‘Improvement in healthcare delivery through insurance is the need of the day’

How has the year 2014 shaped up for Ruby Hall clinic?

Bomi Bhote

Our focus in 2014 has been mainly on ramping up operations of our new boutique hospital located at Wanowarie and catering to foreign patients for the same.

What have been the most notable initiatives taken this year?

Considering the response that we have been getting from foreign patients coming for treatment to India we thought it proper that we should reach out to our patients and have tied up with two hospitals one in Muscat and one in Nairobi to function on management basis, wherein our doctors and nurses would be deputed on assignment basis. As it is, we are aware that most of our nurses leave and go abroad for greener pastures and hence we thought it would be better if they could be sent on assignment from our side to foreign countries.

What are the projects and initiatives underway or planned for this region?

Our hospital at Hinjewadi is under construction and would be the only hospital in that IT belt. Plans are underway to start a new hospital at Amanora Park which would be a dedicated state-of-the-art cancer hospital.

Both these hospitals would be quite different from a general hospital as the hospital at Hinjewadi would cater to the needs of IT professionals and hence the hospital has been designed with more emphasis on typical problems which IT professionals face, sitting on the computer for long hours.

The cancer hospital at Amanora would have a dedicated out-patient centre which would have all types of linear accelerators including tomotherapy and cyber knife. Thus the patient would have multiple choices for the line of treatment.

Any expansion plans in the offing? If yes, what kind of investment are you looking at?

The new hospital at Hinjewadi, with an investment of Rs 80 crores, is scheduled to start operations in 2015 and 2016 would see the commencement of operations at the new hospital at Amanora Park.

What are the areas that need more focus to improve healthcare delivery in the Western region? What is Ruby Hall doing to fill the gaps?

Improvement in health care delivery through insurance is the need of the day and finally the solution to providing health care down to the last person would only be achieved through a comprehensive insurance model.

What are the opportunities and challenges that are peculiar to the Western region of the country?

The Western region has been far more progressive, with a number of hospitals having high end technology though the main challenge of shortage of doctors and nurses is a deterrent to growth.

Three recommendations that would help to take healthcare in the Western region to the next level

• Penetration of insurance down to the last person.
• IT in health care
• Fixed price packages and star rating of hospitals. Charging based on rating of hospital.

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