Hospitals look to ride the medical tourism wave- The Economic Times
Hospitals look to ride the medical tourism wave- The Economic Times
Indian hospitals seem to be loosening purse strings to invest in service delivery improvements to ride the wave of medical tourism, telemedicine and the market at the bottom of the pyramid.
It is estimated that top Indian hospitals spend anything in the range of Rs 15- 20 crore on systems that improve fire safety, quality and change management and technological upgrades to meet international standards.
Top Indian hospitals are clamouring for international accreditations too. “Three hospitals of the Apollo Group have been certified by the Joint Commission International. There is only one other hospital in the country that has managed to get certified,” says Apollo Hospital’s Dr Mahesh Joshi. Certification will require a hospital to meet global standards on 1,033 parameters, he adds .
This will require hospitals to put in place infection control systems, better nurse to patient ratios, quality operation theatre fittings and better testing equipment like CT scans. “Operational efficiency is a key challenge faced currently by hospitals,” says Ernst & Young industry leader (health services), Utkarsh Palnitkar.
Top hospitals are spending on departmental connectivity, billing systems and change management systems. Technology can reduce turnaround times of medical procedures, increase staff productivity, provide real time patient monitoring, he adds. But, Dr Gopichand Mannam, chief-cardiothoracic surgery, Care Hospital, says, “Indian hospitals are collectively only one mile up a road that is a hundred miles long.
We are nowhere close to the hospitals abroad, barring a few top ones. The small hospitals will find it difficult to meet international standards.” While Indian hospitals may be hot medical destinations for patients from African and Asian countries, the average westerner will be difficult to please.
“If we have to make medical tourism a reality, we have to be able to provide westerners the level of service they are used to at a lower cost,” adds Dr Mannam. “It is only now that hospitals have started to see reason in investing in management systems,” says Jangoo Dalal, senior vice-president, Cisco Systems India.
Hospitals will soon start to use wi-fi, palmtops and IP platforms for data exchange in top hospitals, he adds. CMC Vellore is looking to develop smart cards for individual patients that will carry their medical history and also the current case history. But, there is a clear dichotomy between hospitals in the area of modernisation.
“While hardware is relatively cheap, hospital management software solutions are still expensive,” says CMC Vellore systems manager, Ebenezer Sundararaj. Even when these systems are implemented, problems of training remain, he adds. Consequently, many healthcare providers will find it difficult to take to modernisation.
“Only 30-40 hospitals in the country can afford to spend the kind of money that is required to scale up to the level required,” adds Apollo Hospitals’ CEO, Dr Hariprasad. “We need to enhance accessibility of services for niches with unmet demand,” says Mr Palnitkar. The largest market for healthcare services remains the rural sector.
Basic health services are still required in rural areas, and there is tremendous scope for telemedicine. “Large hospitals have begun to tie up with peripheral centres. Fibre optics can provide important connectivity,” says Mr Sundararaj.
Indian hospitals seem to be loosening purse strings to invest in service delivery improvements to ride the wave of medical tourism, telemedicine and the market at the bottom of the pyramid.
It is estimated that top Indian hospitals spend anything in the range of Rs 15- 20 crore on systems that improve fire safety, quality and change management and technological upgrades to meet international standards.
Top Indian hospitals are clamouring for international accreditations too. “Three hospitals of the Apollo Group have been certified by the Joint Commission International. There is only one other hospital in the country that has managed to get certified,” says Apollo Hospital’s Dr Mahesh Joshi. Certification will require a hospital to meet global standards on 1,033 parameters, he adds .
This will require hospitals to put in place infection control systems, better nurse to patient ratios, quality operation theatre fittings and better testing equipment like CT scans. “Operational efficiency is a key challenge faced currently by hospitals,” says Ernst & Young industry leader (health services), Utkarsh Palnitkar.
Top hospitals are spending on departmental connectivity, billing systems and change management systems. Technology can reduce turnaround times of medical procedures, increase staff productivity, provide real time patient monitoring, he adds. But, Dr Gopichand Mannam, chief-cardiothoracic surgery, Care Hospital, says, “Indian hospitals are collectively only one mile up a road that is a hundred miles long.
We are nowhere close to the hospitals abroad, barring a few top ones. The small hospitals will find it difficult to meet international standards.” While Indian hospitals may be hot medical destinations for patients from African and Asian countries, the average westerner will be difficult to please.
“If we have to make medical tourism a reality, we have to be able to provide westerners the level of service they are used to at a lower cost,” adds Dr Mannam. “It is only now that hospitals have started to see reason in investing in management systems,” says Jangoo Dalal, senior vice-president, Cisco Systems India.
Hospitals will soon start to use wi-fi, palmtops and IP platforms for data exchange in top hospitals, he adds. CMC Vellore is looking to develop smart cards for individual patients that will carry their medical history and also the current case history. But, there is a clear dichotomy between hospitals in the area of modernisation.
“While hardware is relatively cheap, hospital management software solutions are still expensive,” says CMC Vellore systems manager, Ebenezer Sundararaj. Even when these systems are implemented, problems of training remain, he adds. Consequently, many healthcare providers will find it difficult to take to modernisation.
“Only 30-40 hospitals in the country can afford to spend the kind of money that is required to scale up to the level required,” adds Apollo Hospitals’ CEO, Dr Hariprasad. “We need to enhance accessibility of services for niches with unmet demand,” says Mr Palnitkar. The largest market for healthcare services remains the rural sector.
Basic health services are still required in rural areas, and there is tremendous scope for telemedicine. “Large hospitals have begun to tie up with peripheral centres. Fibre optics can provide important connectivity,” says Mr Sundararaj.