Max Healthcare

Max Healthcare (MHC) started its first 'medcentre' in Panchsheel Park in January 2001 with 16 IPD beds (mainly day care). In a span of six years, MHC has developed eight healthcare facilities in Delhi/NCR region, managing 770 beds.

The largest facility of MHC is the brownfield 250-bed Max Devki Devi Heart and Vascular Institute in Saket, functional since December 2004. The focus areas are cardiology (interventional, non invasive and preventive), CTVS, pulmonology, internal medicine, endocrinology, nuclear medicine and critical care.

The adjacent 200-bed Max Super Speciality Hospital, opened in June 2006, is a greenfield project. The focus areas are orthopaedics and joint replacement, neurosciences, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatric super specialities and all support specialties including gastroenterology, GI surgery, internal medicine, pulmonology, general surgery, bariatric and minimally access surgery, nephrology, urology, ENT, endocrinology and nuclear medicine.

In addition to these two large tertiary hospitals, MHC has four secondary care hospitals. It has 100 beds at Pitampura, functional since February 2002 with facilities for cardiology (non invasive and preventive), orthopaedics and joint replacement, neurosurgery, GI and MI surgery, urology, nephrology, including dialysis and mother and child care. Another 145-bed hospital at Patparganj, functional since May 2005, offers cardiology (invasive and non-invasive), orthopedics and joint replacement, neurosurgery, GI and MI surgery, urology, nephrology including dialysis and mother and child care.

A 40-bed unit at Noida, functional since July 2002, provides facilities for mother and child, non-invasive cardiology, GP and specialist consults, pathology, radiology, chronic care, high-end dentistry, physiotherapy and laparoscopic surgery.

The last secondary hospital was commissioned in July this year in Gurgaon with over 100 beds, focusing on cardiology, orthopedics, neurosurgery, GI and MI surgery, urology, nephrology including dialysis, mother and child care, ophthalmology, health checks and plastic and reconstructive surgeries.

In addition to these six hospitals, Max Healthcare also manages two speciality centres in Panchsheel. These centres focus on specialist consultation, high-end diagnostics, day-care facilities and advanced ophthalmology and dental care. "We get around 40,000 patients per month (including repeat visits) in our OPD," says Dr Narottam Puri, Former Executive Director and currently senior consultant with the Group.

Initial Hurdles

Dr Narottam Puri Senior Consultant

The Group has faced quite a few hurdles in its initial years. Its idea of starting with the primary healthcare set-up (Dr Max Clinics) and then going secondary and tertiary did not take off well, leading to closure of the clinics. It also received a setback when a tie-up with Harvard Medical International (HMI) was terminated in 2004. But the going has been steady ever since.

Pioneering Techniques

At Max Institute of Neuro Sciences, the availability of Brain Suite, the only one in Australasia, and high-end DSA has given the Institute a very high rate of success in complicated brain surgery including tumours, vessel malfunctions and radiological intervention, and the management of stroke. This department is headed by neurosurgeon Dr Ajay Jha.

At Max Heart and Vascular Institute, Dr Ashok Seth, interventional cardiologist, who figures in the Guinness Book of World Records for highest number of angioplasties, is sought after for difficult small vessel, Y-shaped and round the bend angioplasties.

Information System

The Group has an Enterprise Hospital Information System in all units with a central database based on Net in the datacentre. "The central database holds a single patient medical record for a patient visiting in any of our units," informs Dr Sanjiv Malik, Regional Director.

MHC runs its business under different entities. "The critical feature in HIS is to maintain transactions which are legally correct for all locations in different states, comply with accounting regulations, and ensure transparency of services while the patients are moved from one location to another with a single medical record," says Dr Malik.

The modules covered in HIS are OPD with registration and scheduling, inpatient with most of the transactions taking place in ward, thereby ensuring online billing, pharmacy, laboratory (pathology, radiology, cardiology, etc) with equipment interface, operation theatre, physician and materials management systems. Every patient gets a unique identifying registration number, thereby maintaining integrity between modules.

Modules in the pipeline are diet, blood bank, doctors' payout, inventory control for non-medical items and integration of HIS transactions with the accounting software. The initiatives under process are PACS, a healthcare portal, barcoding in inventory control, SMS for different patient retention plans, RFID and healthcare analytics, informs Dr Malik.

Promoting Medical Tourism

For medical tourism, MHC has a dedicated foreign patient facilitation desk and runs an international services programme. "After establishing a network of its facilities in the NCR, MHC is in the process of setting up its international programme through representations in South Asia, Middle East and Africa. The countries covered include Bangladesh (Dhaka), Pakistan (Lahore), Sri Lanka (Colombo), Nepal (Kathmandu), Qatar (Doha), Oman (Muscat) and Tanzania (Dar Es Salam). The Centre will facilitate easy and safe transfer of patients in India. Similar centres in Singapore, the UK, Europe, Canada and the United States will follow," says Dr Puri.

The services in the programme include: initial screening and diagnosis, telemedicine evaluation and recommendation, international insurance cover (if applicable), diagnostics and treatment at the Hospital, travel arrangements to Delhi on a turnkey basis—including visa, ticketing, pick-up at the airport, money transfer and exchange, ATM withdrawals, interpretation services, exclusive 'Help Desk' and a dedicated relationship manager to ensure smooth services, stay, arrangements for return journey and all requirements for food, local travel and stay for families/attendants.

A Dose of CSR

"Commitment towards social development projects is the cornerstone of MHC's corporate policy. Thus, free treatment is provided to economically-weaker patients in Max Devki Devi Heart and Vascular Institute and Max Balaji Hospital," says Dr Puri.

In association with the Chinmaya Mission, Max has set up a primary health centre, 'Chinmaya Healthcare Centre' to provide medical attention at highly subsidised rates to those who cannot otherwise afford it. MHC has donated most of the infrastructure, and the operating costs of the clinic are shared between Max and Chinmaya Mission on a 50:50 ratio. Free consultations and medicines, a token fee for other services and a 50 per cent discount on diagnostics are the benefits offered.

"Max's commitment to the community finds its expression in association with SOS Children's villages of India, internationally recognised for their mission to help orphaned and abandoned children by providing them with a family, home, education and a strong foundation for an independent life," says Dr Puri.

The Road Ahead

MHC now wants to increase its presence in the North and West of Delhi. The Group is planning to upgrade its Patparganj facility to tertiary care level by making it over 400 beds by the end of next year. MHC is also addressing future shortage of beds and facilities in Max Super Speciality Hospital by building a South block in Saket. "Besides, we are in negotiations for greenfield and brownfield projects as joint ventures and management contracts," says Dr Puri.

With MHC slated to file an IPO soon, the Group is aiming for 'Max'imum growth.