EHM People

No Denials For Basil

The 48-year-old R Basil, Director and CEO of Manipal Health Systems, is known in the industry for being upright and straightforward. So, during a recent meeting with him, when we enquired about the news of his group scouting for projects in and around Mumbai, he surprised us by his honest reply.

Upon hearing the names of the hospitals (which we cannot disclose) from us, he confided with a warm smile, “Yes, we are trying and having talks with these hospitals, but nothing has been finalised as yet.” After a brief pause, he quipped, “We are looking at acquiring sick projects in and around Mumbai. If not takeovers, we will go for greenfield projects. And if not Mumbai, then we will look at Pune.”

While most CEOs either diplomatically evade or even reprimand you for trying to be too inquisitive about such business deals, we give Basil full marks for his frankness. And wish more people at the helm were like him. And that was not the end of the conversation with this prolific CEO. In his disarming smile, he even enquired whether the Manipal Group will succeed in Mumbai. With such a warm and candid CEO, it will go places, we say.

The group, which has 13 hospitals in India, has recently acquired a 500-bed tertiary hospital in Vijaywada, which was earlier run in collaboration with the Apollo Group. And it has many more projects in the pipeline.

Devising New Child Survival Strategy

Dr Nitin Shah, President of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP), and Consultant Paediatrician, P D Hinduja National Hospital, Mumbai, plans to embark on a child survival strategy for a period of five years. The programme will focus on issues like malnutrition, HIV, neonatal causes of death, workshops for safe injections, patient and nurse education programmes and immunisation updates. Dr Shah, who was elected president in January 2006, says, “The stark reality is that India accounts for 25 per cent of the total infant mortality rate in the world. Our organisation not only aims to get to the root cause of the problem, but to study the facts of the problem and then recommend solutions.” This is the biggest challenge which he will have to face this year.

He also believes that IAP, which constitutes of 15,000 paediatricians, can achieve this goal by influencing another 15,000 paediaticians outside the organisation. “Networking is the only way to achieve success,” he adds. Under Dr Shah’s aegis, later this year, IAP will organise an HIV workshop in which speakers from all the SAARC countries will be paticipating. This is another event he is looking forward to since HIV workshops is another aspect he wants to focus.

Giving Telemedicine A Boost

President of the Neurological Society of India and a Neurosurgeon with Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, Prof K Ganapathy, 56, is renowned as one of the pioneers of telemedicine. As a member of the National Task Force on Telemedicine, constituted by the Ministry of Health, Government of India, and as a member of the Planning Commission Working Group on Health Informatics and Telemedicine, Dr Ganapathy is now engaged in the process of laying guidelines for standardisation of telemedicine facilities, evaluating telemedicine projects, assessing their impact and training the stakeholders.

Dr Ganapathy, who heads the Apollo Telemedicine Networking Foundation (ATNF) says, "In the next few years, telehealth will be an integral part of healthcare delivery systems. Proof of concept validation for mobile telemedicine and wireless telemedicine is now underway." Recently, while in Lagos, to commission the first telemedicine unit in Nigeria set up by ATNF, Dr Ganapathy submitted a proposal to the Government of Nigeria to set up telemedicine facilities there. "I met the minister of health, having spoken to the president of Nigeria earlier through video conferencing from Chennai," he informs us. And that's not all. With some like-minded telemedicine enthusiasts, Dr Ganapathy has founded the Telemedicine Society of India.

No Time For Rumours

As strange as it may sound, the market was abuzz with the rumour of Wockhardt exiting healthcare. Knowing the way the group is planning new projects and buying new hospitals, it was hard to believe. Vishal Bali, CEO, Wockhardt Hospitals, laughed at the rumours. “No, no, we are not quitting healthcare. After putting so much of labour, resource and energy, it just does not make sense to quit healthcare,” he emphasises. “Growing at 30 per cent, we have more than 1,500 beds. Our hands are so full that we don’t have time to react to such market rumours,” he adds. But what can be the genesis of such rumours? Can anybody gain from such rumours? “Our healthcare industry is very professional and there is scope for everybody,” he replies. When we tell him that an industry expert has quipped that Wockhardt cannot exit healthcare till Bali is there, he breaks into a peal of laughter. “Tell everybody not to believe such rumours,” he smiles.

Medical Superintendent In Book Of Records

Prof Pradeep Bhardwaj has his name engraved in the Limca Book of Records for being the youngest Assistant Medical Superintendent in India from a pharmacy background at the age of 27. His name was recorded in May this year. “I consider it as a reward for my hard work. I’m very happy as well as aware of the great responsibilities lying ahead,” says Prof Bhardwaj.

Prof Bharadwaj started his career in healthcare as a pharmacist in the year 2001 at the Indian Spinal Injuries Center, New Delhi and now has risen to be the Assistant Medical Superintendent in this super speciality hospital. He is also the Medico Legal Consultant in the hospital. Prof Bhardwaj believes in giving the profession of hospital administration and management in India a boost. So, what led this young man to think beyond boundaries? “Today, healthcare organisations are facing their toughest competition in decades. And the success lies in doing a better job of satisfying patient needs, which is what I am striving for,” avers Prof Bharadwaj.

He is involved in teaching future professionals pursuing PGDHA, MBA - Hospital Management in areas of health law, hospital management, TQM, materials management and Six Sigma at the College of Healthcare – Rai Foundation, AIILSG, Alagappa University, and Apollo Medversity. He has also authored a text-cum-reference book called ‘Latest in Hospital & Healthcare Management’.

Go Beyond The Western Stars

Hailed as one of the ideal leaders in the healthcare industry, Brig Joe Curian, CEO, S L Raheja Hospital surprisingly dismisses the whole concept of an ideal leader. In a conversation with us about leadership skills, he very modestly puts forth, “I don’t think there is any such concept as an ideal leader. It is a Utopian idea.” And, why not? “An ideal leader would mean that he doesn’t make mistakes. I have never come across such a person,” he reasons. He adds in a witty manner, “An efficient leader is one who understands the needs of the North Pole while sitting in Mumbai. His plans should be dynamic and that which is applicable for tomorrow as well as for 10 years down the line.” He acknowledges the fact that a leader can commit mistakes, after all he is but human. However, putting his ego before everything can prove to be suicidal.

Perhaps, the most inspiring comment that Brig Curian gave us was, “A leader believes that the most powerful resource are the people. You cannot stretch the capacity of a machine, but the capacity of the people is enormous.” And that is not all. Every change is welcomed by the leader as an opportunity. He prefers to look beyond his immediate environment and time frame. It is like the famous saying of Napoleo: “I am not brilliant, but I think ahead.” Except that Napoleon could not foresee it would rain during the Battle of Waterloo!

Giving Every Heart Its Best

For quite sometime, the Head of Cardiac Rehab and Preventive Cardiology at the Asian Heart Institute (AHI), Mumbai, Dr Aashish Contractor has been quietly harbouring the wish of expanding his support group for cardiology patients beyond AHI. Around two years back, he set up 'Caring Hearts' — a support group for cardiology patients who trooped to AHI. Recently his long-nurtured dream was fulfilled, as 'Caring Hearts' was opened for patients and volunteers outside the hospital. "Anybody with a heart problem or willing to help cardiac patients now can be a part of the group," says the 35-year-old cheerful cardiologist.

Members of the group will meet on second Saturdays of every month in AHI to discuss their problems, lend support to each other, and listen to a 20-minute talk on ways to lead a healthy life. "I am just a facilitator for the group. Administrators and volunteers will manage the group," he states, modestly. Members will be charged a nominal fee of around Rs 200 to Rs 400. "We are open to pharma and insurance companies sponsoring some sessions," says Dr Contractor.

Training Dental Assistants

Every dentist will love to have an assistant who is well trained. Till now, there was no course aimed at training dental assistants. This gulf will now be bridged by Dr Sanjay Kalra’s ‘Dentis-Tree Institute’.

In affiliation with Bellingham Technical College (BTC), Washington State, US, Dentis-Tree conducts India’s only Dental Assistant Course. In addition to being the Founder of Dentis-Tree, Dr Kalra is a practising dentist in Panchkula, Haryana, and also the Professor and HOD, Department of Prosthetics at BRS Dental College, Panchkula. “I had time and again felt the dearth of efficient medical assistants for dentists. This course was started with the aim of satisfying the need of many dentists like myself,” Dr Kalra says.

The course prepares students to assist the dentist chair-side during diagnostic, preventive and operative dental procedures. This one-year-course provides each passing dental assistant with certification from BTC and has the potential to offer students a career path in the US and Canada.

“To deliver quality education, seats in each batch are strictly limited to 25,” Dr Kalra informs. Dentis-Tree has been conducting this course from the past one year and has the first batch of 20 students passing this year. The course fee is Rs 70,000 annually, including all aspects of the course. A team from BTC periodically visits the institute and personally conducts the lectures and practicals for the upkeep of the standards.

Granzie Italy!

Italy has always been the Mecca for art, culture and fashion. Now, believe it or not, the avant garde nation is coming with innovative designs for hip implants. Professor Francesco Saverio Santori, a renowned Italian orthopaedic surgeon, has devised a new hip implant called Proxima which will substantially reduce chances of bone and tissue damage during a replacement procedure.

This hip replacement prosthesis represents the first implant specifically designed for Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) hip procedure. The prosthesis, priced around Rs 65,000, looks like a normal hip stem with the distal portion removed leaving only the proximal portion and hence the name ‘Proxima’. A soft-spoken person, the 70-year-old surgeon meticulously explains, "In a conventional implants procedure, the implant is medially inserted. As a result, it is loose and not well fixed. This further leads to the problem of early bone fractures.” An implant should be fixed in a medial and laterally convenient positions so that the load of the implant is distributed equally around the bone. He further explains, "By using Proxima, more bone is preserved as the size of the stem is smaller than the stems normally used in such a surgery and since the implant is well fixed from the beginning, the patient can be up within one or two days after surgery.” The design helps the implant achieve a more natural and anatomically correct distribution of weight to the thigh bone. Hence, it reduces the chance for proximal stress shielding and eliminates thigh pain. “The implant also increases the flexibility of the femur,” adds Santori.

With 140 successful Proxima implants under his belt, Prof Santori foresees its bright future in the country. He jovially remarks, “I am very impressed by Indian doctors. I am sure Proxima should do well here.”