Dr Devlina Chakravarty, COO & Medical Director, Artemis Health Institute,Gurgaon, believes that there should be a seamless integration of different spectrumsof healthcare. While speaking to Shally Makin, she sheds light on the dedicationwith which Artemis is providing care to its patients

What is the role of ICT in hospitals? How far haveyou implemented it in your hospital?

Artemis has created a strong IT infrastructure tostrengthen its services. Spread across a total area of525,000 square feet the facility focuses on offering patientstechnology-backed world-class healthcare deliveredthrough leading medical professionals. Artemishas received Most Promising Start-Up of the Year 2007award by Express Healthcare magazine and Best ITImplementation for the Year 2008 from PC Quest magazinefor Hospital Information System. The hospital has
one of the best integrated ICT systems. All the medicalinformation is stored on EMR, which is seamlessly integratedwith HIS and RIS. When a patient walks in, themedical records are already with the hospital, furtherdelivering effective healthcare. Recommendations of adoctor can be recorded at every visit of the patient.

Please brief us about the various technologies,software applications, medical and diagnosticequipments being used in the hospital toproviding effective healthcare.

Artemis provides highest level of inpatient monitoring,paperless and film-less hospital information systemalong with top of the line communication technology.Seamless integration with the Hospital Information Systemin each department is enabled. Each patient (Inpatientor OPD) who comes to Artemis is given a dedicatedcode. All reports, data, medicine prescriptions areuploaded on the system and even if the patient walksin to AHI after a year, he need not carry any reports orfiles. AHI systems will have a copy of the records.

The doctors can type their prescriptions and give it tothe patient. We have in place an intelligent critical patientmonitoring system with clinical decision support applicationbacked by portal imaging technology. It is an integratedsystem through which the data of the ICU patients(BP/ heart beat, etc.) is updated and recorded. AHI hasa web enabled Health Information System, which allowsthe authorised doctors to access patient data from anywherein the world. Even when the doctor is travelling, hecan offer a consultation or advice on the line of treatment.Appropriate measures are taken for protecting the data.The real time Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) isone of its kinds in North India. This allows for radiationto be delivered exactly where required, with minimal impacton the surrounding healthy cells. An EndovascularSuite equipped with the latest in 3D rotational imaging toperform neuro-interventional, cardiac catheterisation orperipheral endovascular procedures with precision. Anin-house bio-repository and a 24-hour blood bank withthe facility to conduct Individual Donor NAT (Nucleic AcidAmplification Test) is also a part of the IT systems enrolledin the hospital.

How do you see Artemis standing upright in thehealthcare industry?

Artemis is striving towards creating a niche in the industry.The expansion of the institute to Delhi-NCR andother places is in the pipeline. It believes in providingexcellent clinical outcomes, good services and becominga preferred destination for international patients.Industry is innovating very fast; new technologies arebeing brought in all the time. There is a dire need oftrained professionals in the industry. For many technicians,IT is a new field. We intend to judiciously usetechnology because it has increased the healthcarecosts. In order to quickly incorporate IT in hospitals weneed to keep tangible benefits. The vendors provide uswith trained technicians and software experts to helpdoctors and the existing staff to operate the new systemsand equipment. This proves to be a cost effectivemethod, it also saves training time. With such high endlatest equipment and infrastructure for predictive, diagnostic and therapeutic imaging, the organisation can providebest possible treatment to the patient.

Artemis is striving towards creatinga niche in the industry. The expansionof the institute to Delhi-NCRand other places is in the pipeline.It believes in providing excellentclinical outcomes, good services andbecoming a preferred destination forinternational patients

Do you think such services have enhanced the level ofhealthcare delivery?

Healthcare industry in the India is a sunrise industry. We haveso many hospitals with best technology, IT back up and highlytrained doctors and best infrastructure. There is a shortage ofvery well trained professionals and technicians. Since IT is thebackbone of healthcare institutions, we are trying to poachexperienced and qualified doctors to be part of tech-orientedhospital. We need high numbers of medical-IT professionals.Artemis follows patient-centric processes conforming to InternationalPatient Protocols, thereby establishing new standardsfor service and care. The new arrivals have to basically do lot oflearning on the job. A lot of reluctance was seen from the staffinitially, but as doctors have realised the potential of IT, the acceptanceamongst the staff and doctors has increased.

Do you think ICT has started providing emergencyservices as well? If so, what are the services beingprovided in your hospital?

Aero medical transportation is provided to the patientsfor emergency evacuation by air. It includes search and rescuesystems. Skilled personnel are transported to the sceneof accident, along with equipment and medical material toprovide on-site. Inter-hospital or intra-hospital transfers, nationalor international repatriation, and transportation ofdonor organs and drugs is also offered. Domestic andinternational ambulance services are provided in case ofemergency. Almost 40-45 percent conversion rate has beenobserved in case of critical patients, as the services providedto them are world class. However, there is a need ofa centralised emergency number with fleet of ambulances,which can provide effective service. Ambulance plays abig role in trauma and accident. Most private hospitals lookfor their own patients. But the challenge is how to take care ofthe patient in case of a road accident. The issue of transporting
the patient to the nearest hospital in case of an accident mustbe jointly addressed by the government and the hospitals.

How do you see the advancements in the field ofradiology over last few decades? Which areas ofhealthcare have mostly been benefited through suchtechnologies?

Radiology has progressed in leaps and bound. Todayalmost anything and everything can be diagnosed by radiology. initially only x-ray and ultrasound has moved on to PETCT scanners, high Tesla MRI which does both anatomical andradiological imaging. Interventional radiology is the need of the our today, because so many procedures require diagnosis ofthe disease. Radiology equipments, including ultrasound, canbe of therapeutic use in some cases. It thus provides a simplistic,cost effective model of treatment leading to lower mortalityand morbidity rate. The clinical outcomes are so good thatthe cost is valued for money and the ambience is excellent. Intimes to come, India can become the hub of medical tourism. Ithink its the great time for the healthcare industry to make haywhile the sun shines.

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