Continental Hospitals is a NABH-JCI accredited multi-speciality quaternary care hospital with a capacity of 750 beds. With the state-of-the-art facilities, advanced medical equipment combined with the latest technology, the hospital ensures utmost comfort and safety to patients, says Dr Rahul Medakkar, CEO, Continental Hospitals, in conversation with Mukul Kumar Mishra of Elets News Network (ENN).
Q CONTINENTAL HOSPITALS HAS CARVED A NICHE IN HEALTHCARE DELIVERY SPACE THROUGH EFFICIENT CRITICAL CARE TEAM AND STATEOF-THE-ART FACILITIES. TELL US ABOUT ITS MISSION AND VISION.
Our vision is to be the global leader in value-based integrated healthcare. We, at Continental Hospitals, believe this can be achieved by taking exemplary care of patients anchored around our people who strive to continuously raise the bar in clinical, operational and service excellence. We value people, excellence and results.
Our following values form the backbone of our existence and daily routine:
- Patients first – We put patients’ needs first
- Integrity – We do the right thing
- Empathy – We listen with our hearts
- Teamwork – We are better together
- Excellence – We champion continuous improvement and innovation
Q PINPOINT SOME DISTINCT FACTS ABOUT THE HOSPITAL PERTAINING TO INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES WHICH MAKES IT THE LEADING PROVIDER IN THE AREA WHERE PATIENTS AND FAMILY COULD REPOSE FAITH WITHIN.
Continental Hospitals is a NABHJCI accredited multi-speciality quaternary care hospital with a capacity of 750 beds. The hospital has state-of-the-art facilities, advanced medical equipment combined with the latest technology. It is designed to deliver utmost patient comfort, safety and avoid cross infections.
The hospital has Great OT, Level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). It is known for its Centres of Excellence which constitute emergency medicine, critical care, orthopedics and trauma, neurosciences, oncology, multiorgan transplant and advanced lung diseases.
Our approach to patient care is based on the belief that every individual is unique even if the disease/ symptoms are same. Clinically and operationally, personalized attention is at core of our patient care philosophy.
Round-the-clock availability of specialist doctors, seamless trauma & emergency care, and clinical work at par excellence across all specialities differentiates us for better. Right from inception, the principle of collaborative care is implemented to enable well-coordinated clinical care. No patient is declined the access to vital clinical care due to financial constraints. As far as reposing faith is concerned, we strongly believe that our patient testimonials speak volumes about our up to the mark services.
Q IN THE AGE OF INTERNET AND APPS, HOW THE HOSPITAL HAS EVOLVED DIGITALLY TO FACILITATE A PLETHORA OF SERVICES?
In this digital age, healthcare consumer is exploring digital route for choosing provider, access to provider, service and extramural engagement.
Continental Hospitals has a very high degree of EMR adaption. Our processes are almost paperless. We leverage digital technology for various services including appointment, diagnostic reports, patient education, community awareness, and preliminary screening.
Q QUALITY AND AFFORDABILITY ARE TWO IMPORTANT DETERMINANTS OF PATIENT CARE TODAY. HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO MAINTAIN A FINE BALANCE BETWEEN THE TWO IN THE LIGHT OF COSTLY EQUIPMENT AND OTHER LOGISTIC EXPENSES?
Continental Hospitals is one of the very few hospitals in the world to be accredited by JCI within two years of inception. The compliance to JCI accreditation norms enables unquestionable quality and patient safety outcomes beyond boundaries of cost and affordability.
However, we also face challenges pertaining to changing business environments such as rapidly growing medical inflation, price pressures, lowering margins in drugs, consumables etc.
In this light, we need to be extremely cautious and sensitive to affordability of the target population. Our approach to right sizing cost is through clinical and business process reengineering.
Q TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXISTING BRANCHES AND FUTURE EXPANSION PLANS.
Continental Hospitals is a Gleneagles facility. It is part of IHH Healthcare, one of the largest private healthcare providers in the world by market capitalization with 80 hospitals across 10 different countries. We are growing along with IHH.
Currently, Continental Hospitals is working on inorganic growth through the O&M model. It aims at secondary care hospitals in the target geographic area. The intended value propositions are clinical capability building and improved access to quaternary care to peripheral population.
Q HOW DO YOU ANALYZSE THE INDIAN HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IN COMPARISON TO SOME OF THE BEST HEALTHCARE DELIVERY MODELS ACROSS THE GLOBE?
Indian healthcare is evolving and learning. There has been significant improvement in availability and access to care in recent years. However, compared to the mature healthcare systems in world, it still needs to address key issues. These are lack of universal coverage, inequity and accessibility. Patients face issues due to lack of integrated care among all steps of pyramids i.e. primary to quaternary and prevention to rehabilitation. Capability building and bridging urban-rural disparity should be top strategic priority for policymakers.
Prevention strategies should be implementation focus for reducing double disease burden (communicable as well as noncommunicable). Synergy building within the healthcare delivery system is a critical success factor. Quality assurance regulations should evolve further to ensure patient safety and quality. Mechanisms should be devised to incentivize appropriate ethical medical care and to remain sustainable.
Be a part of Elets Collaborative Initiatives. Join Us for Upcoming Events and explore business opportunities. Like us on Facebook , connect with us on LinkedIn and follow us on Twitter , Instagram.