Apollo Hospitals Achieve IT-Driven Healthcare Goals : Dr. Prathap C. Reddy

Interview Questions

Full Interview with Dr. Prathap C. Reddy

Dr. Prathap C. Reddy:

Information technology (IT) has made a significant difference to the quality and standards of medical care and infrastructure in India. When I came back to India in 1983, the healthcare scenario was only dotted with the large government hospitals and smaller private clinics and nursing homes. I recall my days at government institutions when all we had was multitudes of registers (including a register to list all the registers there were), and everything was handwritten. There was no way a patient's case record could be maintained cohesively, updated or transmitted to another location in those days - when computers were kept in glass cases and had a 'Handle with Care' tag on them! Then, the IT and telecom revolution happened in the country and, suddenly, information and communication systems across the country entered a magical transformation phase. However, if we look at the healthcare industry, I'm afraid only a small percentage of private sector hospitals have realized the massive potential of IT in healthcare and adopted IT in their systems. We have to widen the utilization of IT in the healthcare sector across all categories of hospitals and across the country.

 

Dr. Prathap C. Reddy:

Yes, there is a major shift in customer expectations. Today, patients who walk into hospitals are aware of the conveniences and enhanced service quality that IT brings to several aspects of their daily lives - banking, communications, Internet, entertainment and travel, for example. Therefore, their expectations are extremely high when it comes to a crucial service like healthcare. It is here that IT can fulfil a lot of those expectations because whether the healthcare facility is large or small, having the right IT infrastructure can provide: Comprehensive information on an individual's health that is accessible in a standard format Universal but secure access to medical information Improved infrastructure, systems and processes in a hospital, and enabling a smooth automated workflow to ensure customer satisfaction, advanced treatment tools such as computer-assisted diagnoses, and pattern and trend recognition.

 

Dr. Prathap C. Reddy:

India should become the global healthcare destination. That is my vision for the healthcare domain in India. And I think it is eminently possible as we have most of the essentials right: medical and nursing professionals with a very high standard of skills and talent, infrastructure and technology that matches the best in the world. Though healthcare, as an industry, enjoys much governmental and institutional support today, an intensified focus from them would really hasten our progress to fulfilment of my vision. In the next five years, I see Apollo hospitals taking a leadership role in India's journey towards global leadership in healthcare. We have, and will continue, to spearhead several efforts in clinical medicine, infrastructure, IT, research, technology and innovative services such as disease management and preventive healthcare. Most importantly, we want to bring trans-national medicine for the benefit of patients.

 

Dr. Prathap C. Reddy:

Technology is obviously a major driver in fulfilling this vision. Apollo Hospitals utilizes technology in several forms - for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, to begin with. Second, we leverage the benefits of IT in healthcare: in integrated and seamless electronic medical records, or our telemedicine initiative for enhanced access to medical care. Further, our automated systems and processes help in enhancing patient satisfaction, and improving their experience. Apollo is also one of the largest medical business outsourcing companies doing billing, costing and adjudication for US hospitals, doctors, and insurance companies.

 

Dr. Prathap C. Reddy:

We believe that research is also a very crucial driver in our path to become world leaders in healthcare. We have the Spectra Clinical Research Centre (SCRC), which is responsible for conducting clinical trials and research for Apollo Hospitals. Spectra's activities encompass site monitoring, coordination and facilitation of clinical drug trials. Drug trials are conducted in order to ascertain the safety, efficacy and adverse effects, if any, of a drug. There are currently 15 international and 55 domestic drug trials being conducted at SCRC. The international trials are multi-centric, global, phase II and phase III trials, working towards FDA and European Union registration. We have also entered into a tieup with the Johns Hopkins Medicine International, US, to undertake a collaborative study on cardiovascular diseases in India. Incidence of cardiovascular diseases has been found to be rapidly increasing among Indians and carries a high mortality rate. Expert estimates put India as having the highest incidence of cardiovascular diseases in the world, more so among the younger generation. This would be the first comprehensive study to look into the several theories that are attributed to influencing a higher rate of cardiovascular diseases prevalence in the country. This collaborative research is aimed at studying in detail and documenting the key risk factors and providing a greater insight to develop appropriate steps towards control and prevention.

Dr. Prathap C. Reddy:

As I said, being the first corporate hospital in the country, Apollo Hospitals was one of the first to start processes of automation, computerization: an electronic medical record system, a sophisticated billing system that was fully automated, and also a sophisticated medication management system at the wards. Telemedicine too has been a major successful initiative. And, we are committed to updating each of these areas to keep up with the latest innovations in IT related processes - including the current upgrade to the next level of advancement in the HIS, which is currently going on across the entire group.

 

Dr. Prathap C. Reddy:

IT will play a more and more important role in healthcare delivery in each of our hospitals, so we will continue to invest in this area. One area we hope to make major progress in is the Healthcare Hiway, an extremely ambitious venture where we hope to integrate every small unit, nursing home, or private practitioner in any remote location in India with our tertiary care locations, so that the expertise and strengths of Apollo Hospitals can be utilized for the community at large. By this process, opinions can be sought, records and investigations can be shared, and screening as well as followup care can be provided.

 

Dr. Prathap C. Reddy:

When the vision is to become the preferred medical destination for the world, it becomes necessary to surpass the world's benchmarks for healthcare standards and outcomes. We have to be truly global because our patient population is becoming increasingly global. So, we decided to acquire for ourselves the best of the world's standards. The starting point was the accreditation from the Joint Commission International (JCI), a US-based accreditation body dedicated to improving healthcare quality and safety around the world. The accreditation is an international gold standard for hospitals and has been achieved by only 24 hospitals in the world. The Apollo Hospitals group has also achieved the unique distinction of achieving accreditation for four of its hospitals.

 

Dr. Prathap C. Reddy:

I think the current medical regulations are to be modified, especially quality standards. As far as Apollo is concerned, though governmental regulations are important, we also have a number of stringent self-regulatory practices for the benefit of patient safety, confidentiality and best practices.

 

Dr. Prathap C. Reddy:

Yes, indeed. The role of a CIO is very crucial for a global and multidimensional healthcare chain like Apollo. Since technology and IT are an integral part of our growth and operational strategies, it is but natural that the CIO would be a major driving force in helping us attain our goal and realizing our vision