4 and CD 8 counts.
pitals?
The recent achievement of Medwin
is the establishment of AYUSH wing. BIOCHEMISTRY
Many chronic cases like diabetic This diagnostic facility covers Clinical chemistry and Endocrinology. The
foot, non-healing ulcers, lumber disc department is equipped with AUTO ANALYSER, BLOOD GAS ANALYSER,
prolaps, azoospermia, vilitiligo, pso- and ELECTRO PHORETIC UNIT among other hi-tech devices. Medwin has
riasis and PCOD are getting treated a tie-up with Boehringer, Knoll of West Germany, and the world leaders in
successfully with Ayush treatment Quality Control Programme. The department has facilities to carry out all
along with regimental therapy (like hormonal assays and RADIO-IMMUNO ASSAYS including Enzyme Labeled
Hijama cupping and leech therapy). Immune absorbent Assay (ELISA). Medwin Laboratory Services is in the
The AYUSH wing has senior experts threshold of being accredited by the National Accreditation Board for
in Ayurveda, Unani and Yoga & Nat- Laboratories, yet another emphatic affirmation of the efficacy and accuracy
uraopathy under the directorship of of the services.
Dr Fazal Ahmed.
MICROBIOLOGY
This Department has facilities for carrying out all culture and sensitivity
What led Medwin to join hands tests with specific identification of pathogenic organisms, antigen-antibody
with Unimed to offer Allopa- reaction, torch complex, compliments and many more investigations not
thy-AYUSH combine treatment? performed in other labs. The unique feature in Medwin Diagnostic Services
Please share your views on this is the availability of sophisticated backup equipment for all the hi-tech
collaborative approach. devices it possesses. It is this unique feature that makes the 24 hours
Each system of medicine has certain services possible, of course with absolute diagnostic efficacy. Medwin
strengths, so the collaborative activ- Laboratory Services is in the threshold of being accredited by the National
ity is to synergise these strengths in Accreditation Board for Laboratories, yet another emphatic affirmation of
the interest of patients. the efficacy and accuracy of the services.
UNIMED is a non-profit organisa-
tion recognised by KVIC for the de- VASCULAR LABORATORY
velopment of AYUSH system, having Possibly the best-equipped non-invasive vascular laboratory with Duplex
a group of expert doctors in Unani scanner and the Doppler Assist from Huntleigh Diagnostics, UK which
and Ayurveda. We had the oppor- can perform color spectral analysis, photo plethysmography, pulse volume
tunity to invite our UNANI scientif- recoding, segmental pressure recording and venous reflux tests.
ic workshop KS Rao, former union
minister and chairman MEDWIN. CARDIOLOGY
He was very much impressed with A digital cathlab with image quality of 1024 matrix from Shimadzu, Japan
AYUSH presentations and showed with 3D DSA application package forms the backbone of cardiac diagnos-
his interest to start Ayush in Med- tic and interventional services. Other facilities include 12-Channel ECG,
win. Managing Director Dr Ramesh TMT, and the latest GE Vingmed System 5 Color Doppler.
Babu, CEO Dr Sri Nagi also played
a very important and positive role in RADIOLOGY AND IMAGING
establishment of this new wing along The department is equipped with two X-ray plants with image intensifiers,
with Dr Mohd Samiullah Khan, Med- two ultra sound scanners with special probes, whole body CT scanner and
ical Director, Medwin, who was the MRI with facilities for MR angiography. It is the first lab to be accredited
driving force to establish the AYUSH under the new accreditation system.
wing. As there is demand for Unani
and Ayurvedic treatment in Hydera- SLEEP LAB
bad, MEDWIN accepted the proposal Many individuals experience fatigue, irritability, depression and lack of
for a joint venture to bridge the gap concentration due to sleep disorders. If remain untreated, these sleep dis-
between AYUSH and Allopathy. It orders may increase the risks of high blood pressure, heart attack or stroke.
aims to prove clinical efficacy of the Medwin Sleep lab helps individuals return to their normal lifestyle through
Indian traditional system of medi- diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders.
cine based on scientific approach.

FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com 49
Corporate Interview

Zota
Healthcare:
Striving Hard
to LeŸ the
Pack
From a humble beginning to becoming one of the
leading pharmaceutical companies in India, Zota
Healthcare strives to expand its global footprints by
stressing on R&D and focusing on emerging market
for nutraceuticals and Ayurvedic products. Himanshu
Zota, Director, Zota Healthcare, in an interview with
Elets News Network (ENN) shares his expansion plans,
patent products and more. Excerpts:

Tell us about your journey from for the global market, espe-
a small retail shop to becom- cially in important markets like
ing one of the leading players North America?
in the Indian pharmaceutical The global market is now shifting to of the society. So far, we have been
industry? nutraceuticals and Ayurvedic range awarded six patents. RTFiT, GMFiT,
Initially, we started as a retail chem- of products. India is considered ide- Vitamin B12 oral spray are among
ist and over a period of time hard al for Ayurvedic products and we are these patents. We are awaiting ap-
work, dedication and experience in using the blend of Ayurvedic, nutra- proval for 16 more patents. Also, we
dispensing and compounding, helped ceuticals and herbal products to cre- are yet to commercialise a few pat-
us to aim for something bigger. With ate a niche market for our products. ents which would be done in the near
the time, we achieved our goals but Our products are incorporated with future. Our patented products have
we are still learning and working more of purity and less of chemicals, also received a great response from
hard to maintain the success and keeping the essence of Ayurveda in the customer end which makes us
are focusing on being a globally rec- our products intact. This would help push ourselves to the extremes. At
ognised pharmaceutical company. us to make quick and easy entry to the end of the day, it is our work and
We are glad to be recognised as one global markets. For North America, achievements that make us credible
of the leading players in the Industry we would be focusing on nutraceu- and trustworthy.
but we are surely looking forward to ticals and Ayurvedic range of prod-
leading the pack one day. We believe ucts only. What contributions has the
in inspiring and getting inspired, company made in eHealth
and we are sure this mantra will Please tell us about Zota’s pat- space to improve healthcare
motivate us to achieve our desired ent products? delivery in India?
goals. Zota’s Research & Development In India, e-commerce has grown at
team is working extensively to devel- fabulous rates and is still growing
What new plans do you have op more products for the betterment rapidly, but contrary to this there

50 FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com
Corporate Interview

Our products are incorporated with more of


purity and less of chemicals, keeping the
essence of Ayurveda in our products intact. This
would help us to make quick and easy entry to
is not much advancement in the
e-health space. We have launched global markets. For North America, we would be
an app-based web portal focusing focusing on nutraceuticals and Ayurvedic range
on herbal cosmetics, nutraceuticals
and Ayurvedic products, wherein of products only.
user can easily surf through health
products and purchase them on- Zota Healthcare has understood the near future?
line. Also, we would be launching need for ICT and already implement- Going public has helped a lot as to
‘Davaindia’ app that would help pa- ed a few tools to improve productiv- expand and go beyond geographi-
tients on chronic therapy to save ity and efficiency. We have launched cal boundaries requires huge funds.
more on medical bills. Generic prod- Zota app wherein all our distribu- These funds help us to perform bet-
ucts guide would be made available tors across India can place orders ter which would indirectly help our
handy for patients. Beta testing is over the app. This has reduced pa- shareholders to gain more. In the
being scheduled to end by this quar- per works and time in processing near future, we would be strengthen-
ter and subsequently the application orders. Also, errors have reduced, ing our presence in exports markets,
would go live. as no wrong products get delivered expanding our product portfolio and
to distributors which have reduced penetrating to rural India. We aim
How important is Information returns. to provide the rural India a true and
and Communication (ICT) for reliable source of good health, and
Zota? How does the company How has going public helped we ensure to build an even stronger
leverage ICT to improve its effi- Zota strategically? What goals network to reach ever corner of the
ciency and productivity? have you set for yourself in country.

FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com 51
Corporate Interview

Committed to
reducing risk of
contracting infections
in hospitals, R&M,
a Swiss company,
offers R&M healthLine
anti-bacterial
range of cabling
solutions that is the
first consistent and
complete solution
for cabling systems
in patient rooms and
comparable highly-
frequented areas
of use in India, says
Shailendra Trivedi,
Director Channel
Management and
Operations, R&M
India, in an interview
with Arpit Gupta of
Elets News Network
(ENN). Excerpts:

R&M HealthLine:
A New Way to Fight
Infections in Hospitals
52 FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com
Corporate Interview

What is the demand scenario of ers, medical devices, telephones, call best possible medical care and long-
anti-bacterial cabling solutions systems, etc. term operational reliability for the
in the Indian healthcare indus- entire hospital. Specific cabling solu-
try? What led you to launch this How can cables reduce the risk tions from R&M for the healthcare
product? of infections in healthcare insti- sector solve concrete problems found
On its own, a reliable network is tutions? What are the key ben- in a clinical environment. Certified
not enough, when there is a risk of efits hospitals and patients can high-end technology and continuous
cross-contamination between pa- draw from it? quality assurance help ensure the
tients due to contact with cables Special additives are permanently in- professional, flexible and profitable
and outlets. According to the World corporated into the plastic materials performance of medical tasks.
Health Organisation (WHO), around to inhibit the growth of bacteria and Even clinic areas with harsh and
16 million people die every year from reduce the risk of cross contamina- damp ambient conditions or with rig-
infections contracted in hospitals. tion. All parts of the cabling that are orous hygiene requirements (clean-
R&M wants to make a contribution accessible to patients have antibacte- ing) can be reliably connected to the
to reducing risks of this kind and to rial properties tested in accordance network using the resilient R&M solu-
promoting health in clinics. The lat- to ISO 22196. This test demonstrates tions for protection classes IP54 and
est development is the R&Mhealth- the protection against the two bacte- IP67. Areas of use are laboratories
Line antibacterial range. This is the rial strains, Staphylococcus aureus and operating rooms, ambulances,
first consistent and complete solution and Escherichia coli trough cabling supply stations for gases, fluids and
for cabling systems in patient rooms located near the patient’s bed. This refrigerants, or outdoors with access
and comparable, highly-frequented can assist in reducing the potential of control and video monitoring.
areas of use. Clinics can extend their cross contamination of disease caus- The Splash Line retrofitable rub-
IT risk management to the field of ing bacteria. ber grommet provides protection
hygiene by installing R&MhealthLine against splashing water and dust. It
products. Given the low-level of aware- makes a simple RJ45 connector into
ness about such products in In- a protection class IP54 connection.
What are the key features of the Splash Line can withstand cleaning
dia, how will R&M promote these
product. agents and disinfectants. The IP67
cabling solutions?
As an independent Swiss cabling type 6 plastic grommet ensures even
Choosing cabling solutions from R&M
specialist with internationally rec- higher protection. It protects connec-
gives clinics a secure and durable
ognised expertise in the healthcare tors against mechanical loads such
foundation for their IT infrastructure.
market, R&M sets standards for the as shocks and impacts. Grid clamps
Healthcare cabling from R&M makes
modern clinic infrastructure. In doz- prevent connectors and cables from
a crucial contribution to ensuring the
ens of projects, R&M has acquired being pulled out in error. It is espe-
expertise enabling the unique needs cially suitable for movable equip-
and requirements of medical facili- ment. The IP67 type 6 grommet is
ties to be met both convincingly and
Healthcare cabling particularly suitable for waterproof
comprehensively. from R&M makes a connection of mobile devices to LAN
sockets using cables.
R&M maintains a programme with
experienced planners and qualified crucial contribution
What are the key challenges
installers as project partners to sup- to ensuring the best you see in terms of adoption of
ply a future-proof cabling infrastruc-
ture. Only the best is good enough for possible medical such solutions by healthcare fa-
healthcare. That is why R&M is the care and long-term cilities?
strongest partner for healthcare ca- We don’t see any challenges as such
bling. operational reliability because the benefits are there for
everyone to see. R&M provides plat-
The R&MhealthLine range offers
the same installation and user friend-
for the entire hospital. forms that are adaptable and fu-
liness as standard products and fits Specific cabling ture-proof. Previous investments re-
into the R&Mfreenet range. In par- tain their value.
ticular, the product line includes the
solutions from R&M The healthcare industry requires
following: for the healthcare these kinds of solutions and R&M
Outlets with RJ45 sockets for local is making it available to them. R&M
data and communications networks sector solve concrete looks to build a partnership, support-
Shutters from the R&M security sys- problems found in a ing healthcare projects from start
tem to finish, i.e., from the design of the
Shielded Cat.6A and unshielded Cat.6 clinical environment building network, via installation,
patch cords for connecting comput- through to ongoing operations.

FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com 53
Leaders
Industry
Speak
View

As a leading home healthcare


services provider in India, HealthCare
At HOME (HCAH) sees Indian patients
opening up to the idea of getting
treatment from the comfort
of their homes. Vivek
Srivastava, CEO &
Co-founder, HCAH,
in an interview with
Elets News Network
(ENN) shares how
his company’s cost
effective services are
bridging the big gap in
the Indian healthcare
sector by reducing huge
pressure on the hospital
infrastructure.

HealthCare At Home:
Breaking Myths,
Bridging Gaps
Where did the idea of Health- compounded by poor healthcare in- allowing them to treat more sick pa-
Care At Home come from? frastructure in India, made the pro- tients. India has already leapfrogged
How do you ensure the cost-ef- moters of Dabur, the Burman family technologies in the past and hence
fectiveness of your services? and founders of HAH UK, to concep- this can also follow the same pattern.
At HCAH, we know how important it tualise HCAH. The home healthcare services cov-
is to be by the side of your loved ones Through homecare we use the ex- er around 70 per cent of all health-
especially when they are not having isting capacity in patient homes to care requirements of a consumer and
good health. Patients are most com- take care of this huge gap in Indian extend to management of lifestyle
fortable in a familiar environment healthcare, immediately and cost and chronic diseases like diabetes,
and do not prefer to move from place effectively. By shifting load off the hypertension, etc. over consumers’
to place for treatment. This thought, hospitals, we can offload the doctors, lifetime. Its advantages include cost

54 FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com
Industry View

effectiveness with excellent clinical stems primarily from the view of atHOME, LifeCare atHOME and add
outcomes as customers end up saving healthcare sector among Indians. on services.
10-50 per cent costs as compared to People find this hard to believe that Our ProCare atHOME services
regular hospital treatment depending high-end home healthcare services include basic offerings like physio-
upon the services taken. are possible. They feel that they can therapy, healthcare attendants and
get good services only through ad- everyday healthcare management
How do you see the scope of mittance in hospitals. We attempt to (like injection administration, wound
home healthcare evolving in break this myth by showing evidence dressing etc.); MedCare atHOME ser-
India? What is its current market and experiences of existing consum- vices include medical procedures and
size? ers. By far we have done more than prescription led services like home
The overall Indian healthcare market 1,000 chemotherapies/immunother- cancer care, ICU atHOME, post-sur-
today is worth `6.7 lakh crore and is apies at home and have looked after gical care etc.; LifeCare atHOME ser-
expected to grow to `18.7 lakh crore by more than 300,000 patients and that vices include management of lifestyle
2020 at a Compound Annual Growth too with a high customer satisfaction changes, chronic diseases and well-
Rate of 22.9 per cent. Globally, home rate (NPS>70%) since 2012. We have ness segment such as elderly care,
healthcare segment comprises 3-6 per a repeat rate of more than 50 per cent diabetes management and mother
cent of the healthcare market, and on which is testament to the fact that & child care programme. Our add-
extrapolating Indian home healthcare people who take this service really on services include pathology tests,
market can reach `10 lakh crore by find it worthwhile to continue medical equipment rentals and pur-
2020. Also, healthcare industry is facing chase, medicine delivery at home, etc.
As per World Health Statistics a crunch of not just doctors but also We have a B2B segment which
(2015), India needs to add at least qualified and trained paramedics. works with pharmaceutical compa-
6,50,000 beds by 2017, requiring HCAH has overcome this problem by nies, insurance houses, corporates,
a capital investment of `1.6 lakh investing in people. Not only have we and hospitals. We partner with phar-
crores. Home healthcare can help upskilled the medical professional maceuticals to provide services cov-
bridge this gap, reducing the pres- through training on simulation mod- ering the patient journey starting
sure on the hospital infrastructure, els, but we have also trained people from disease awareness to disease
ensuring smooth transition from hos- with non-medical background. De- detection, treatment initiation, drug
pital to home, reducing chances of pending on the skill set exhibited distribution, disease management,
re-admissions, giving quality health- they are trained to either nursing at- compliance management and show-
care in Tier I and Tier II cities and tendant or a phlebotomist or an ECG casing clinical outcomes. We have
reducing treatment cost. technician. This eases out the work done patient support programmes,
We believe, in the near future, the pressure on nurses, helping them to patient assistance programmes and
health industry will align its servic- focus on more patients. direct delivery of drugs in association
es and offerings with the concept of Another major challenge is that with pharmaceutical companies.
home-based healthcare. Big corpo- several hospitals are reluctant to With insurance companies, we
rate houses have already started to give a try to the concept of home would in pre and post-policy checks.
realise the importance of home-based healthcare. They mistake us for a Some of our services are getting
healthcare. This will help in setting competitor instead of viewing us as cashless approved by insurance
up a robust healthcare infrastructure an extension of their services. We companies. Our quality parameters
across India where patients get ade- try to partner with such hospitals ex- include personalised care by compe-
quate beds and care. plaining them our role to help them tent professionals guided by custom-
widen the reach of doctors and phy- ised care plan prescribed by patient’s
What is the reach of HCAH in sicians, by vacating the beds occu- doctor; quicker patient recovery; and
India? pied by bedridden since a long time. professional protocol-led healthcare.
We have served over 300,000 patients Through meetings and seminars, we As customer experience is con-
across India by our presence in more explain how we help in increasing cerned, we are backed by NPS of over
than 40 cities including major cities the horizons of treatment for pa- 70% (Net promoter score, an alterna-
like Delhi/NCR, Mumbai, Jaipur etc. tients who need immediate medical tive to traditional customer satisfac-
We will soon have presence in south- intervention, as we free up both their tion research, correlated with reve-
ern cities, including Bengaluru and resources and trained staff. nue growth). Some of the well-known
Hyderabad. organizations with NPS are Apple
What are the key services (75%) and Amazon (70%).
Please tell us about key oper- offered by you? What quality We follow highest quality and clin-
ational and other challenges parameters have been set by ical standards, benchmarked against
faced by the company and how you to ensure credibility? those of Care Quality Commission
do you plan to overcome them? There are different set of services (CQC), an independent regulator of
One of the major challenges we face we offer: ProCare atHOME, MedCare health and social care in the UK.

FEBRUARY / 2017
ehealth.eletsonline.com 55
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KARNATAKA
Bengaluru,
March 2017,November 2016
Bengaluru

Chief Guest Programme Chair Co - Programme Chair


Dr Shalini Rajneesh Dr Rathan U Kelkar
Principal Secretary Mission Director
Health & Family Welfare Department National Health Mission
Government of Karnataka Government of Karnataka
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