Building Futuristic Business Model in Education, Healthcare & Research

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Building

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Education, Healthcare & Research

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MARCH-APRIL 2019 | VOLUME 14 | ISSUE 03

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COVER STORY

THUMBAY GROUP Building

Futuristic Business Model

in

Education, Healthcare & Research

SPECIAL FEATURE

Medical Education Boosting Healthcare Delivery System

INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

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POLICYMAKER’S PERSPECTIVE

16

Amneet P Kumar

23 Sunny Singh

CEO

RoundGlass Wellbeing 24 Dr Prakriti Poddar

Managing Trustee Poddar Foundation & Advisor RoundGlass Wellbeing Pvt Ltd 40 Binay Shetty

Vice Chairman and CEO

BRS Ventures

CONFERENCE REPORT

Secretary and Mission Director (NHM), Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Haryana

18

J V N Subramanyam

Mission Director, Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Assam

ANDHRA PRADESH PERSPECTIVE

20 Dynamics of Healthcare Sector in Andhra Pradesh

25 HYDERABAD | 22 FEBRUARY 2019

Editorial Decoding A Diversifying Healthcare Ecosystem With cutting-edge technologies, latest mobile applications, and innovative solutions playing a crucial role in enhancing patient care, the Indian healthcare industry appears to be passing through a transformative phase like never before. All this is to facilitate an enriching experience for consumers.

Our latest issue intends to understand, analyse and explain how significantly a big change is being effected for all this in a multi-dimensional manner, influenced by various aspects.

Be it industry’s focus, stress on boosting medical education, interesting medical practices or novel approach to deliver a better healthcare experience are some of the factors we have laid stress upon in the magazine’s latest issue.

Catering to millions of people world over in various fields such as medical education, healthcare, and research, Dubaibased global conglomerate Thumbay Group has carved a niche in healthcare landscape. With Gulf Medical University (GMU), Thumbay Medicity, and the Thumbay network of academic hospitals and clinics, the group’s journey in healthcare ecosystem is worth taking note of.

Our cover story titled ‘Thumbay Group -- Building Futuristic Business Model in Education, Healthcare & Research’ is an endeavour to explore and underline the vision and approach of the Thumbay Group in healthcare domain.

Our special feature titled ‘Medical Education Boosting Healthcare Delivery System’ lays stress upon how the least understood education system in medical field actually develops a better healthcare system. It also sheds light upon various steps required to be undertaken for a better medical education system.

The latest issue also carries various insightful articles and interviews of policymakers including Amneet P Kumar, Secretary and Mission Director (NHM), Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Haryana and J V N Subramanyam, Mission Director, Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Assam, who talk about various innovative initiatives undertaken in their respective states to improve patient care.

Offering an industry perspective in this issue is Sunny Singh, CEO, RoundGlass Wellbeing, who sheds light on several initiatives undertaken by his organisation for building a sustainable ecosystem.

This issue also carries a report of 2nd Healthcare Innovation Summit held recently in Hyderabad where top-notch industry leaders, medical experts, and decision-makers participated in various rounds of knowledgeable discussions.

Elets, meanwhile, is also set to organise 3rd Healthcare Innovation Summit Bengaluru in April with participation from topnotch medical experts, decision-makers, policymakers and industry leaders discussing the various aspects of innovative practices.

With another bouquet of special features, articles and interviews, I hope this issue will evoke an invaluable feedback of the readers.

Dr Ravi Gupta Editor-in-Chief eHEALTH Magazine and Founder Publisher & CEO Elets Technomedia Pvt. Ltd. ravi.gupta@elets.in

COVER STORY

THUMBAY GROUP Building Futuristic Business Model in Education, Healthcare & Research

Catering to millions of people world over in various fields such as medical education, healthcare, and research, Dubai-based global conglomerate Thumbay Group has gradually evolved as a giant brand since its establishment in 1998.

With Gulf Medical University (GMU), Thumbay Medicity and the Thumbay network of academic hospitals and clinics, the group’s foray into healthcare ecosystem is worth taking note of, writes Elets News Network (ENN).

Dr Thumbay Moideen, Founder President, Thumbay Group

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CARVING NICHE IN HEALTHCARE LANDSCAPE The Gulf Medical University (GMU) was Thumbay Group’s first venture. The need to take care of the clinical training requirements of GMU led the Group to foray into healthcare, giving birth to

the first private academic hospital in the country–Thumbay Hospital, Ajman, in 2002.

It was followed by the establishment of a network of academic hospitals and clinics under the healthcare division, with presence at multiple locations in the Emirates of Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Umm Al Quwain. A state-of-the-art research facility was also set up at GMU. Education, Healthcare and Research became the core sectors of Thumbay Group. Subsequently, the Group started diversification, mostly venturing into areas related to its core sectors.

Outside the UAE, the Group established an academic hospital, pharmacies, and diagnostic labs as well as an outlet of Blends & Brews Coffee Shoppe in Indian city of Hyderabad. Its educational/healthcare projects are at various stages of completion in various countries across Africa and Europe.

Dr Moideen, who remains abreast of developmental issues, believes sky is his limit. Mentioning about his pet project, he says ‘Thumbay Medicity’ in Ajman has medical university campus, housing facilities for staff, faculty and students, as well as specialized academic hospitals and other medicare accessories.

Talking about the nature of his role, a modest Dr Moideen says, “I’m just a facilitator. My goal is to see success is achieved and the lofty objectives we have set are met. I have a great team, and they are good leaders in their individual capacity.

“Thumbay Group follows a strategic vision plan, which aims to scale up its businesses at least 10 times and eyes for global presence, increasing the employee strength to 25,000 by 2023.”

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We brainstorm on a regular basis, and I try to facilitate things at my end. It goes without saying that the project is close to my heart.”

OTHER OBJECTIVES • The Thumbay academic hospital network will have a total of 1,000 beds in the UAE, 1,500 beds in India, and 750 beds elsewhere in Gulf and Africa by 2023 • Gulf Medical University (GMU) is soon to add engineering and management courses • Plans are afoot to open three new University Campuses across three countries • To add 25 labs, 100 pharmacies, 40 Zo & Mo optical outlets (100 Blends & Brews coffee shops, 25 Body & Soul health clubs, 50 Nutri Plus Vita stores)

COVER STORY

D

riven by a futuristic medical education model, state-ofthe-art facilities and cuttingedge research, Thumbay intends to significantly bolster healthcare delivery system in the UAE and its adjoining region.

From a single entity company to a globally established player in many prominent sectors including healthcare, Thumbay Group has come a long way.

With over 5,000 employees, the Group today operates in multiple brands across 20 sectors including education, healthcare, medical research, diagnostics, retail pharmacy, health communications, retail opticals, wellness, nutrition stores, hospitality, real estate, publishing, technology, media, events, medical tourism, trading, and marketing & distribution.

Dr Thumbay Moideen, the Founder President of this iconic business group, has a vision to have global presence and scaling up business to the tune of 10 X in next few years. In addition to emirates of the UAE, the Group now also boasts of a presence in India and Africa, along with upcoming projects in the Europe.

“We stand apart as we dispense medical services, and are one of the best. We are involved in a whole range of healthcare-related issues comprising treating patients to teaching doctors and indulging in professional research.

None can match us. Though we may not be as big as others, we are invincible,” says Dr Moideen.

“At Thumbay, we are developing an effective and reliable network of healthcare services ranging from hospitals to clinics, pharmacies and laboratories where patients can repose their trust,” Dr Moideen adds.

Thumbay Group to go public by 2023 In addition to its new and upcoming healthcare projects across the world, Thumbay Group is keen to acquire existing hospitals, either on long-term lease or on management basis.

THUMBAY MEDICITY: REDEFINING STANDARDS OF EDUCATION, HEALTHCARE, AND RESEARCH Thumbay Group’s success stories in its core sectors of medical education, healthcare, and research has given shape to ‘Thumbay Medicity’ in the UAE to serve 20,000+ people daily, with advanced facilities.

Built with an investment of over a billion Dirhams, the Medicity is spread over one million square feet and has a built-up area of 1.1 million square feet.

A regional hub of futuristic medical education, state-of-the-art healthcare and cutting-edge research, Thumbay Medicity is one of the latest additions to the UAE’s healthcare sector; the first such project in the private sector.

Located in Ajman emirate, this Meidcity features advanced

eHEALTH Magazine

MARCH-APRIL 2019

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COVER STORY

technology and global expertise. It will be officially inaugurated soon.

Thumbay Medicity houses the Gulf Medical University, Thumbay University Hospital, Thumbay Dental Hospital and Thumbay Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Hospital and outlets of Thumbay Pharmacy and Thumbay Labs, in addition to Body & Soul Health Club and Spa, Thumbay Food Court, Terrace Restaurant, Blends & Brews Coffee Shoppe, and the Thumbay Housing Project to accommodate 2,500 staff and students.

Gulf Medical University– The

biggest private medical university in the region with 6 colleges and 26 accredited programmes: Ranked among the top 50 medical universities in the region, Gulf Medical University (GMU) boasts of advanced training/teaching facilities, international collaborations with more than 60 partner universities worldwide and a full-fledged academic health system.

Thumbay University Hospital– The biggest private academic hospital in the region: Equipped with the state-ofthe-art facilities, the 500-bed hospital

offers quaternary care facilities through 120 clinics, a first-of-its-kind special robotic pharmacy and a radiology department with PET-CT scan.

Thumbay Dental Hospital – The biggest academic dental hospital in the region: Attached to the College of Dentistry, Gulf Medical University (GMU), the hospital has 60 dental chairs. Specialisations include General Dentistry, Endodontics, Paedodontics, Periodontics, Invisalign, Veneers & Lumineers, Dentures, Crowns and Bridges, Simple & Complicated Extractions and Hollywood Smile

Gulf Medical University (GMU) A Vision for Distinction in Medical World

Be it State-of-the-art training / teaching facilities, international collaborations and recognitions, a full-fledged academic system, and newly launched programmes and colleges, have consolidated GMU’s stature and fame as the most sought after medical university in the region for cutting-edge medical education.

Gulf Medical University – Ajman, one of the most popular medical education destinations in the Gulf region, has emerged as the biggest private medical university in the region with addition of new programmes, prestigious regional and international collaborations, multiple global accreditations, increasing student numbers and its transformation into the region’s only private Academic Health System.

BACHELORS & MASTERS PROGRAMMES The Gulf Medical University comprises six colleges, offering 26 accredited programmes. The undergraduate programmes include Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, Doctor of Dental Medicine, Doctor of Pharmacy, Bachelor of Physiotherapy, Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Management and Economics, Associate Degree in PreClinical Sciences, Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences, Bachelor of Science – Medical Laboratory Sciences, Bachelor of Science - Medical Imaging Sciences, Bachelor of Science – AnesthesiaTechnology and Bachelor of Sciencein Nursing.

Masters programmes include: Joint Masters in Health

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MARCH-APRIL 2019

Professions Education with FAIMER, US and CenMEDIC, UK; Master in Public Health in collaboration with The University of Arizona, United States; Executive Master in Healthcare Management and Economics; Master in Clinical Pharmacy with Virginia Commonwealth University, United States & Clevel and Clinic Abu Dhabi; Master of Dental Surgery (Endodontics); Master of Dental Surgery (Periodontics); Master of Physical Therapy; and Master in Environmental Health & Toxicology.

INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS GMU enjoys a robust collaboration with 60+ prestigious universities around the world, such as the University of Arizona, Virginia Commonwealth University, Medical College of Wiscons in Milwaukee -USA, University of Saint Joseph School of Pharmacy in Connecticut, German Heidelberg University, American University in Cairo, University of Ghana, Medical University of Lublin, Tokyo Medical & Dental University, etc., as well as research institutes such as the Gustave Rossi Cancer Research Institute – France.

ADVANCED TEACHING / TRAINING TECHNOLOGIES An important aspect that differentiates GMU is its use of the latest technologies in teaching and training students across all majors, to ensure their workplace readiness once they graduate from these institutes. One of the most prominent uses of technology in teaching is the Virtual Patient Learning (VPL), a simulation programme that

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COVER STORY

GULF MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

enables medical students to diagnose, treat and observe a patient’s progress, based on Artificial Intelligence technology.

ACADEMIC HEALTH SYSTEM The Gulf Medical University Academic Health System (GMUAHS) links healthcare, medical education and research functions on its own. Part of GMUAHS are the Thumbay Hospitals and Thumbay Clinics operated by the healthcare division of Thumbay Group at multiple locations in Dubai, Ajman, Sharjah, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Umm Al Quwain, as well Thumbay Hospital – Hyderabad, India.

The latest additions to the GMU Academic Health System includes Thumbay Dental Hospital - the first private dental hospital in the country and the largest academic dental hospital in the Middle East region’s private sector, as well as Thumbay Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Hospital - the biggest and most advanced hospital for physical therapy and rehabilitation, the recent additions to Thumbay Group’s academic hospitals.

RESEARCH With research being a vital strategic aspect of GMUAHS, the Thumbay Research Institute for Precision Medicine leads research in the field of cancer biology and immunology, with international collaborations with France, Poland and South Korea. In terms of advancing healthcare practices in the UAE and globally, GMU has launched three medical researches: Cancer Immunology and experimental oncology; Tumor genetic instability and immunogenicity; and biomarkers and functional genomics.

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FUTURISTIC MEDICAL EDUCATION “The Gulf Medical University is the medical university of the future,” says Prof Hossam Hamdy, the Chancellor of GMU. “It aspires to transform into a research-based university by 2025.”

GMU attracts students from across the globe.

The university has a strength of approximately 2,000 students, from over 80 countries.

With each passing year, the student strength is soaring. The well-organised alumni network has professionals, pursuing successful medical and healthcare careers around the world. Further, the Gulf Medical University’s enhancing stature is evident from the regional and international recognitions it keeps receiving.

In 2017, GMU featured among top 50 medical universities ranking in the Middle East, and bagged Gold at the prestigious Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Awards, 2018. The university has also secured top positions in e-learning regionally and globally at the Wharton QS-Stars Reimagine Education Conference & Awards 2018 in the USA, in addition to obtaining 5-stars in teaching and community engagement by QS. The university also received the prestigious Dubai Quality Appreciation Award this year, for the 2017 assessment cycle.

With such an inspiring list of features bespeaking the university’s significance, the Gulf Medical University (GMU) is today a major charm all around. Today, it witnesses an unprecedented demand for admissions, drawing top-class students from different parts of the world. All wish to pursue futuristic medical education courses in GMU’s colleges and institutes.

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eHEALTH Magazine

MARCH-APRIL 2019

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COVER STORY

and a dedicated Central Sterile Services Department (CSSD) for infection control. The upcoming facilities include stem cell treatment for dental diseases, and an advanced ‘DentalStem Cell Bank’.

Thumbay Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Hospital – The biggest state-of-the-art rehabilitation hospital in the country: It features advanced technology like Zero-gravity Treadmill, Wearable Technologies, Hydrotherapy Pool, Neuropsychology, Advanced Robotics, Hi-Performance Training Gym, Driving Simulation, Full Body Cryotherapy Chamber, Applied Virtual Reality, Speech Therapy, etc. Operating in collaboration with internationally renowned Villa Beretta Rehabilitation Center, Italy, it is attached to Thumbay University Hospital, with 50 dedicated beds. It has a unique ‘Therapeutic Garden’, for earliest recovery in a holistic manner.

Thumbay Research Institute for Precision Medicine– Leading research in cancer biology and immunology: In collaboration with France, Poland and South Korea, the institute has three ongoing research programmes including cancer

immunology and experimental oncology; tumor genetic instability and immunogenicity; and biomarkers and functional genomics.

Thumbay Labs– The largest network of CAP-accredited private diagnostic labs in the region with international presence: Thumbay Medicity houses the central reference lab of Thumbay Labs, with the state-of-the-art facilities for neonatal screening, next generation sequencing and genomics.

State-of-the-art training/teaching facilities, international collaborations and recognitions, a full-fledged academic system and newly launched programmes and colleges, have consolidated GMU’s reputation as the most in-demand medical university in the region for cutting-edge medical education.

Thumbay Pharmacy– One of the fastest-growing retail pharmacy chains in the UAE with international presence: A full-fledged Thumbay Pharmacy outlet is operational at Thumbay Medicity. The pharmacy chain has tied up with Gulf Medical University (GMU) for training and employment of the students of the College of Pharmacy, GMU. According to Dr Moideen, Thumbay Medicity, with an investment of more than a billion UAE Dirhams (over 18.77 billion Indian rupees), is the result of our continued efforts to bring the best of healthcare to the region, making it a hub of world class healthcare with state-of-the-art technology, experienced medical practitioners and superior facilities.

“As one of the most sophisticated medical cities in the region, Thumbay Medicity offers end-to-end tertiary and quaternary healthcare services to patients, with an improved access by way of strategic location and affordability,” he says.

With a total area of 1 million sq. ft. and built-up area of 1.2 million sq.ft., Thumbay Medicity will serve 20,000+ people daily.

THUMBAY MEDICITY

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SPECIAL FEATURE

Medical Education Boosting Healthcare Delivery System

M “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,” Nelson Mandela, former South African president and anti-apartheid leader once said, underlining the importance of education that provides right skill to do anything effectively, writes Mukul Kumar Mishra of Elets News Network (ENN).

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edical education lays the foundation of a robust healthcare delivery system, paving the way for enhanced patient care to people at large.

Health of the medical industry determines the health and well-being of a country. At a time when Indian healthcare is growing at a brisk pace, due to a number of factors including rising income of the middle-class, spurt in non-communicable diseases, and a huge focus on healthcare infrastructural across country, the need of the hour is quality medical education. It will foster different deliverables of healthcare.

“The basis of a successful healthcare delivery system and universal access to healthcare depends on the status of the medical education system.

The Indian Medical Council (IMC) Act was passed in 1956 to provide a solid

Steps to improvise the system • Integration of subjects, innovative teaching methods, and more prevalent use of technology in classrooms required • Medical research and clinical skills need to be worked on in colleges • More medical education platforms need to come up, where doctors and medical students can collaborate through real medical cases and other continuous medical education content • Teaching faculty must be evaluated properly and outstanding teachers should be selected • More government colleges should be opened rather than private ones

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• Doctor-patient ratio is too low • Memorising syllabus gets more importance than clinical skills • Medical studies syllabus is not updated on a regular basis • Medical institutes select teachers on basis of their degrees than clinical experience • Disparity in infrastructure across different states • Costly private medical education • Lack of Infrastructure and Faculty in colleges across States foundation for the growth of medical education,” says Dr Pradeep Mahajan, a regenerative medicine researcher.

He says when dealing with human lives, it is imperative to ensure provision of the highest degree of professional expertise to benefit mankind. “Medicine is considered a noble profession and it is the duty of the service providers to enrich their knowledge through continuing education to hone their skills for the betterment of the community.”

MEDICAL EDUCATION AT CROSSROAD Medical education in India is plagued with various issues at conceptual as well as implementation level. Despite India being a global hub of medical tourism, which is projected to grow up to $ 7-8 billion by 2020 from the current $ 3 billion, the country lags behind on many fronts including doctor to patient ratio, which is abysmal. There is one government allopathic doctor for every 10,189 people, whereas WHO guidelines suggest one doctor for 600 people.

We also fall short of qualified doctors (only 920 MBBS seats were added in Government medical colleges

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in last five years against approved 10,000). In addition, maldistribution of available resources, age-old curricula, deficient of innovative approach, lack of research work and skill based education, jeopardise our medical education system.

Recently, the Supreme Court expressed concern on debilitating infrastructure in medical colleges across the States of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand.

“You cannot make mockery of medical education. The quality of medical and legal education cannot be compromised. You are there for making money but we are concerned about education,” the Apex court said in a recent ruling.

GOVERNMENT MEASURES FOR IMPROVEMENT The Government has taken few noteworthy steps to reform this sad state of affairs. First, it drew up the National Medical Commission Bill in a move to overhaul the MCI model, replacing it with a governance system less controlled by doctors themselves.

Roles such as framing curricula, setting standards, monitoring ethics and conducting examinations will be fire-walled. Second, the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test has been implemented to raise the quality of medical students to deliver patient care.

MAKEOVER OF MEDICAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM The Medical Council of India (MCI) has decided to revisit the syllabus for the bachelor’s degree programme in medicine for the first time in 21 years.

The new MBBS syllabus will emphasise on skill-based and hands-on training.

It will also highlight certain aspects of doctor-patient interactions, focus on addressing mental health issues in patients and will include classes on ethics.

The undergraduate medical syllabus was last revised in 1997. A

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section of experts hold the view that it was heavy on theory, especially in anatomy, pathology and physiology. In the medical syllabus, students used to acquire clinical experience from third year of graduation.

The new curriculum will have students observing treatment at hospitals from first year itself.

COURSE-CORRECTIONS A section of experts believe there is an urgent need to modify the approach to medical training to ensure improvement of clinical skills than focus predominantly on theoretical information.

“Over the last decades, medical curricula in India suffer from a lack of integration, maintaining traditional paedagogic teaching, limited research activities and a distinct lack of teaching.

Even after the recommendations made to introduce integrated teaching and more skill-based learning, change is not noticeable on large scale. Even after advancement in technologies and treatment facilities, most of medical and dental colleges in India focus on educating outdated treatments,” Dr Viraj Talsania, a Gujarat-based dentist opines.

Various committees have recommended restructuring the curriculum to match with the needs of the community, and to adopt training methods that focus on attainment of clinical competence, through an integrated approach, preferably a modular one.

Moreover, uniform standards of medical education must be ensured across states and institutions at both undergraduate and post-graduate levels. A robust quality assurance mechanism must be in place to evaluate any lapse in the system.

It is high time medical education must be revamped. More importantly, it needs to move beyond rote-learning to focus on clinical practice, with smart technologies playing a bigger role in the classroom.

eHEALTH Magazine

eletsvideos

MARCH-APRIL 2019

SPECIAL FEATURE

What ails Indian medical education system?

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POLICYMAKER’S PERSPECTIVE

‘Technology Integration Can Improve Healthcare Delivery System’

Amneet P Kumar

Secretary and Mission Director (NHM), Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Haryana

H

ealth sector is one of the most crucial areas where we can integrate technology to improve healthcare delivery system of the State vis-a-vis the nation, according to Amneet P Kumar, Secretary and Mission Director (NHM), Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Haryana.

Haryana is leveraging technology in all sectors to improve delivery of services, Kumar said while participating in e-India Innovation Summit, Chandigarh.

Mentioning of the ground workers, playing a crucial role in enhancing patient care, she said, “In the public health sector, we have foot soldiers of

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two kinds. Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers, who act as motivators, and Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM), there are around 7,000 of them across the State. They work at each level, right from the primary health centre, community health centre and district hospitals.”

“The most basic level of service that we provide is immunisation through vaccination process. We believe that for the development of any nation, it is important that each child gets vaccinated to have a healthy future.”

Shedding light on more healthcare initiatives undertaken in recent years, Kumar said, “Another service is mother and child care. Be it in the pregnancy or post-delivery stage, regular medical checkup reduces infant and child mortality rate. These core areas are dealt by ANMs.” ANMOL SOFTWARE “The Government of India has developed software, ANM Online or ANMOL, to track their work and create a record of the number of mothers and children they are checking and treating on a daily basis.”

Talking about how the software works, she said, “The base of this software is the 12 registers of reproductive child health. We map the data of all the villages which includes total number of pregnant women, infants, senior citizens, and their addresses with the

national-level server.”

“ANMOL is the software which is contingent on the servers from the reproductive child health portal. It was implemented in 12 districts of Haryana last year. It is a tab-based device with the software installed in it. The software data works with an Aadhaar data backup.”

“When a mother comes with her child for vaccination, we take the biometric reading of the mother.

In Haryana, most of the children (newborn to six months old) have their Aadhaar Card.”

Also, ANMOL acts as a real-time tracker. It keeps a tab on number of villages and houses our ANMs visited and delivered the medical services. All the records are captured on real time basis. The data is further categorised i.e. who has provided the service, to whom it was provided, and when.

HOW ANMOL SOFTWARE PROVES BENEFICIAL? Through ANMOL, the ANMs can also track children to be vaccinated or the women whose due date is approaching and act accordingly. The software also provides a detailed module to the government servants, working in the health department.

“The medical officers receive key performance indicators fact sheet.

These key performance indicators include family planning achievements, maternal heath achievement etc. If

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MIDRS AND HBPNC SOFTWARES Through the ATM and MIDRS softwares, we have been able to reduce the infant mortality rate. We have also achieved our millennium goal with regard to Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR).

HBPNC is useful software, which gives the data of each and every ASHA worker, she said.

“Each ASHA worker is mandated to visit the mother and child at least three to four times post-delivery depending on the gravity of the situation. The records of each visit in terms of the data of the mother and child are recorded in the software.

Owing to the real time assistance, we have been able to reduce the infant mortality rate,” Kumar said.

ASHA soft is another software which is in the process of development. This will be integrated with the ANMOL software so as to ensure dual level monitoring of all the foot soldiers in the health system.

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THROUGH ANMOL, THE ANMS CAN ALSO TRACK THE LIST OF CHILDREN TO BE VACCINATED OR THE WOMEN WHOSE DUE DATE IS CLOSE AND ACT ACCORDINGLY. THE SOFTWARE ALSO PROVIDES A DETAILED MODULE TO THE GOVERNMENT SERVANTS, WORKING IN THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT.

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POLICYMAKER’S PERSPECTIVE

any of the critical indicators is not performing up to the mark, the medical officers and the civil surgeons will get red blinkers in their respective devices. They can then contact the ANMs to seek further information regarding the status of indicators,” Kumar said.

Some other IT innovations in the health sector are High Risk Pregnancy (HRP) Portal, Maternal and Infant Death Review System (MIDRS), Anemia Tracking Module (ATM), Human Resource Information System (HRIS), and Home Based Post Natal Care Portal (HBPNC).

ASHA soft will be implemented for performance monitoring and streamlining the ASHA incentive process.

“Around 115 districts of Haryana, which are aspirational districts, will be replicating this model. Cloud based HRP software is 100 percent in-house built with zero cost. It is very easy to use and replicable software,” she stated.

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POLICYMAKER’S PERSPECTIVE 18

‘Assam Making Big Strides in Healthcare Delivery’

M

eaningful partnership between public and private institutions needs to be built up as it will ultimately determine success of healthcare schemes like Ayushman Bharat, according to J V N Subramanyam, Mission Director, Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Assam.

Participating in 2nd Healthcare Innovation Summit, Hyderabad, recently Subramanyam underlined the significance of Public Private Partnership (PPP) as he shared Assam has been in news for a number of effective and much-needed initiatives undertaken by the Government to make healthcare delivery accessible and affordable. He said, “Unless private sector understands public health problems, a meaningful partnership would not emerge.”

“Assam is the biggest State, having almost 70 percent landmass of North-East. We share national and international borders. The State has 3.2 crore population, almost same as of Telangana State. We have 40 percent urban population and 12 percent tribal with lots of ethnic and demographic challenges. Almost 20 percent of our landmass is covered by tea garden,” he said while delivering a speech at the summit held in February.

He said there is a huge scope of private partnership in terms of tele-consultation and other modes to improve healthcare accessibility in the State.

MARCH-APRIL 2019

Shedding light on healthcare challenges and how the State Government has taken things headon to improve the situation, he said: “Assam has highest maternal mortality rate amongst States. We have one in every three children stunted.”

“But I am happy so much work has been done in last 10 years, which leads to a substantial improvement on Maternal Mortality Rare (MMR). It has reduced to 237 from 480 per lakh live births. Things are improving, but still a lot needs to be done. Partnership could help on these fronts.”

Recounting the healthcare initiatives by private players, Subramanyam said, “North-East is a cancer hub. (I’m) happy to share that Ratan Tata came down to Assam and started a programme on Assam Cancer Care Foundation with almost Rs 2,000 crore investment. Entire North-East is going to be developed with L1, L2 and L3 grid facilities on cancer care. It will provide screening, prevention and treatment in cancer care.”

“We have home delivery pockets and tea garden areas. People living in team garden are those whose ancestors had migrated from Chota Nagpur plateau in 18th century during British rule. They have been cut-off from various healthcare and education needs over a period of time. Now the Government is reaching out to them, so that overall health indices improve.

Highest mortality is in tea garden areas,” he said.

J V N Subramanyam

Mission Director, Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Assam

Between 2005-2017-18, Assam witnessed 10 times growth in terms of various deliverables of healthcare, he said.

“We have 3.3 crore OPDs, almost 13 lakh IPDs, and six lakh institutional deliveries with almost 14 percent cesareans happening across the State,” Subramanyam said.

Highlighting the role of technologies, innovations, and PPP model, he said: “the State Government is developing new partnership on PPP mode and leveraging technologies to boost healthcare delivery across the State. We are using private healthcare expertise to solve public healthcare issues”.

Health budget of Assam is around Rs 7,000 crore and it is growing at the rate of 16-17 percent annually, he said.

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LATEST INITIATIVES Almost 5,600 centres need to be operationalised as Health and Wellness Centres, which require technology, manpower and capacity building.

“120 private sector hospitals have been empanelled to provide 1,300 plus procedures under Ayushman Bharat Yojna. Under Atal Amrit Abhiyan, we have hospitals like Apollo, Fortis which have been empanelled to provide tertiary care package. Under Atal Amrit Abhiyan, there is unit cost of Rs 2 lakh per beneficiary. In a family of five, Rs 10 lakh cover for critical care such as cancer and nephrology, and neo-natal diseases. Six critical care diseases have been covered,” Subramanyam said.

Human resource plays an important role in healthcare and we are working on the same with private partnership. We are facilitating best possible diagnostics to poor.

PPP WITH SPANDAN DIAGNOSTICS, KRSHNAA DIAGNOSTICS, HILL LIFECARE LTD. “Spandan diagnostics is providing CT scan services at 25 health facilities.

We have teleradiology and real time dash board based X-Ray services, catering 30,000 patients every month.

It is being made available at 130 health facilities and has benefitted five lakh patients till now. Krshnaa Diagnostics is working on this front under PPP mode.”

In addition, we have laboratory services, catering one lakh patients every month. Hill Lifecare Ltd. is providing the service under PPP mode. 65.5 lakh tests have been done benefitting 13 lakh patients till date.

“The State Government is facilitating free drug and diagnostics which constitute almost 70 percent out-of-pocket medical expenditure for patients. The Government has contract with 131 manufacturers/ MNCs to provide free drug service. We have robust inventory management system,” he said.

Talking about innovative initiatives including Mobile medical units and Boat Clinics, he said, “People living in tea garden areas don’t have any access to any kind of healthcare services in last 50 to 60 years. Mobile medical units have been started in these areas which have treated almost 20

MOBILE MEDICAL UNITS HAVE BEEN STARTED IN THESE AREAS WHICH HAVE TREATED ALMOST 20 LAKHS PATIENTS. THESE ARE DOCTORLED LABORATORIES BEING STATIONED IN TEA GARDEN AREAS TO PROVIDE PATIENT CARE.

POLICYMAKER’S PERSPECTIVE

Providing details about private partnership, he said: “We have partnership with private players on drugs and dialysis (Pradhan Mantri dialysis with Apollo). We have 130 odd WHO GMP certified manufacturers dealing with the State Government directly with NHM. Referral transport is done through GVK. TVS works with us on bio-medical equipment front.”

lakhs patients. These are doctor-led laboratories being stationed in tea garden areas to provide patient care.”

In addition, we have ‘Boat Clinics-Floating Hospitals’ in 13 districts. It provides Comprehensive Primary healthcare services in riverine area. Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research (CNES) is working under PPP mode on this initiative, he said.

Boat Clinic

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AP HEALTHCARE PERSPECTIVE

Dynamics of Healthcare Sector in Andhra Pradesh

Virtual Groundbreaking ceremony of Amaravati American Institute of Medical Sciences (AAIMS) by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Shri Chandrababu Naidu

A

ndhra Pradesh is such a State where private health sector including both indigenous and Western systems of medicine have played a crucial role to boost healthcare delivery.

In this State, healthcare is experiencing a wave of opportunities.

The State Government is reinventing existing delivery models to take healthcare closer to the patient.

Andhra Pradesh stands top among States in healthcare delivery.

The State has finest private hospitals that offer quality services, matching international standards. The Government also encourages medical

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is going to be an epitome of world-class infrastructure with nine smart cities planned around the capital region and Health City is one of them.

Amaravati Health City is to become one of the top three healthy cities in the world, a preferred medical and wellness tourism destination anchored on excellence in health, research, innovation, and education. tourism and medical technology in a big way.

AMARAVATI HEALTH CITY Amaravati, the much awaited Greenfield Capital of Andhra Pradesh,

VISAKHA HEALTH CITY A dedicated 66 acres of land has been allocated specifically for hospitals and other allied services in Visakhapatnam. Visakha Health City boasts of 10 exclusive corporate

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INVESTMENTS Andhra Pradesh has achieved several milestones in healthcare sector.

Globally, renowned BR Shetty group has proposed to set up BRS Amaravati Medicity with an investment of $1.8 million. This monumental project envelops multi-speciality hospital with 3,500 beds, access to world class medical education, a five-star hotel, a shopping mall, a 10,000-seat convention centre, service apartments, and an 18-hole international golf course in Amaravati.

LV Prasad to set up Institute of Excellence in Global Eye Health in Amaravati with an investment of Rs 225 crore. 500-bed multispeciality hospital is being set up by Elite Hospital in Tirupati with an investment of Rs 450 crore.

In addition to over a hundred corporate hospitals with more than 200-bed capacity in each of them and over 30 medical colleges present in the State, several major players such as AAIMS, KIMS, Indo-UK, Virinchi etc. are setting up hospitals in Andhra Pradesh.

ANDHRA PRADESH MED TECH ZONE Visakhapatnam is set to emerge as a major hub for manufacture of medical devices in the country through plug and play facility.

A dedicated med tech zone, spread over 270 acre in Visakhapatnam, is a hub of manufacturing medical devices. The park will give a big boost to the medical devices segment in the healthcare industry. High-end medical equipment production will make healthcare products affordable and accessible not only to India but for the world-at-large.

HEALTH SCHEMES The State is also witnessing substantial progress in social indicators.

The easy accessibility and coverage of medical care facilities have played a dominant role in shaping up the health status of Andhra Pradesh.

The Government of Andhra Pradesh is leaving no stone unturned to strengthen the healthcare delivery system at all levels, providing best health services to people through its various programmes and initiatives.

A comprehensive real time monitoring of each of the health programmes is closely monitored by the Chief Minister’s office.

Several initiatives have been undertaken in tribal areas such as “108 Bike Ambulances”; “E-Sub Centers”

Elite Hospital exchanging MoU with AP Government at Partnership Summit, 2018

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TALLI BIDDA EXPRESS, NTR BABY KIT, CHANDRANNA SANCHARA CHIKITSA, NTR VAIDYA PARIKSHA – LABORATORY SERVICES ETC. ARE SOME OF KEY INITIATIVES UNDERTAKEN IN TRIBAL AREAS.

AP HEALTHCARE PERSPECTIVE

hospitals in the Health City belt. With more than 30 hospitals, and 6,000 existing hospital beds having potential to increase up to 20,000 hospital beds, Visakhapatnam is creating a hospital ecosystem offering holistic services to regional and international patients.

etc, so that people of all strata across the State can avail best medical care in a cost-efficient manner. Talli Bidda Express, NTR Baby Kit, Chandranna Sanchara Chikitsa, NTR Vaidya Pariksha – Laboratory Services etc. are some of key initiatives to name a few.

In addition, 14 more programmes are being implemented by the government for enhancing patient care.

With a slew of incentives and other policy interventions, the government is confident that the healthcare sector will attract best of the talent, technologies and the much–needed investment.

Under the visionary leadership of Shri Nara Chandrababu Naidu, Andhra Pradesh’s healthcare sector is making a big stride in the direction of medical renaissance. (“For queries please contact: J.Krishna Kishore, CEO, Email: j.krishnakishore@gov.in | ceo@ apedb.co.in Dr Sambasiva Rao Pokuri, Additional Director, Healthcare, Agriculture and Food Processing Sectors | +918121017017, Email: ssrpokuri@ apedb.co.in Sruthi Talanki, Young Professional, Healthcare Sector | +919581306623, Email: sruthi.t@ apedb.co.in | www.apedb.gov.in”)

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We aim to build a sustainable ecosystem and create a positive impact on people’s lives through technology. We have undertaken initiatives promoting education, conservation, sanitation, healthcare and public welfare to improve people’s quality of life and bring about progressive change,” says Sunny Singh, CEO, RoundGlass Wellbeing, in conversation with Dr Ravi Gupta, Editor-in-Chief & CEO of Elets News Network (ENN). in Punjab and after their successful implementation, we plan to go panIndia.

Q Sunny Singh

CEO RoundGlass Wellbeing

Q

What has inspired RoundGlass Wellbeing to expand its base in India?

RoundGlass is a global company with most of the works being executed in India. We work on the concept of wellbeing. RoundGlass’ vision of wellbeing emerges from individual, social, cultural, economic and environmental fulfilment and growth. India has always been the cradle for wholistic wellbeing. Yoga and Ayurveda have been benefitting us since ancient times, but over the years these wholistic concepts have gained more popularity in the western world. We want to bring back the understanding that wellbeing comprises mental and emotional stability along with physical health.

We aim to integrate traditional wisdom with modern amenities and technology. We are currently working on executing the model village projects

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What sort of initiatives are being undertaken by your organization in Punjab?

We have evolved the concept of Model Village – a self-reliant, eco- sustainable, progressive rural society that facilitates harmony between humans, animals and the environment. Our varied initiatives cover improvement in all aspects of living, from sanitation and health to education and skill development. With the RoundGlass Model Village concept we are aiming to build a model of rural wellbeing that will not only benefit villagers but also serve as a crucible for sustained environment.

Q

Do you also have some plans to collaborate with the government in near future?

Yes, the government has an important role to play on this front. Together we can build something significant.

The private sector has financial and technological resources and the government has schemes, authority and the network in place to utilize those resources. We have undertaken various initiatives such us utilising sports to curb drug menace, sustainability and public welfare projects, which can be executed more efficiently with government’s support.

Q

How significant is the role of IT in leveraging these processes?

Technology is indispensable

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today. It plays an important role in creating a bridge between all stakeholders. We leverage technology to manage projects, provide access, and to communicate project- progress with others. You can keep track of what you are doing and let people know about your initiatives. And with the advent of technologies like Data Analytics and Machine Learning, huge possibilities are being created, even more so in the large-scale innovative projects we are establishing.

INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

RoundGlass Wellbeing ― Creating A Sustainable Wellbeing Ecosystem via Technology

Q

What have been some of your significant success stories so far?

We are working with 90 villages in Punjab and plan to expand to 150 villages. We have implemented our initiatives in these villages – creating football academies, installing solar panels, establishing proper waste management mechanisms, setting up Learn Labs in schools. In a village near Mohali, our sports programme has helped significantly curb drug addiction. Involving the youth in football has engaged their mind and aligned their innate energies with a sense of purpose.

Q

What has been the motivation behind taking up the model village project in Punjab?

Punjab is a huge state with 30 million people and 12,500 plus villages. Once we tackle the problems here, we can replicate this model in any other village, city or State.

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INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE 24

‘Need for Leveraging Technologies Prudently’ E volving technologies are important to facilitate things, but they must be leveraged in a prudent manner…Technologies are like a double-edged sword for mental health. Increasing use of technology has strained interpersonal relationships, said Dr Prakriti Poddar, Managing Trustee, Poddar Foundation & Advisor, RoundGlass Wellbeing Pvt Ltd, at e-India Innovation Summit held recently in Chandigarh.

While participating in a panel discussion on ‘Innovation in Healthcare - Opportunities and Challenges’ during the summit, she said, “We have also seen a rise in the mental health disharmonies across ages. The trait is visible more among old-aged people as they feel redundant.”

“Technology is important for us as we use it in our centres as a cure for multiple purposes. But we often forget that there is a need to balance our technology with personal human conduct.”

Shedding light on how technology is being leveraged by Poddar Foundation, Dr Poddar said, “Our initiatives are laced with technology as it helps us connect with the larger audience.

However, we try to maintain a balance between online and offline connect as human beings need a personal touch.”

Talking about recently introduced innovative solution, she said: “One

MARCH-APRIL 2019

of our technological innovations is integrating EEG biofeedback.

Through this technology, we connect the human brain with a machine which provides reading of brain functioning. This makes the process of treating mental healthcare much more intense as it’s now visible to us.”

Nowadays, we talk about good network connectivity, WiFi connected city. But is it healthy for us? she asked.

“Radioactive rays surround us. On the hindsight, if we are not connected with the internet, we miss out on a lot of updates

ONE OF OUR TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS IS INTEGRATING EEG BIOFEEDBACK. THROUGH THIS TECHNOLOGY, WE CONNECT THE HUMAN BRAIN WITH A MACHINE WHICH PROVIDES READING OF BRAIN FUNCTIONING

Dr Prakriti Poddar

Managing Trustee Poddar Foundation & Advisor RoundGlass Wellbeing Pvt Ltd

which we cannot afford,” she said while emphasising on prudent use of technology.

Stating that a plethora of apps have been developed to check whether we are suffering from mental ailment symptoms like depression, stress, or anxiety etc., Dr Poddar said: “Stress is one of the silent killers. Stress leads to physical ailments like hypertension and other chronic diseases. Apps are helping us to identify whether we are in stress or not.”

“Unfortunately, there has not been much research in mental health area to work towards policy changes. If we can gather at least five years’ consistent data, we might work upon bringing up policy level changes,” Dr Poddar added.

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Host Partner ORGANISER

KNOWLEDGE PARTNER

HYDERABAD | 22 FEBRUARY 2019

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Government of India

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CONFERENCE REPORT

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CONFERENCE REPORT

HYDERABAD | 22 FEBRUARY 2019

Dr Anuradha Medoju(right), Senior Regional Director, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana States, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India; Dr A Ashok (second from right), Commissioner of Intermediate Education, Government of Telangana inaugurating 2nd Healthcare Innovation Summit (HIS), Hyderabad

Exploring Finest Innovative Practices for Better Patient Care A s enhanced patient care is becoming a priority of healthcare model all around, the 2nd Healthcare Innovation Summit held recently in Hyderabad aimed to brainstorm over innovative healthcare practices to make it possible in a better way.

The event was organised as part of the endeavour to boost the healthcare delivery system in a way that it enables people at large to avail good quality, accessible and affordable medical care.

Organised by Elets Technomedia with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare as host partner, the healthcare summit witnessed confluence of key policymakers, international experts and industry leaders. They deliberated upon innovative practices, conducive policies and ways to reach out to people living on the last-mile, their vision for it and the huddles in that roadmap. TRIMED Solutions and Hitech Diagnostics were Associate partners while Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board, BPL Medical Technologies, and Centre for Good Governance being supporting partners in the summit.

Inaugurated by Dr Anuradha Medoju, Senior Regional Director, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana States, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, in the presence of Dr Neena Gupta, Director General-Family Welfare, Department of Medical Health and Family Welfare, Government of Uttar Pradesh; and Dr A Ashok,

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MARCH-APRIL 2019

Commissioner of Intermediate Education, Government of Telangana, the conference witnessed one of the finest congregations of top luminaries of the healthcare world.

Other important dignitaries included J V N Subramanyam, Mission Director, National Health Mission, Department of Health Medical & Family Welfare, Government of Assam; Arpita Khare, Director, Centre for Good Governance, Government of Telangana; and Dr Shashi Bala Singh, Director, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research.

Various enlightening discussion sessions touched upon issues such as: ‘Taking Healthcare Delivery to Next Level ― Best Practices, Innovation & Excellence’, ‘Role of Public Private Partnership (PPP) for Developing Sustainable Healthcare Ecosystem’, ‘Ensuring Patient Safety, Satisfaction and Affordability’, and ‘Emerging Trends and Technologies in Healthcare Ecosystem’.

Eminent dignitaries, on this occasion, unveiled a special issue of eHEALTH Magazine, which has been promoting innovations in healthcare ecosystem for over a decade. Also, industry leaders, diagnostic equipment manufacturers, and healthcare service providers were felicitated with Healthcare Excellence Awards for their extraordinary contribution in healthcare world.

Here is a glimpse:

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Taking Healthcare Delivery to Next Level Best Practices, Innovation & Excellence

DR ANURADHA MEDOJU

Senior Regional Director, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana States, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India "The Indian health sector has evolved in last 10 years.

Hyderabad has become a medical hub for international patients who are getting top class medical facilities from super specialist doctors and multi-speciality hospitals. PPP model has played a crucial role in making things possible in healthcare sector. The Government of India and State Governments have taken lots of initiatives in recent years to augment healthcare delivery. As a result, Neo-natal Mortality Rate (NMR) and Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) have reduced in a substantial manner. Best innovative practices should be implemented to boost patient care."

J V N SUBRAMANYAM

Mission Director, National Health Mission, Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Assam "Assam has been in news for a number of good initiatives undertaken to make healthcare delivery accessible and affordable. Meaningful partnership between public and private institutions needs to build up, which will ultimately determine success of healthcare schemes like Ayushman Bharat. Unless private sector understands public health problems, a meaningful partnership would not emerge.

The State Government is developing new partnership with private sector and coming up with innovative ways (boat clinics) to enhance patient care."

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Inaugural Session

DR A ASHOK

Commissioner of Intermediate Education, Government of Telangana "Under the leadership of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, Telangana is laying serious focus on boosting the medical care system so that it touches one and all, especially people living on the last-mile. With a mission to ensure ‘Good Health for All’ the State is fast emerging as a leader in the country by implementing various first-of-its-kind and effective healthcare initiatives."

DR NEENA GUPTA

Director General, Family Welfare, Department of Medical Health and Family Welfare, Government of Uttar Pradesh "Uttar Pradesh is a very big State; the biggest in India (population-wise) and fourth largest (area-wise).

Though, the State Government has taken a slew of measures, more needs to be done to improve various determinants of healthcare delivery. We have built our First Referral Units (FRU) through Regional Research Training Centres (RRTC) in medical colleges. The goal of RRTC programme is implementation of cost-effective, participatory and sustainable model in district hospitals."

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CONFERENCE REPORT

HYDERABAD | 22 FEBRUARY 2019

28

Panel Discussion:

Role of PPP for Developing Sustainable Healthcare Ecosystem

SELVAKUMAR DEVANNAN Managing Director, TriMed Solutions (India) Pvt Ltd

ARPITA KHARE

Director, Centre for Good Governance, Government of Telangana

"Today, technology is playing a pivotal role in healthcare delivery. The Government of India through National Health Mission (NHM) is implementing many projects in PPP mode. The State Governments are also coming up with new innovative projects to cater people with accessible and affordable healthcare. TriMed is doing a lot of projects in India especially in Delhi and northern States. We are working on maintenance management, web-based online Dashboard and training programmes for biomedical engineers."

"The Centre for Good Governance is trying to strengthen the Government in terms of e-Governance and technology aspects so that they can deliver more. We are into policy formulations, assessment and evaluation of various schemes of Government, Blockchain governance and mobile governance. If institutional capacities are properly monitored and accessed, PPP model could be more effective."

DR SHASHI BALA SINGH

VINOD RAJ V

Director, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Hyderabad

Technical Manager, eHealth, Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Kerala

"We are in the golden era of innovations in healthcare.

We have CRISPER technique where you can edit DNA and make embryo of your choice, pre-programmed drone which can collect blood samples from residents of rural village and travel back to capitals. In addition, we have 3-D printing where surgeons can practice complicated procedures before they performing on actual human samples. How will these technologies be absorbed by the individual patient that is something which needs to be focused upon."

"Kerala is at the forefront of States having better healthcare delivery system. We have been running eHealth project for past four years. Soon, the project will be implemented across the State in primary healthcare centres and up to tertiary care centres. In addition, we have ‘one patient one EMR’ which helps patient to access medical records anytime, anywhere. They don’t need to carry medical records everywhere. Patients’ active involvement on what kind of care they are catered to, gives them a sense of satisfaction."

MARCH-APRIL 2019

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DR S P GANESAN CEO & Medical Director, Hitech Diagnostic Centre

"Started almost 32 years ago, Hitech Diagnostic is an ISO certified and enable Accreditation Company. We have more than 90 collection centres across southern States.

Hitech is the first private laboratory to offer approved viral testing for HIV Hepatitis C, A and other retro viruses. We adopt best practices and maintain high quality in clinical tests. Point of care equipments and self testing will be more prevalent in coming years."

Panel Discussion:

Ensuring Patient Safety, Satisfaction and Affordability DR SAI PRAVEEN HARANATH Medical Director, Apollo eACCESS TeleICU Service, Hyderabad

"The United States and United Kingdom are working on one in million errors prevention concept while in India we are trying to prevent one in thousands errors. Cost of care goes up when we move from one in thousand errors to one in billion, because you need many more safeguards, training and regulations. Fortunately, modern-day technologies have overcome many barriers in healthcare. We provide teleICU services, enabling patients to access intensive care services from far off places."

DR PRITI CHALLA Managing Director, Challa Hospital, Hyderabad

"The Government should come up with a regulatory body to monitor the steep rise in medical cost. Affordability factors from patients’ point of view should be taken into account.

Just because you increase the volume of the patients, you can’t reduce the cost of care being given to patients. There has to be a threshold. We all should work towards providing patients an affordable and good quality medical facilities."

DR TAUSIF THANGALVADI Medical Director, Premier Hospitals, Hyderabad

"The common assumption is that patients’ satisfaction and affordability go hand-in-hand but in reality it depends on many factors such as affordability, staff behavior, and what is their access to services. Studies have shown that the best way to improve patients’ safety and satisfaction is by improving nurse to patient ratio. Rather than patient satisfaction, it is patient engagement that is the guiding principle today."

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CONFERENCE REPORT

HYDERABAD | 22 FEBRUARY 2019

DR MOHAMMED NOOR AHMED

CEO, Gleneagles Global Hospitals, Hyderabad

"Medical profession has moved from a noble profession to service industry. Now, it is further moving to experienced service industry. Patients don’t bother about the kind of services you provide to them as they already carry experience with them. It’s a matter of little worry for service providers. If patients carry good experience about standard of care being provided to them, they will be your fan; otherwise they will be villain to you."

"Patients’ safety, satisfaction and affordability should be viewed from three angles physical, people and processes. Adoption of EMR is must. Data (Central and State Government schemes) should be analysed which provides insight about costeffective treatment. Shared services model could be an effective tool in the direction of making healthcare affordable. Turn-around time is one of the important areas which makes patient really happy."

DR VIJAY SEKHAR REDDY

DR RADHA KRISHNA RAO SAGI

Medical Director, Bloom Hospitals, Hyderabad

"Health scenario has changed so has patients’ expectations. Health cost can be managed if there is stratification of care given. There is no stratification in majority of care given. Around 80 percent of healthcare service providers are private and the rest are public providers including primary, district hospitals and referral medical colleges. Insurance is playing a major role, enabling some people to pay more at bigger hospitals.

Categorisation of patient care as level one two and three is needed."

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GIRISH BOMMAKANTI

COO, Virinchi Hospitals, Hyderabad

MARCH-APRIL 2019

Medical Director, Prathima Hospitals, Hyderabad

"Prathima Hospitals caters to every kind of patient.

Quality of services doesn’t get affected with their paying capacity. Payers’ profiles are changing as the Central Government and State Governments have come up with number of schemes nowadays. A part of affordability is being taken care by the Government and the rest is done by patient. We don’t compromise on quality. Patients served under Aarogyasri Scheme get same quality services as others at our hospital."

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HYDERABAD | 22 FEBRUARY 2019

CONFERENCE REPORT

Panel Discussion

Taking Healthcare Delivery to Next Level, Challenges and Opportunities

Healthcare luminaries participating during a panel discussion

DR B PRATAP REDDY

DR NASEEM MAJID

"India is among very few developing countries providing best medicare to its people. 80 percent of the patients are being treated by private hospitals. With few changes in disciplines and creating new models, we can make a giant leap in healthcare delivery. We should strengthen our primary healthcare which lacks basic facilities. Patients’ satisfaction and safety should be the goal of healthcare providers and they should strive for the same."

"Our basic aim is to ensure universal access to high quality treatment with safe medical practices. The clinicians should be involved in reformed designs. Doctors have a different language so has hospitals. If both of them work in coordination, that will be next level in healthcare.

Universal access to good quality and better outcome are objectives of medical fraternity. Both private and public sector should work in a coherent manner to tackle menace of NCDs."

President, Indian Medical Association of Telangana

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COO, Femcity Hospital, Hyderabad

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CONFERENCE REPORT

HYDERABAD | 22 FEBRUARY 2019

DR P RASHMITHA

Senior Consultant, Sri Visista Super Speciality Ayurveda Hospital, Hyderabad "The main aim of the Ayurveda is not only to improve patient’s health but also improve the mind, body, and soul. Sri Visista Super Speciality Ayurveda Hospital is first to be accredited with NABH. WHO has recognised the Charsutra treatment. It’s a daycare procedure and at the same time cost-efficient too. We also provide Panchakarma treatment which cleanses whole body. It makes patients more healthy and confident."

Managing Director, Hope Children Hospitals, Hyderabad

"There has been tremendous progress in child care across country. Universal Immunization Programme has eradicated polio and other communicable diseases. Indian healthcare sector lacks on Research & Development (R&D) front and that’s matter of great concern. Despite having such a huge population and clinical materials, we don’t find much of our publications and journals."

DR L FAHMIDA BANU

DR JALAPATHI REDDY MANDALA

"The Indian healthcare is lagging behind because of two reasons -- we don’t have proper documentation, time and money for research. Electronic Medical Record (EMR) is need of the hour. This is important for two reasons-one your documentation will be perfect and you can pick up the data and analyse and produce your own papers. Moreover, documentation will help to decide standard of treatment being provided to patients."

"Nowadays, doctors are reaching out to patients through telemedicine, teleradiology, teleICU, digital pathology and, homecare services. We have robotics, navigation, nanotechnology, and, best of the best for cancer, but poor in research. Affordability is a big challenge. 40 licenses are needed to start a hospital and one has to bribe at times to get the same. The Government should give subsidies and tax exemption so that medical facilities become cost-efficient."

Managing Director, Fehmi Care Hospital, Hyderabad

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DR P MADAN MOHAN RAO

MARCH-APRIL 2019

Managing Director, Ozone Hospitals, Hyderabad

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HYDERABAD | 22 FEBRUARY 2019

CONFERENCE REPORT

Panel Discussion

Emerging Trends and Technologies in Healthcare Ecosystem

Experts during a photo-op with the special issue of eHealth magazine

PROF DR P S PRASAD DANDAMUDI President, Indo American Society for Health and Education and Program Director, School of Health Sciences & Research, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad "There is a huge gap in Indian healthcare delivery system. Urban people avail best medicare while rural people don’t get even basic facilities. We have lots of health plans in India. That needs to be brought under one umbrella. Public health concept should be developed.

There is no initiative for full-fledged public health in India which needs to be strengthened."

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GUNJAN KUMAR

CIO & Head Initiatives, Regency Healthcare, Kanpur "Telemedicine or teleconsultation has not been as successful as it is being perceived. Teleradiology has been proved to be a boon for patients. It is the most quality assured way of operation. We have adopted telepathology which has benefitted patients a lot.

In the absence of doctors, even MRI technicians push the data on cloud, which proves worth of the technology."

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CONFERENCE REPORT

HYDERABAD | 22 FEBRUARY 2019

DR V S V PRASAD

DGM, IT SIMS Hospital, Chennai

"As an end user, patients can only tell about the kind of care being provided by the hospitals. Even if hospital has technology, data, paper work, and everything in place, patients’ perspective matters the most. Healthcare service providers should keep this in mind. Synchronisation of various departments is need of the hour to cater patient with best healthcare experience."

"Feedback mechanism is more important which plays an important role in healthcare service delivery. It gives confidence to both patients and service providers. Taking cue from the same, hospitals get to know what steps need to be taken to improve things. How various parameters can be improved to cater patient with best medicare."

DR RAJ SEKHAR JANAPAREDDY

DR HIMA BINDU SINGH

"There are so many patients across the country who don’t have access to any care. People in urban areas can avail best patient care. Technology can be best tool to fill the gaps in urban and rural healthcare delivery. We are going through with healthcare industry revolution. Rates of damages are more. One infection in operation Theatre (OT) can infect many children within seconds."

"Technology can be the best tool to outreach huge rural population, but it can’t replace human touch.

Collaboration is needed for innovative and research based work in healthcare. We are open for collaborations.

Niloufer Hospital doesn’t compromise on quality and serves patients with best care."

CEO, Bloom Hospitals

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G S SRIRAM

CEO, Lotus Hospitals for Women and Children

MARCH-APRIL 2019

Head Neonatology, Niloufer Hospital, Hyderabad

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CONFERENCE REPORT

MEDIA COVERAGE

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CONFERENCE REPORT

HYDERABAD | 22 FEBRUARY 2019

36

AND THE AWARD GOES TO...

Trimed Solution Pvt Ltd

Hitech Diagnostic Centre

BPL Medical Technologies

Onward Assist

Dr Surendra Sharma (right), Ayurvedic Physician, RNS Ayurveda, receiving the award

Dr Pradeep Noori (right), Ayurvedic Physician, Founder & MD, Guna Ayurveda & Panchakrama Centre, receiving the award

Kaniza Garari (right), Senior Health Correspondent, Deccan Chronicle, receiving the award

MARCH-APRIL 2019

[ ehealth.eletsonline.com ] The Largest Portal on Healthcare Innovations in Asia and the Middle East

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CONFERENCE REPORT

EMINENT DIGNITARIES VISITING INNOVATION GALLERY

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ORGANISER

KNOWLEDGE PARTNER

HYDERABAD | 22 FEBRUARY

For Participating and Making Elets 2nd Healthcare Innovation Summit a Successful Endeavour

OUR PARTNERS

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BENGALURU 25 APRIL 2019

MEET AND NETWORK WITH TOP HEALTHCARE POLICYMAKERS, INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS & TOP 150+ HOSPITALS DECISION MAKERS UNDER ONE ROOF With the legacy of 36+ Conferences Across India, Elets Technomedia is all set to host 3rd Healthcare Innovation Summit, Bengaluru on 25 April, 2019. The summit will be a confluence of Top Policymakers, International Experts, Industry Players and Decision Makers of Top Hospitals.

KEY THEMES

• Role of Emerging Technology for Building Smart Hospitals • Transforming the diagnostics and lab world through technology • Ensuring affordable quality treatment and meeting up with patients’ expectations • Integrated Healthcare Delivery: M-Health, Telemedicine, AI & VR • Role of Public-Private Partnership for developing sustainable Healthcare Ecosystem • Making Quality Medicines Affordable • Building Future: Importance of Innovation based Medical Education

PARTICIPATION FROM State Government Dignitaries | Top 150+ Hospital Decision Makers Healthcare Experts | Innovators

OPPORTUNITIES Panel Discussions | Exhibition | Exclusive Presentation Slots One to one Networking | Healthcare Excellence Awards

FOCUS SECTORS Public Healthcare

Well-being

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For branding & speaking opportunities, contact: Gopi Krishna Arora: +91 9582892293

INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

BR Life ― Enhancing Healthcare Experience for All Our all existing hospitals are multi-speciality hospitals with world class facilities. We have doctors with strong clinical expertise who can help us build our brand by delivering the best of the medical services, says Binay Shetty, Vice Chairman and CEO, BRS Ventures, in a conversation with Gopi Krishna Arora of Elets News Network (ENN).

Binay Shetty

Vice Chairman and CEO BRS Ventures

Q

BR Life, a leading healthcare services brand, today caters to people across India and in different parts of the world with high quality services. How has been this journey?

My father, Dr B R Shetty, had migrated to Abu Dhabi way back in 1973 with a dream. While he started his career as a pharma sales representative, he observed and realised the dire need of providing quality healthcareto the people in Abu Dhabi. This prompted him to start his first healthcare venture, the NMC (New Medical Center) Group.

What started as a small hospital where my mother was also working as a doctor, it has turned out to be the

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MARCH-APRIL 2019

UAE’s one of the largest integrated private healthcare providers today.

Although the journey was tough, but my father’s determination and will power to succeed was very strong.

Since NMC Group’s inception in 1975, we have not looked back.

We have strategically expanded our healthcare facilities and services to other parts of the world over the years.

With a strong desire to give back to the motherland, my father decided to foray into India with BR Life in 2013.

Our motto was simple. We wished to offer affordable yet quality and world class healthcare facilities to everyone in the country. We started this process with the Government-owned Mother and Child Hospital in Udupi. BR Life today has SUT Pattom Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, Kalinga Hospital, in Bhubaneshwar, SSNMC Hospital in Bangalore (Bengaluru), and SNH in Raipur. We are also planning to expand our footprints in India’s every metro city. Our plans of setting up a Medicity in Amaravathi, Andhra Pradesh is already in progress.

Q

Tell us about BR Life’s mission and vision and how is it contributing to make healthcare accessible and affordable in India?

My father has been a firm believer in the fact that affordable, yet quality healthcare must be made accessible to everyone. Almost four decades after setting up his healthcare venture

in Abu Dhabi, he decided to invest in changing the Indian healthcare scenario.

BR Life’s mission is to provide quality world class healthcare facilities at an affordable cost and accessible to all. While profitability remains a part of our business goals, we are more focused on adding value, and consider ourselves as long-term players in India. Our team is well-versed in both operational and supply chain efficiency.

Q

What specialties do you offer to patient in terms of i.e Cardiology, Critical Care, and Emergency medicine?

We have always believed in giving the best quality and affordable healthcare to everyone. All our existing hospitals are multi-speciality hospitals with world class facilities. We have doctors with strong clinical expertise who can help us build our brand by delivering the best of the medical services. In our hospitals, we provide major facilities like cardiac sciences, emergency medicine and trauma, neuro science, nephrology, general surgery, organ transplant, medical and surgical oncology, and gynecology.

Q

How do you calibrate Indian healthcare delivery system in terms of leveraging technology and innovation to enhance patient care?

Technological innovation has been revolutionising the entire market

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Q

Have you collaborated with any State Government to boost different deliverable of healthcare?

Yes. In India, the most beneficial way to collaborate with any State Government is through Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. Our aim is to enhance the quality of our healthcare system across all locations.

The PPP model helps in delivering quality services, improving the overall healthcare scenario in the country.

BR Life has taken over the government’s existing Mother and Child Hospital in Udupi, Karnataka through a PPP and has constructed a new hospital that currently offers free medical care to the underprivileged

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section in this region. This is a 200bed hospital that offers high-quality healthcare services with advanced diagnostic facilities together with the highest level of care and commitment to the people. Also, BR Life has been selected by the Government of Karnataka to set up, upgrade, operate and manage dialysis centers in seven clusters across the State for five years.

This is first of its kind PPP project undertaken by the Government with our support. A year ago, when we started the dialysis centre, we could only provide 3,500 treatments per month. Now, we have crossed 21,000 treatments per month.

Q

In India, primary healthcare is found wanting in terms of basic facilities. What is the remedy, especially for rural India?

Currently, most of the quality healthcare facilities are provided only in the metro and Tier-1 cities. Almost 60 percent hospitals, 75 percent dispensaries and 80 percent doctors are in urban areas servicing only 30 percent of the country’s population.

This situation itself paints a grim picture regarding the unavailability of secondary or tertiary care services in rural areas, leading to higher costs of healthcare for rural population.

We need to keep extending our services in Tier-2 and 3 cities and rural areas as well to ensure that quality and affordable healthcare services are made accessible to all. More investment from the Government in the healthcare sector and PPP model in rural areas will help in improving the industry and providing high quality services to the patients.

At BR Life, our motto is simple and easy - to focus on accurate diagnosis, scientific treatment, and precise delivery of healthcare services. Scientific cost accounting, standardisation of procedures, proper training, and alignment with expert medical and non-medical professionals are few of the focus areas that BR

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BR LIFE’S MISSION IS TO PROVIDE QUALITY WORLD CLASS HEALTHCARE FACILITIES AT AN AFFORDABLE COST AND ACCESSIBLE TO ALL. WHILE PROFITABILITY REMAINS A PART OF OUR BUSINESS GOALS, WE ARE MORE FOCUSED ON ADDING VALUE.

INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

of healthcare industry across the globe. With the emergence of new technological innovations such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotic Process Automation, Cloud Computing, Automation and Analytics, the sector has been undergoing a lot of changes.

These rapidly evolving technologies have enabled healthcare players like us to connect with patients irrespective of time and space and offer health advices. Telemedicine is one such example that has empowered both, the patients in remote locations and our doctors to connect and consult in realtime and stay healthy.

In India, with a spurt in the growth of IT companies and start-ups, a lot of hospitals are already adopting advanced medical technologies to modernise clinical care, reduce cost of medical facilities, automate processes and avoid duplications of tests. However, the reach of such healthcare units is still restricted mostly to the Tier-1 cities and the super-speciality hospitals.

These improved and innovative technologies should be deployed mainly in the government hospitals in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, where quality healthcare is still a concern.

Life is working towards tirelessly to improve patient experience, engagement, and satisfaction in all its existing and upcoming hospitals.

Q

What are your expansion plans considering the huge opportunity Indian healthcare today offers?

There is a huge opportunity in the Indian healthcare market. We have already initiated expansion by increasing our capacity in the acquired hospitals. We are increasing the capacity of BR Life SUT Pattom Hospital to 423-beds. We also have plans to increase the number of beds in SSNMC hospital in Bengaluru and Kalinga in Bhubaneshwar in the fiscal year. We are also in process of setting up a 600-bed multi-speciality hospital in Varanasi, an additional wing in Udupi in conjunction with our existing Mother and Child Hospital, to ensure more patients get access to our services. We are also starting a medicity in Amaravathi, Andhra Pradesh.

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CORPORATE UPDATE

Corporate Acquisitions/Appointments Philips to acquire Carestream’s Healthcare IT business Carestream Health has signed an agreement with Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology, to sell its healthcare information systems (HCIS) business to Philips.

Carestream’s HCIS business unit provides imaging IT solutions to multi-site hospitals, radiology services providers, imaging centers and specialty medical clinics around the world.

The business has developed strong customer relationships in attractive, high-growth healthcare segments and is positioned for continued growth and success.

“We have had global success in providing radiology and enterprise imaging IT systems to help medical professionals provide quality care and enhance their operations,” said Ludovic D’Aprea, Carestream’s General Manager for Healthcare Information Solutions.

Aurobindo Pharma acquires 7 oncology products for $300 mn Aurobindo Pharma has announced that it has completed the acquisition of seven marketed oncology injectable products, intellectual property and commercial infrastructure from Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc, a US-based global branded oncology company by Acrotech Biopharma.

In January, Aurobindo Pharma had said it will acquire a portfolio of seven branded oncology injectable products from Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc in a $300 million deal (over Rs 2,100 crore) which includes an upfront cash payment of $160 million.

“We would like to inform you that the acquisition has been completed on March 1,” Aurobindo Pharma said in a regulatory filing to the BSE recently.

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MARCH-APRIL 2019

WHO appoints Soumya Swaminatha Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan, an Indian paediatrician and clinical scientist has been named as chief scientist at World Health Organisation (WHO).

Swaminathan, who is known for her work in tuberculosis, will be heading the newly created department to strengthen the scientific work under WHO. In October 2017, Swaminathan was appointed Deputy Director General at WHO, the first Indian to hold the position.

Responding to her new role, Swaminathan said, “This newly created position of chief scientist will give me an opportunity to strengthen WHO’s core normative work, promote research on public health priorities and strengthen health research capacity in countries including on ethics, and accelerate access to digital technologies to improve health.”

Suven Life Sciences to buy Rising Pharmaceuticals’ assets for $15 mn Hyderabad based biopharmaceutical company Suven Life Sciences Ltd which provides contract research and manufacturing services, has entered into an asset purchase agreement to buy the assets of US-based Aceto Corporation’s Rising Pharmaceuticals Suven Life Sciences through its joint venture partner, Shore Suven Pharma, Inc has entered into a “stalking-horse” asset purchase agreement to buy the assets of Aceto Corporation’s Rising Pharmaceuticals and Rising subsidiaries, Suven Life said in a regulatory filing.

“This potential acquisition of Rising’s assets would transform Shore Suven Pharma into a strong US generic pharmaceutical company. Leveraging Rising’s extensive product portfolio to become vertically integrated with our already world class API and finished dose manufacturing capabilities will enable us to better serve US customers,” Suven Life Sciences CEO and Chairman Venkat Jasti said.

Radiant Life Care-Max Healthcare merger deal gets clearance from CCI The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has cleared the purposed deal between KKR-backed Radiant Life Care and Max Healthcare.

In a joint statement in December 2018, the companies had announced the proposed merger. The combined entity will be valued at Rs 7,242 crore, statement said.

In a tweet, the fair trade regulator said “it approves proposed combination of Max Healthcare Institute Limited, Radiant Life Care Private Limited and Kayak Investments Holding Private Limited (affiliate of KKR & Co. Inc.).”

According to the joint statement, the deal will see KKR becoming the majority shareholder, while Radiant Life Care promoter Abhay Soi will lead the combined company as chairman. Max Healthcare promoters led by Analjit Singh would step down, it added.

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