Carethics

India might see a paradigm shift in the way cancer is treated here with the introduction of John R. Adler’s machine CyberKnife. Cyerknife is a robotic radiosurgery system that can treat tumours in any part of the body and each machine costs Rs 30 crore.

As per livemint.com, recently CyberKnife was installed at Healthcare Global Enterprises Ltd. (HCG) in Bangalore and at Apollo Speciality Cancer Hospital in Chennai, the only two machines in south Asia according to the Indian owners. The device delivers precise radiation doses thus avoiding healthy tissues and uses real time image guidance technology for the same. It is also proposed that the machine is safe and has reduced side effects as compared to other existing treatments.

The treatment costs Rs 4-5 lakhs, as compared to Rs 50,000-Rs1.5 lakhs for a standard radiation therapy. However, Adler argues that one should look at the quality aspects too. A six-seven week radiation therapy is reduced to a five-six day out-patient procedure and there are fewer side effects. Besides as volumes grow, costs will come down and health care service providers can adopt different business models to offer the technology to their patients.

While the benefits of IT in health care industry are apparent, yet its adoption in India is far below that in banking, commerce, travel, or any other industry. However the picture is not as bleak as it may appear. Many hospitals are working towards the use of innovative technology for better patient and health care.

According to the source, Apollo Hospitals is one such hospital. Apollo Hospitals is working on a project with Tata Consultancy Services that will give each of its patients a Universal Hospital Identification Number (UHIN). The number will provide any doctor anywhere across the globe, the patient’s entire medical history and records.

HealthHiway is another Apollo Hospital’s and industry initiative, which you should know about. As per the source, it will build and provide a comprehensive National Health Data Network, ensuring best global practices in healthcare processes and solutions. This will bring about an improvement in the key performance indicators—patient services, clinical outcome and financial health of user companies and result in satisfied patients.

In Indian hospitals, even today most of the information on each patient is entrusted to the individual doctor’s memory and instructions are passed down by word of mouth. In a hospital where work happens in shifts and there are three sets of nurses, three sets of ward boys, servers and duty doctors handling each patient, one can only imagine how some of the information is bound to be lost when passed down to all in charge of the patient.

Even the minutest information on hospital infections, allergic reactions, even bedsores can greatly affect a patient’s treatment and experience in the hospital. Thus, we see how a centralized automation system can solve this problem. As per the source, a hospital that has implemented, and is fully utilizing a Hospital Information System and Electronic Medical Records has seen to enhance its patient’s safety and reduce the potential for human error and oversight.

For example, proper record keeping of such minute but important details, also allows hospitals to identify and find the roots of recurring infections in the hospital. These can then be tracked to their source - poor sanitation, a negligent staff member, or improper monitoring of guests - and eliminated at the source itself.

Indian hospitals should look at automation for core medical needs, way beyond just administration work.

After covering 46 countries, Wrigley launched the ‘Wrigley Oral Healthcare Program’ in India. The program aims to help the dental professionals with information and resources required to encourage among their patients: oral-care routine. The program will incorporate the Indian consumer lifestyles and eating patterns, while supporting the independent clinical research in preventive dentistry, designing education programs, conferences and framing brochures and other reading literature.

According to the source, on the occasion of World Oral Health Day, Orbit sugar-free chewing gum, in collaboration with Indian Dental Association (IDA), partnered with 60 dentists in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru for conducting free oral check-ups. Also, people were offered Orbit as a preventive measure for tooth decay. In fact, according to Wrigley’s clinical research chewing a sugar-free gum like Orbit can reduce tooth decay by 40%. On the same day, phone lines at Radio Mirchi were made open for free dental consultancy.

The program will also leverage on the digital media to cultivate the importance of oral health and educate the consumers on the same. WOHP is also looking to soon launch a website www.wohp.co.in for the same!

As per India eNews, Chandigarh has been declared the best in blood transfusion services by National Aids Control Organization (NACO). Chandigarh has achieved this status through voluntary blood donation campaigns.

What more, it has taken this drive one step forward and intends to set up blood collection centers even in the malls! This will increase the citizen’s involvement and make blood donation more accessible and easier for the people seeking to do so.

Infact, 80% of the blood in the 4 licensed blood banks of Chandigarh, is through voluntary blood donations. These just not cater to the blood needs of the city but also of some neighbouring areas of Punjab and Haryana.

Chandigarh has collected 54,742 units of blood till September this year and collects approximately 115 units of blood each day! A great benchmark set for the other states to follow suit.

Though India has achieved some great feats on the economic front in the past decade, it has not managed to pass on the benefits to the health care sector as desired. As per the source, some 700 million people in India still lack access to care by specialists, partly because four out of five specialists live in urban areas far from the large rural population.

At such times it is a pleasure to have institutes like the Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI) – not-for-profit organization to implement technology-based solutions to bridge this gap.

With its 108 emergency-service number, EMRI provides free medical, police and fire emergencies in a number of states such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Goa, Chennai, Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Assam. It operates 1,300 technology backed ambulances in the country side of the aforesaid states, with web-based applications connecting the mobile units to hospitals and physicians. However, it plans to go national by 2010 with more than 10,000 ambulances.

So far, more than 3,000 hospitals have become members of the rural outreach program; in the first year itself 3,00,000 emergencies have been serviced and 11,500 lives have been saved!

In a digital age as this, if one has to still rely on physical medical records and manage the ever thickening folders of medical documents, that too when the Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system is already present at the patients’ disposal, it either reflects our ignorance or lack of motivation to adopt to the changes.

EMRs allow online access to the patients’ entire medical records and prescriptions and store the patients’ financial information. EMRs also allow generation of bills, automate processes and ensure availability of critical information without much running around.

According to the source, with 80% of India’s healthcare sector (growing at 16%annually- compounded) consisting of private players, the EMR system has been adopted by most of these with great enthusiasm. But the question is: ‘Is the system of EMR being utilized optimally?’

Resistance to adoption of newer technology by hospital staff has resulted in only 15-25% reduction in paperwork, despite EMR implementation. Besides EMR system is being used only for administration purposes rather than core health care purposes. Even where the system is being successfully utilized, it is done only in single hospitals and not across different healthcare service providers, though both have EMR systems implemented at their end. This is primarily due to lack of standardization.

Thus, for the successful implementation of the EMR system, it requires greater awareness, confidence, adoption and trust of newer technology.

We like it when the health care stakeholders introduce new technology to serve their customers better. As per the source - Modern Medicare, Lilavati Hospital recently inaugurated its dental clinic with a new-technology microscope, which allows more accurate, faster healing, micro dental surgeries. Patients will also be able to view their own root canal treatment through real time live display.

More sophisticated, automatic chairs and equipments will be used, specially benefitting the more serious dental issues such as jaw fractures and injuries.

Cosmetic and aesthetic dentistry treatments are also available.