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NEW DELHI, JULY 09 :
THE Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI) has issued special precautions for pregnant women to protect them from swine flu and to counter its rising incidence. Dr. Sanjay Anant Gupte, president FOGSI issued these precautions in Pune on Friday. These precautions come in the wake of a remarkable rise in the number of swine flu cases reported in pregnant women recently.

Swine flu has caused quite a few scares in the recent past. A large number of people have fallen prey to it. Some of those more prone to its risk are pregnant women.

A lot of researches have confirmed that pregnant women are more prone to serious illness as compared to other healthy people. There is a red alert for expectant mothers to protect themselves against a second wave of swine flu. A swine flu pregnancy can be life threatening for both the mother and the baby.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that 7-10 percent of all hospital admissions for swine flu are pregnant women in their second or third trimester of pregnancy. According to a study published in the journal Lancet, a new research shows pregnant women who get swine flu are more likely to develop severe complications that result in four times the normal flu hospitalization rate or even death.

If you are pregnant, you are in one of the groups of high risk for swine flu. Do not panic. Let us know why pregnant women are at greater risk from swine flu, what those risks are, the special precautions you should take and the safety information for swine flu treatments.

In pregnancy immune system is naturally weakened and hence pregnant women are more likely to catch swine flu, and develop complications.

Because of an enlarged womb in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy there is little room for the expansion of the lungs. Sluggish functioning of lungs retards its natural ability to fight with airborne flu viruses. Most pregnant women experience breathing difficulties during pregnancy, but a swine flu pregnancy just makes it critically worse.

Wash hands, avoid unnecessary travel, and stay away from hospitals unless necessary.

Use of masks to those who are exhibiting symptoms or who are ill.
Maintain of a 3 to 6 foot perimeter around a coughing patient.

Do not miss the antenatal appointments that monitor the child's development, even during a swine flu pregnancy.
The effects on the unborn child are unknown, according to experts.

When swine flu like symptoms appear in pregnant women, they can take any paracetamol based cold remedies like Crocin to reduce symptoms like fever, as paracetamol is completely safe for both, the mother and the baby.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are an absolute no during pregnancy, with or without the swine flu symptoms.

3Cs are the key to prevent ourselves from deadly swine flu.

Calm analysis coupled with accurate and proper public education is the key to identifying, treating and minimizing a worldwide outbreak. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI , JULY 01:
THE medical ethics debate continues to rage on and seems to have acquired a life of its own after the dissolution of MCI. Leading doctors, regulators and policy makers came together on Doctor's Day, for a one day seminar on medical ethics at Batra Hospital, New Delhi.

The theme of the seminar aimed at taking the medical ethics issue forward was Medical Ethics-Where Are We Going? The seminar was organized by Batra Hospital in association with Heal Foundation and Fox Mandal Little.

In a recorded message Dinesh Trivedi, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Govt. Of India said, "Ethical practices cannot be governed by regulations. The doctors of the country should self - regulate. Only then shall we see a remarkable difference vis - a vis ethical practices in medicine".

Prominent among others who addressed the gathering were Dr. S K Sarin, Chairman, Board Of Governors, Medical Council Of India; A L Batra, President, Batra Hospital And Medical Research Center; Dr. Sanjeev Bagai, CEO, Batra Hospital; Sudhir Mishra, Sr.Consultant, Fox Mandal Little; Dr. Sanjay A. Gupte, president, FOGSI from Pune, Dr. Purvish Parikh, Managing Director, Americares India from Mumbai and Swadeep Srivastava, Principal Consultant, Heal.

Speaking on the occasion Dr. Sanjeev Bagai said, "The medical industry and healthcare professionals are at crossroads and in troubled times today. Despite the Indian Medical Industry booming, we as doctors must realize that we are uniquely equipped to help relieve the patients' suffering. Doctors must follow their own inner conscience for honest practice. The Govt. guidelines should involve a broad consensus. Implementation of rigorous discipline is also mandatory."

"Personal gifts have tinted the medical profession. I loathe this concept. But, continuing medical education, research and teaching is crucial for future medical progress. The Medical Council of India and its guidelines should be transparent, implementable and designed for the Indian Healthcare Industry. Doctors should desist from deriving parallel incomes from miscellaneous support industries , he added."

The prevailing sentiment at the seminar was that the passage of time has compounded medical ethical problems as we lack the inclination and the will to address them. Addressing the problem it was argued, must involve a clear understanding of the issue in its entirety. Once this happens, the guidelines are sure to be implemented in letter and spirit.

Mr. Sudhir Mishra said, "Medical ethics related MCI notification is a welcome step. However it will be tested in its implementation. Unless widespread acceptance is accorded to the medical ethics notification in general by all the stakeholders, the purpose of the legislation will be defeated."

He further emphasized on the establishment of clearly defined medical ethics standards and strongly advocated the need to put in place measures to check their implementation continually.

"Ethical medical practice is the key to success for the doctors and the hospital. Batra Hospital has maintained the highest International Standards of Excellence in evidence based medicine and ethical practices", said Mr. A.L. Batra, President - Batra Hosptial and Medical Research Centre.

Said Dr. Sanjay Anant Gupte, "To let the industry run in normal course and to resolve the confusions between the representatives of stakeholders and doctors, certain standard guidelines have to be followed. It is also necessary that these guidelines are simple to follow, uniform and unbiased."

"The guidelines should ensure that the purpose of the enforcement of standards is not defeated and that exploitation and the tendency to address selfish needs are avoided. At the same time the guidelines should aim at promoting educational, social and patient benefit activities. It is important to have clear-cut guidelines regarding the relation between doctors and pharmaceutical industry ," he adderd..

The participants at the seminar were of the view that the present guidelines were probably made in haste and without properly consulting the stakeholders. They felt that although there is a need to have regulations in place in order to curb malpractices, these regulations need to be clearly defined. Many Doctors and representatives from medical associations cast doubts on the implementation of medical ethics guidelines and asked for consensus building to make the guidelines more pragmatic in the current Indian scenario.

They asked the MCI and Govt. of India to take this matter into account and to try and evolve a consensus on the said guidelines. They also underlined the need for clarity on the clauses related to the conduct of CMEs and Clinical trials. CMEs and clinical trials, they said, are integral to progress in medicine.

Swadeep Srivastava, Principal Consultant, Heal said, "We will submit a memorandum to the government. The govt. must ensure that nobody contravenes the set norms. Measures should be taken to break any unholy nexus that works against the interests of the patients. It is pertinent to mention here that not one person has been punished for contravening the norms set by the present guidelines in the past 6 months which effectively shows that the guidelines are not working the way they should be. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, MAY 01 :
THE Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has urged States of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to pool their resources together to bring in Bio-Medical Waste Disposal guidelines as Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad collectively generate over 3400 tonnes medical waste annually, most of which remain untreated and dumped with municipal waste and thus cause serious health and environment hazard.

According to estimates, Delhi and NCR region alone annually generate bio-medical waste of 3400 tonnes, in which share of Delhi is roughly around 1100 tonnes. NCR consisting of Noida/Greater Noida creates 800 tonnes of bio-medical waste and Gurgaon produces 600 tonnes of such a waste while Ghaziabad share is estimated around 489 tonnes.

As far as Faridabad is concerned, estimates reveal that this town generates 425 tonnes of bio-wastes.

The identified places though provide best medical facilities, disposal of medical waste hardly exists in them and thus policy guidelines are called for to ensure that not only government owned hospitals but nursing homes and diagnostic centres in such places are provided with mandatory guidelines for safer disposal of their waste to ensure that public health, safety and environment are not hurt, holds the ASSOCHAM.

In a representation forwarded to Chief Minister of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh by ASSOCHAM, it has been recommended that three states should get together and identify places for setting up of Centralised Bio-Medical Treatment Plants for disposal of medical wastes as Delhi and NCR have currently only 4-5 bio-medical waste treatment facilities which is always over loaded with such wastes. The waste disposal should be done as per policy guidelines framed by state government, said ASSOCHAM Secretary General, Mr. D S Rawat.

The proposed centralized bio-medical treatment plants can be put up by state government initiatives and through public-private partnership mode, pointed out Mr. Rawat.

However, if states wish to involve PPP initiatives in creation of proposed plants, 50 percent of their costs should be subsidized for which provisioning can be made in budget proposals of states.

The suggested plants can be successfully set up by involving public private partnership initiatives for which in addition to subsidy, the central government be called upon to waive off customs duty on plant and machinery needed to be imported to set up bio-medical treatment plants, said Mr. Rawat adding that excise and local levies waiver should be provided for equipment needed to be installed in such plants in case they are indigenously sourced.

Even estimates of Central Pollution Control Board (CPEC) state that less than 50 percent of bio-medical waste is treated in city like Delhi and rest is dumped and untreated. In other towns of Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad, disposal facilities exists for namesake.

The Chamber has further cautioned that centralized bio-medical treatment plants should be put up in series as growing economy like India has huge prospects for future healthcare facilities which will come up in abundance especially through private-public partnership initiatives in which healthcare will acquire prime importance.

No sooner than it happens especially the identified cities need to be equipped with disposal facilities so that not only public safety and health is protected but environment and ecology are prevented from degradation, pointed out Secretary General ASSOCHAM.

The Chamber also holds that public expenses on setting up of healthcare facilities in future would grow as government will have to substantially increase healthcare GDP ratio. When it happens, healthcare infrastructure will need multiple channels for providing best of medical health facilities but also require channels for their disposal.

Segregation and collection facilities for medical and clinical wastes needs improvement not only in Delhi and NCR but in cities like Meeurt, Loni, Bulandshahar, Ludhiana, Jallandhar etc., says Mr. Rawat.

The Chamber has also called for setting up an Independent Body under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare which can look into proper treatment of medical waste in view of over 700 large and medium hospitals, 2300 diagnostic centres and nursing homes in Delhi and NCR.

The non-treated hospital waste always causes public health risks, the potential health affects of which include AIDS, Hepatitis B & C, Gastroenteric infections, Respiratory infections, Blood stream infections, Skin infections, effects of radioactive substances and intoxication, pointed out the Chamber. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, APRIL 12 :
DELHI has emerged a lead State in North in which household expenditures on Healthcare are estimated to be the lowest, indicating that it's administration had succeeded in creating good hygienic conditions, conducive for better health and thus makes Delhities spend lesser on healthcare as compared to residents of other states in the region, says a joint Report of ASSOCHAM and YES Bank.

The report on Household Expenditure on Healthcare in Northern part of India, findings of which are released here today by Mr. D S Rawat, Secretary General ASSOCHAM also say that health consciousness among Delhities is the most advanced which make them take necessary precautions to keep better health.

Secondly, medical and healthcare facilities both in public and private domain are the most crucial in Delhi and it's administration has been able to provide for healthier and little more hygienic civic and environmental facilities to citizens of Delhi that they do not need to enhance their household expenditure on healthcare. It is because of this reason the household expenditure on healthcare in Delhi's rural and urban part remains abysmally low at 3.34% each, said Mr. Rawat.

Haryana's share of health to total household expenditures both urban and rural are respectively estimated at 6.56 percent and 6.99 percent against Punjab in which share of health to total household expenditure in its rural part is 7.66 percent as against 5.60 percent of it's urban area. Uttar Pradesh's urban household expenditure are also estimated at 5.60 percent as against 8.20 percent of rural household.

The report further reveals that States like Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand's urban household expenditure share to healthcare is measured at 4.70 percent, 3.91 percent, 3.61 percent and 4.1 percent respectively.

The rural household expenditure of remaining States are Himachal Pradesh (5.25 percent), Rajasthan (4.79 percent), Uttarakhand (4.25 percent) and Jammu & Kashmir (2.90 percent) respectively. The report interestingly also indicates that surrounding states to Delhi take much more benefit and advantages of government owned medical healthcare facilities available in institutes and hospitals like AIIMS, Sardarjung, Maulana Azad, Guru Teg Bahadur etc.

According to the report, lesser expenses on healthcare is a parameter which indicates that State's that those are spending modest amount on their healthcare facilities are better equipped with hygienic conditions for which state concerned is responsible.

On the share of urban total household expenditure to drug, the State of Punjab spending is measured at 79.4 per cent as against Haryana's urban household expenditure towards drug of 76.28 percent. On the other hand, Haryana's rural household expenditure for drugs is calculated at 76.80 percent against Punjab's expenditure ratio of 73.09 percent.

The State of Rajasthan urban household expenditure has taken the lead in drugs spending with 83.88 percent followed by Uttar Pradesh 81.47 percent, Jammu and Kashmir 81.33 percent, Himachal Pradesh 74.39 percent and Delhi 72.69 percent respectively. The Rajasthan's rural household expenditure too secured the top position with 89.43% followed by Himachal Pradesh 88.96 percent, Jammu and Kashmir 87.12 percent, Uttar Pradesh 86.76 percent, Uttarakhand 79.06 percent and Delhi 61.83 percent respectively. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

GURGAON , APRIL 11 :
IN view of the increasing number of cases of Parkinson's disease in India every day among the old age people, this time on the World Parkinson's Day the Institute of Neurosciences, Medanta the Medicity, commemorated the World Parkinson's Day today in Medanta Auditorium at the Medicity.

April 11 happens to be 'World Parkinson's Day '. All over the world this day is commemorated as an event to spread awareness about Parkinson's disease. Medanta the medicity will be joining the world in this celebration in the form of Medanta Parkinson,s Week. The week was flagged off today with the happenings at Medanta the medicity. The senior citizens of Gurgaon were invited along with the patients with Parkinson's disease to attend a public awareness seminar on Parkinson's disease.

The patients in particular and the elderly citizens of Gurgaon and NCR Region in general will be benefited by information about the disease and its management. " with the advancement of science a lot can be offered for Parkinson's patients to improve their quality of life," ays, Dr. Sumit Singh ( Head of Movement Disorder and Headache)

This will be followed by a Free Health Camp for patients with PD at Medanta the medicity for the full week starting April 11 , 2010. Besdides , satellite camps will be organized at 5 different centers across Delhi to evaluate the patients with Parkinson's disease.

The event will also be marked by the launch of the movement disorders centre at Medanta the Medicity which will be the first centre in India which will take care of patients with movement disorders in a dedicated fashion.

The Medicity will also launch the first interactive website on Parkinson's disease in India on this day which will provide the patients with PD a platform to discuss their day to day problems with the experts on PD. "DBS is the new ray of hope for many patients with this disabling disease. However, this needs to be performed by experienced team for carefully selected patients", says Dr. Aditya Gupta ( Neuro Surgeon & Head of Stereo Tactic Neuro Surgery).

Parkinson's disease is characterized by Tremors of the body, slowness in daily activities and stiffness of the whole body. This disease usually affects the older segments of the society, and as the life expectancy of our country increases, more and more people are likely to be affected with this disease.

At present more than 8 lakh people are suffering from Parkinson's in India . Due to lack of awareness about the existence of this problem, most of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease are mistaken to be because of old age and the patients do not seek treatment.

The general public, particularly the older section of the society is made aware of the disease, its symptoms, and the possible treatments for Parkinson's Disease.. At present there are very few centers in India which are working extensively on the treatment of Parkinson's. This is because of various reasons like lack of awareness about the disease, and also about the lack of neurologists and neurosurgeons who specialize in Parkinson's disease treatment.

Parkinson's disease basically results from damage to an area of the brain called as substantia nigra, which produces a chemical substance called as dopamine, responsible for maintaining the smoothness of the movement of our body. This damage could be because of a variety of reasons, like some environmental toxins, genetic influences, or viral infections.

This damage to the dopamine secreting cells of the brain is irreversible and when more than 80 percent of the cells in the substantia nigra degenerate the first symptoms of the disease become apparent. Just high blood pressure, diabetes etc, Parkinson's disease is not a curable and the treatment primarily involves control of the symptoms of the disease using medications.
The medicines have to be taken life long and with the passage of time their dosage needs to be increased because the underlying disease continues to progress. The main drugs used for Parkinson's disease are levodopa, ropinirole and pramipexole, amantidine, trihexiphenydyl, rasagiline, etc.

After a particular period of time, the drugs which are used to treat PD, start to cause significant side effects, particularly in the form of disabling dyskinesias (abnormal irregular movement of the body) which very difficult to control and usually do not respond to treatment.

It is at this stage that there is an operation which can be done for these patients with excellent results Surgery for PD is in the form of Deep brain stimulation which is stimulation of a small structure in the deeper section of the brain called as the subthalamic nucleus. In this operation thin electrical wires are inserted under guidance of a MRI and sophisticated electronic guidance. Once these wires reach the subthalamic nucleus these wires are fixed and connected to external pacemaker.

The pacemaker is placed under the skin just below the collar bone. The patient stays fully conscious and communicates with the doctors all during the surgery. After the surgery is over the doctors need to do the programming of the parameters of stimulation on these patients.

The surgery is very complex and only a team of a neurosurgeon and a neurologist who are well experienced in this operation should be approached for this operation. In properly selected patients the results of surgery are very good and the quality of life of the patients improves significantly. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, APRIL 07 :
NEARLY 24 percent of corporate employees sleep less than 6 hours in a day due to high stressed levels that arise out of tough targets set for themselves by employers and cause diseases like hypertension, sugar etc., according to Healthcare Status report brought out by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

The loss of sleep has also wide ranging effects including daytime fatigue, physical discomfort, psychological stress, performance deterioration and low pain threshold and even increase absenteeism, adds findings of report.

Releasing findings of the Report here today, Mr. D S Rawat, Secretary General ASSOCHAM pointed out that even National Commission on Sleep Disorders estimates that sleep deprivation costs USD 150 billion a year in higher stress and reduced workplace productivity.
Chamber's findings, however, further reveal that 21 percent of respondents say that they feel fatigue on regular basis due to sleep disorders and close to 17 percen of participants in the survey admit that they suffer from regular headache. Sleep disorders cause depression among 13 percen of respondents.

In terms of physical fitness, it is found out that 30 percen of corporate employees say that they hardly exercise against 25% who physically exercise but for less than 1 hour a week. 24 percent of employees exercise for 1-3 hours a week against 9 percent of employees who exercise for 3-6 hours a week and merely 5 percent stay fit by exercising for more than 6 hours a week.

Sixteen percent of sample population of the report claim that they suffer from obesity. It is found that obesity alone can modify occupational morbidity, mortality and injury risk that can further affect workplace absence, disability, productivity and healthcare costs.

Depression is another hit heart disease that is observed among the responds with 11% of the sample corporate employees suffering this lifestyle diseases.

High blood pressures and diabetes are still another diseases with a share of 9 percent and 8 percent respectively as suffered among corporate employees. Spondolysis (5.5 per cent), heart disease (4 per cent), cervical (3.0 per cent), asthma (2.5 per cent), slip disk (2 per cent) and arthritis (1 per cent) are the diseases that are mostly suffered by corporate employees.

According to the Chamber, depression, fatigue and sleeping disorder are conditions or risks that are often associated with chronic diseases and have the largest impact on productivity. It is observed in the report that corporate employees tend to ignore treatment for these chronic conditions.

The report has recommended that under Section 17 of Income Tax Act, medical reimbursement to corporate employees should be exempted from tax in respect upto a ceiling of Rs.50,000 per annum and expenditure incurred in approved hospitals should also be fully reimbursed by employers considering increase in cost inflow index. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, MARCH 22 :
THE size of Indian medical equipment supplies industry is likely to touch US$ 7 billion by 2012 since a large of public and private healthcare facilities would come up by then in different locations, especially in metros and other emerging satellite town with concentration for economic activities, according to The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

In its Paper on Healthcare Services, the ASSOCHAM has stated that current domestic medical equipment suppliers size is estimated around close to US$ 3 billion.

The projections are based on the fact that medical equipment supplies have already started stretching their plans since a substantial number of healthcare facilities are likely to be added in metros and more so in satellite town adjoining to metros since such townships are being promoted for industrial development.

The most of such facilities are estimated to come up through public private initiatives in which leading healthcare facilities are likely to forge alliances with state owned healthcare facilities. In view of this, naturally medical equipment suppliers would have to play a pivotal role to meet the requirement to set up world class laboratories and other centres in such utilities, said Mr. D S Rawat, Secretary General ASSOCHAM

The Chamber Paper points out that even players belonging to private equity segment have started exploring ways for investing in such healthcare facilities. According latest estimates, private equity investments in healthcare facilities both in hospitals as well as on medical equipment supplier front is found to be close to US$ 50 billion.
The industry is viewed as highly capital intensive, with a long gestation period. Also, Indian PE players view the industry as low on innovation, and thus not justifying the investments needed.

Again, medical equipment requirements are based on the type of service offered by the healthcare provider, and in most cases the Indian providers focus on the minimum requirements for cost as well as number. This makes it difficult for a new entrant to garner enough market share, making the return on investment unattractive to investors.

Most of the equipment in the Indian market is imported, especially from the USA. However, in the past few years there has been a mushrooming of Indian players who cater to the demands of the quality conscious private hospitals as well as the cost conscious public government hospitals.
Some of the Indian companies that have established a lead in the industry include Medived Innovations, Opto Circuits, Trivitron Healthcare, etc. Though these companies manufacture niche products with international accreditations, they are mostly export oriented rather than supplying their produce to domestic market. As the Indian market is maturing, however, these companies will now increase their focus on Indian market, keeping in mind the regulatory requirements and the cost dynamics.

A couple of multinationals in the medical equipment market in India include GE, Philips, Johnson and Johnson, and Siemens. Philips India acquired Meditronics, a leading manufacturer of X-ray machines in India in late 2008. This gives Philips access to cheaper, quality goods to target the India market. The deal was closed right after Philips' closure of acquisition of Alpha, another Indian company which specializes in cardiovascular X-ray systems. Johnson and Johnson Medical India has also targeted the economy conscious strata of the industry in the recent past. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, JAN 27 :
MANY city doctors have kept the pride of medical fraternity alive. In a rare recognition of their quality service and commitments, six city doctors have been conferred the prestigious Padma Awards announced by the Government late Monday, on the eve of Republic Day.

Dr Prathap Chandra Reddy, chairman of the Apollo Group was nominated for his exceptional and distinguished service in trade and industry. Sixteen doctors from all over the country have been nominated for the awards.

Dr A S Soin, Senior Consultant Liver Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgeon Director of Liver Transplantation Sir Ganga Ram Hospital was nominated for the Padma Shri. Dr Soin has established India’s first internationally acclaimed Liver Transplant Centre at Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

At this centre, he and his team currently perform the highest number of liver transplants in India at about 12/month, with a success rate of more than 90 percent which compares with the best in the world. Dr. Soin performed World's youngest and Country's first domino liver transplant at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

This life-saving liver transplant surgery was conducted on two
2-year children using just one donor liver. He also performed first successful swap liver transplant surgery in India, which offered a unique solution to the organ donor shortage in the country. Dr Soin has performed over 400 liver transplants, which is a rare feat.

“I and my family are deeply honoured and humbled to have this highly prestigious award bestowed on me. I owe gratitude to all my friends, patients, liver transplant team, and colleagues, all of whom have had invaluable contributions in helping me to establish liver transplantation of international standards in India. This will occupy the place of pride among my previous awards which have been in the shape of the cheer and laughter I have been able to bring into my patients' and their families' lives,” said Dr Soin.

Other city doctors who were nominated for country’s highest civilian awards include noted ophthalmologist Dr Noshir M Shroff of the popular Shroff Eye Clinic and Prof (Dr) Satya Paul Agarwal (Chairmain, Diwan Chand Imaging) for Padma Bhushan; Dr Anil K Bhalla (Nephrologist, Sir Gangaram Hospital), Dr K K Agarwal (Cardiologist and president of Heart Care Foundation), and Dr Laxmi Chand Gupta (sports medicine) for Padma Shri.

Some other names from the field of medicine includes Karnataka’s Prof Belle Monappa Hegde (retired as Vice Chancellor, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (Deemed University) Manipal), Kerala’s ET Narayanan Mooss (an eminent Ayurveda practitioner), Mumbai’s Dr Ramakant Madanmohan Panda (Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgeon), Dr B Ramana Rao (Karnataka), Prof Kodaganur S Gopinath (Karnataka), Dr Philip Augustine (Kerala), Dr Rabindra Narain Singh (Bihar) and Dr Vikas Mahatme (Maharashtra). (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

LAVASA, JAN 16 :
APOLLO Hospitals, the private healthcare provider group in Asia, has opened its first state-of-the-art integrated healthcare and wellness centre, the Apollo Hospital Lavasa. Mr Ashok Chavan, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, inaugurated the 100- bed facility at Dasve, Lavasa.

Lavasa is free India's first Hill City being developed by Lavasa Corporation , a part of the HCC Group.

Inaugurating the new hospital, Mr Ashok Chavan, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, congratulated Lavasa and Apollo Hospital for bringing a unique concept in healthcare and wellness to the Maharashtra state.

With the launch of the hospital, residents, visitors and communities around Lavasa will have access to multi specialty services and wellness services. The hospital is equipped to provide services in the departments of orthopaedics, paediatrics, rehabilitation, obstetrics and gynaecology, cardiology, emergency medicine, gastroenterology and other departments. Oncology, IVF, neurology and other specialities shall be introduced in a phased manner.

The phase I of the development is the 100- bed hospital and phase two shall comprise of creating 360 degree healthcare presence in one location. The work has already begun and Apollo has acquired 200 acres of land at Lavasa to develop the integrated healthcare city.

Proposals have been received from leading architects globally and three of top 10 architects in the world have been short-listed for developing the master plan and the architectural design for the proposed phase II of the wellness and healthcare destination.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Ajit Gulabchand, Chairman, Lavasa Corporation said, "The commissioning of Apollo Hospital constitutes our target to provide the best in class infrastructure facilities and services planned for Lavasa. By joining hands with Apollo, we aim to get the best healthcare and education services available to the region, with all critical facilities within reach. With education, hospitality, and tourism, initiatives, already in operation, the city of Lavasa is now poised to become a destination for medical research & development and medical tourism."

Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group said "With the dawn of a new decade comes a renewed promise to the city of Lavasa. Apart from delivering superior outcomes in cardiology, oncology, orthopedics and emergency, to name a few areas of excellence, the development at Lavasa will emphasize on overall wellness and rejuvenation programmes on the lines of the centres in Switzerland, Boston and San Fransisco. A senior team has been working on the wellness concepts for the past 3 years and has thoroughly researched the wellness needs of the customer. With the launch of Apollo Hospital Lavasa, we hope to bring hope, health and happiness in the region."

Ms. Shobana Kamineni, Chairman of Apollo Lavasa Corporation said, "The Lavasa locale, with its pristine environment, is ideal for a facility like this. It is a pleasure to be partnering with a forward-looking organisation like Lavasa, which is determined to support us in our aim to demonstrate how a model healthcare facility can function in a rural setting. The Lavasa environment is ideal not only for recuperating patients and people using the wellness and rejuvenation centres, but also for research and development."

Apollo Hospitals Group claims to bring clinical excellence with care and compassion, based on 27 years of selfless service in treating over 18 million patients from 55 countries around the world. The Apollo group again claims to hold leadership across all healthcare service areas and the initiative at Lavasa shall further strengthen focus o integrated care delivery by combining age old systems with modern technology. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, DEC 12 :
THE Indian private hospitals segment estimated to reach a level of US$ 45 billion by 2012 with a CAGR of 20 percent against the present level of US$ 22 billion and have significantly increased their investments in Tier II and III cities, according to ASSOCHAM and YES Bank Study.

The Study brought out by the two institutions have also projected that the Indian diagnostic and pathology services contribution to healthcare industry shall touch US$ 2.5 billion by 2012 as against US$ 1.2 billion during 2008-09.

The private sector accounts for 80 percent of India’s healthcare delivery market which is higher for India than in any other country in the world. Rising income levels and exposure to international standards of quality have led to an increasing demand for quality private healthcare. Out of pocket spending by Indians constitutes 94 percent of
total spend in the private health industry.

Investments by private players for Tier II and III cities, the ASSOCHAM president, Dr. Swati Piramal said are increasingly getting momentum and with the economic growth in these cities, healthcare sector is expected to rise exponentially. Vaatsalya Healthcare has completed two rounds of funding.

While in 2008, it raised almost Rs 6 crore from Seedfund and Aavishkar, it recently raised a further amount from Oasis fund and returning investor Seedfund. Though the investment amount is small, it is indicative of the interest and confidence in a novel model like that proposed by Vaatsalya.

Another such hospital is Vikram Hospital which has raised money from ICICI Venture. The hospital chain aims to create super specialty hospitals in Tier II cities like Mysore. Sahyadri Hospital based out of Pune has a similar model and raised money from ICICI Venture as did Quality Care India based out of Hyderabad who raised money from Ashmore.

The private healthcare landscape is poised to be a key contributor to the healthcare industry. With substantial Private Equity investments in private hospital chains not only in urban cities but also in innovative rural models, we expect this large investor appetite to contribute significantly to the increase of private healthcare establishments.

Innovative infrastructure financing models will reduce incubation periods stimulating increased investor interest. Large corporations have also begun venturing into this highly lucrative business and we expect to see continuity in this trend.

The study further says the increasing attractiveness of this sector for private investors has helped fuel the organic and inorganic growth requirements of these companies. The Chamber expected to see a greater interest from private equity players once significant consolidation in the sector takes place along with the verification of an appropriate India specific business model.

Several key players have proposed significant investments into their expansion plans. Dr. Lal PathLabs plans to scale up to a size of 50 laboratories with 1000 collection centres in the next five years with an investment of Rs 35 crorer.

Piramal Diagnostics plans to invest Rs 100 crore to add 10-15 laboratories over the next three years and increase the number of collection centres to one thousand by the year 2012, with an increased focus on Tier II and III towns. Similarly Metropolis Health Services and Super Religare Laboratories propose to invest Rs 100 crore and Rs 150 crore respectively to penetrate new geographies pan India.

The industry is highly fragmented and encompasses over 40,000 laboratories, very few of which are accredited. These include the major pathological laboratory chains spread across urban cities referred to as corporate laboratories, the smaller regional laboratories catering to the local population, and hospital run diagnostic facilities.

The corporate laboratories cater to the portion of the population with increasing household income and health awareness; large corporations, and insurance companies; and pharmaceutical companies in their clinical and Research and Development activities. The regional laboratories and hospital run facilities primarily cater to patients with existing medical conditions.(editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, NOV 26 :
UNION Health Ministry has decided to issue Electronic Health Cards (EHC) to parents and guardians of children of humble background to enable them access free medical treatment in all state- owned hospitals and primary health centres.

Making a disclosure of this highly ambitious social scheme of UPA government while Inaugurating 7th Knowledge Millennium Summit of ASSOCHAM, State Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Mr. Dinesh Trivedi said, “Project Head of Unique Identification Number Authority of India (UIDAI), Mr. Nandan Nilekani has already been asked to collect information about such children at a meeting”.

“I and Mr. Nilkeani met here at my office on Wednesday (Nov 25 ,'09) to assign the job of children’s identification, taking birth under open sky to the latter and prepare their data so as to share them with the Health Ministry to enable it issue electronic health cards to children of humble background”, said Mr. Trivedi.

To make the proposed electronic cards, the Health Ministry would work out a budget by substantially increasing ratio of health expenditure to national GDP in consultation with Union Finance Ministry, hinted the Minister adding that such cards once issued will entitle targeted children to avail free medical treatment in all state owned hospitals.

In a bid to achieve this objective, the Union Health Ministry has also asked the UIDAI Project Head, Mr. Nilkeani to also work out modalities for making National Health Portals which will display all medical facilities available in state owned hospitals to give targeted audience options to access medical examination of their choice, pointed out Mr. Trivedi.

Responding to a query raised by ASSOCHAM President, Dr. Swati Piramal on government’s unpreparedness to contain spread of swine flu, Mr. Trivedi said that all facilities are in place in all hospitals including private nursing homes and that there is no need for panic.

Delivering her Keynote Address at 7th ASSOCHAM Knowledge Millennium Summit, Nobel Laureate Prof. Kirsty Duncan warned that most of the developing countries including India will have to draw up pandemic prevention programmes with solutions in place to help prevent it’s citizens from infectious diseases.

Pandemic diseases in modern days often surface and resurface and not only cause panic but prove fatal in the absence of suitable medical diagnosis as also treatment, added the Nobel Laureate.

The Government of India would have to substantially hike its health expenditure and allocate at least 8-10 per cent of its GDP to provide healthcare to its people and population to emerge a powerful economy.

In her address, ASSOCHAM president Dr. Swati Piramal admitted that Healthcare has still to become a mission for government and suggested industry’s partnership in it so that collective efforts are put in to tackle the menace arise out of poor health facilities.

Among others who spoke on the occasion comprised Mr. Rajkumar Dhoot, M.P. and Vice President ASSOCHAM, Mr. K C Mehra, Chairman, ASSOCHAM KM Organizing Committee and Mr. D S Rawat, ASSOCHAM Secretary General.
YES Bank which is a Knowledge Partner in 2-days Knowledge Millennium Summit that begun here today, it’s MD & CEO, Mr. Rana Kapoor in a message reiterated the Bank’s commitment for extension of funds for creating of healthcare facilities at subsidized rates. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, NOV 25 :
YES Bank and ASSOCHAM have jointly predicted that healthcare industry is expected to show a strong growth of 23 per cent per annum to become a US$ 77 billion industry by 2012.

Yes Bank and ASSOCHAM in a Paper jointly brought out on Healthcare Services in India 2012 - the Path Ahead have pointed out that healthcare, one of the largest sector in terms of revenue and employment has grown at 9.3% per annum between 2000-2009 with a current size at par with fastest growing developing country like China, Brazil and Mexico.

Driven by various catalysts such as increasing population, rising income levels, changing demographics and illness profile with a shift from chronic to life style diseases, healthcare industry is expected to move to levels of US$ 77 billion in next 3 years, said Dr. Swati Piramal, President ASSOCHAM here in a statement.

According to Yes Bank and ASSOCHAM, healthcare services include industries that are dependent upon and provide corollary services to the hospital healthcare services. For example, diagnostic and pathology services is one such industry that is set for steady growth. Currently estimated at US$ 1 billion, the segment is expected to grow by consolidation and increasing insurance penetration.

According to the two institutions, diagnostics would contribute US$ 2.5 billion to the healthcare industry by 2012. The Indian market of medical equipment and supplies has been ranked among the world's top 20 in 2009. An increasing number of public and private healthcare facilities are expected to propel demand for the industry, making US$ 6.7 billion by 2012.

The liberalisation of the Indian healthcare sector has led to the emergence of a much needed health insurance industry. Private health insurance has grown rapidly at a CAGR of 44.6 per cent to US$ 1 billion in 07-08. with an increasing demand for affordable quality healthcare, the penetration of health insurance is poised to undergo an exponential growth in the years to come. It is estimated that medical insurance would be a US$ 3 billion industry by 2012

However, the corresponding growth in health infrastructure is yet to match the basic healthcare facilities in many other countries. For instance, the present number of 9 beds per 10,000 in India is far behind the world average of 40 beds per 10,000. The government has been making efforts to counter this and the National Health Policy has identified steps to improve the reach of healthcare in all parts of the country especially in rural areas.

The ASSOCHAM and Yes Bank are of the view that the health sector will develop and create ample room for new entrance with innovative business models and product offerings. Therefore, the onus would lie with the public and private sector to stimulate the establishment of truly world class and available for all healthcare industry in India.

India has one of the highest private spending in healthcare as compared to other countries in the world. The private sector accounts for more than 80% of the total healthcare spending in India. With rising income levels and exposure to international standard of quality, the demand for quality healthcare will further rise.

However, with large players catering to upper segment of the urban population, the middle segment is largely fragmented and unorganized. As a result, their will be ample room for organized players to spearhead the consolidation and improvement of this segment. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, NOV 11 :
FUJIFILM India , the wholly- owned subsidiary of FUJIFILM Corporation, has won the much coveted 2009 India excellence in Healthcare Award instituted by Frost & Sullivan. FUJIFILM was declared as the best multinational PACS Company of the year.

The company also announced that it has bagged orders from 10 hospitals across the country for its revolutionary SYNAPSE brand of PACS system.

Large hospitals where SYNAPSE PACS has been implemented successfully include names of repute like Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences (SSSIHMS), Bangalore, Karnataka; Sagar Hospitals, Bangalore, Karnataka; SSSIHMS, Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh; Institute of Liver & Biliary Sciences (ILBS), Delhi; Primus Super Speciality Hospital, Delhi; Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Center, Delhi; and Pushpanjali Crosslay Hospital, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

According to Mr. Kenichi Tanaka, Managing Director,Â FUJIFILMÂ India,"The success of SYNAPSE PACS further exemplifies FUJIFILM Corporation's long- term commitment in the healthcare arena. Buoyed by the response, we intend to launch new products & solutions such as Digital Radiography, FFDM, and 3D Image processing SW etc., into the Indian market in the days to come.

Medical images can be stored electronically and viewed on screens, so that doctors and other health professionals can access the information and compare it with previous images at the touch of a button. These images can be shared between health professionals across locations over an advanced communications system. It circumvents the delays & cancellations because of patient's images not being available, lost or misplaced during transit, deterioration in quality over time etc., elucidates Mr. Suhas Pokale, Country General Manager, FUJIFILM India .

For the past 100 years, film has been almost the exclusive medium for capturing, storing, and displaying radiographic images but it is a fixed medium with usually only one set of images available.

FUJIFILM's PACS technology allows for a near filmless process, with all of the flexibility of digital systems. It also eliminates all costs associated with hard film and releases valuable space currently used for storage.

For patients as well as the radiographer, even the amount of exposure to radiation gets reduced because fewer images need to be repeated using this technology. What's more, patients do not have to wait for long for results which also ensures speedier move to the next point of treatment or discharge. Privacy is guaranteed as access to patient's digital images is rights-based i.e. what they will be able to see shall depend on their role and involvement in patient's care. For example, a consultant will be able to look at a patient's digital images because they are a clinical care provider, whereas a receptionist may not be able to view clinical information. The images are stored in highly secure database systems.

Since the images are digital in nature, they are more reliable. Unlike film, there are no black spots on images due to bad light. FUJIFILM's SYNAPSE PACS allows for flexible viewing with the ability to manipulate images on screen enabling better analysis. Moreover, instant access to historic images and patient records facilitates comparison of images (old and new) and thus the measuring of the effectiveness of treatment or the development of patient's condition.

As a result of electronic requesting, radiographers have all the necessary information available to them in digitalized format. As a result, investigation is appropriate to the request and safer for the patient - misinterpretation of what is handwritten has become a thing of the past. Information only needs to be entered into the system once.

This reduces some of the administrative tasks currently undertaken by radiographers, thereby freeing up time to focus on caring for the patient. The ability to manipulate images once they are taken means that radiographers can zoom in on areas of interest to ensure adequate information has been captured, which can then be passed on to the relevant clinician. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 23 :
IT was probably the heady mix of Science and Spirituality as also the ambience that made it a memorable evening. As people emerged from the conference hall at Hotel Le Meridien on Thursday evening the conversations were muted and the calm palpable.

The evening Symposium on ‘ Science, Spirituality and Healing’ that they were here to attend seemed to have had the desired effect. Organized by Escorts Hospital in association with the World Academy of Spiritual Sciences, Cardiological Society of India and HEAL India, a complete Health and Family Magazine, the Symposium saw scientists of international repute discussing Spirituality.

Chaired jointly by Dr. Ashok Seth, Chairman and Chief Cardiologist, Escorts Heart and Research Institute and President of the Cardiological Society of India, Dr. S.K.Sama, Senior Consultant Gastroenterology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and Dr. H.K.Chopra, Chief Cardiologist Moolchand Medcity, the Symposium provided some interesting insights into the communion of Science and Spirituality.

The common thread running through all the presentations was that Spirituality, as seen from the modern perspective, is not an aloof abstract concept but a pragmatic ‘hands – on approach’ in terms of countering lifestyle illnesses.

Dr. Mitchell. W. Krucoff, Professor of Medicine/ Cardiology and Director of Cardiovascular Devices Unit at DUKE University made an interesting presentation on the MANTRA study Project (briefly the Monitoring and Actualization of Noetic Training). He dwelt at length on the therapeutic effects of Music, Imagery, touch and Prayer, projecting these as useful adjuncts to Cardiovascular care.

Said Dr. Ashok Seth, “ Spirituality as a therapeutic modality has immense potential. Spirituality is as much about a disciplined, balanced approach to life as about pursuit of things Metaphysical. In its various manifestations, as for example Music and Prayer Spirituality has been observed to have a considerable impact in terms of preventing diseases and promoting healing. For instance, it has been observed that Music is a great healer and listening to it helps relieve stress. This, in turn works wonders on our Cardiovascular System”.

The Symposium also saw Yoga being hailed as a vital preventive Healthcare Intervention. Dr. S.C. Manchanda, Senior Consultant Cardiologist, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and Vice – Chairman World Academy of Spiritual Sciences, in his speech dealt specifically with the benefits that necessarily accrue from a Yogic Lifestyle.

Prof. J.M.Dave of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, Swaminarayan Akshardham struck a similar note when he spoke about ‘ Poverty, Spirituality and Health’. In an eloquent speech he drew extensively on the Indian Spiritual tradition to underline the fact that spirituality is not an abstract concept but a useful tool that can be gainfully employed to stay Healthy.

Spirituality, as modern Science sees it, is not the esoteric doctrine it is made out to be but a scientific discipline that needs to be understood and studied as such. Dr. B.M. Hegde. Retired Vice – Chancellor of the Manipal University and Editor – in – Chief, The Journal of the Science of Healing Outcomes spoke about ‘The Science of Spirituality’. He spoke, in the main, about the role spirituality plays in preventing disease and in promoting healing.

Contrary to popular perception Spirituality is not only about Metaphysical speculations and Ontological questions, it is also about morality, ethics and an overall disciplined and balanced approach to life. This acquires particular significance in view of the stressed, ‘ over the top’ lives most people lead today.

This approach helps prevent a host of lifestyle diseases, some of which have started acquiring epidemic proportions. In this context Spirituality deserves far more attention than it has so far received. It needs to be taken much more seriously by the scientific community and studied accordingly, employing scientific methods. For this to happen, however, perspectives need to change.

Dr. W. Selvamurthy, Chief Co- coordinator, R&D, DRDO outlined a ‘ Scientist’s Perspective of Spirituality’. He made interesting observations about the unbelievable dogmatism that seems to overtake some scientists when they are dealing with matters spiritual.

Overall, it was an engrossing evening at Le Meridien. The Symposium is expected to go a long way in helping people transform their stressed lives, employing a judicious mix of Scientific rationale and Spiritual discipline. In helping prevent disease this may just prove to be our best bet. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

CHENNAI, OCTOBER 21 :
AS many as 15,000 children washed their hands in perfect harmony to stake claim to the Guinness record for the most people washing their hands.

This attempt challenges the current record held by a school in Bangladesh, with 1213 participants washing hands at one location. The Guinness World Record attempt on Global Handwashing Day 2009 is considered to be the first small step to a long term working relationship with Lifebuoy and its partners.

The vision is to achieve an ambitious vision of improving hand washing behaviour on a mass scale in India to save millions of lives. The event was organised by the Public Private Partnership for Handwashing which included the Government of Tamil Nadu, World Health Organisation and Unilever Lifebuoy.

Speaking on the occasion Dr. Elango, Director Health, Govt. of Tamil Nadu said " We are happy to be part of this initiative to spread awareness on the habit of washing hands with soap. With the recent swine flu scare it has become even more important to make the vulnerable sections of our population, a large part of who are children, aware of the importance of hand wash. This is a simple and cost effective way of saving millions of lives and we are happy that Lifebuoy has come forward to conduct this event and we see this as an excellent example of Public Private Partnership."

The 15th October 2009 saw over 88 countries brought together celebrities, Government representatives and UN organisations to celebrate the second Global Handwashing Day in India. The occasion saw Minister for Health Mr M.R.K.Paneerselvam, Justice Mr.F.M.Ibrahim Kalifulla, Judge, High Court of Madras. Mr V.K Subburaj, IAS, Principal Secretary, Health & Family Welfare Selvi. Apoorva IAS, Special Secretary, Health & Family Welfare, Thiru. V. S. Ravikumar, Joint Commissioner of Police, Chennai Central, Dr. Elango, MD, DPH, DIH, Director of Public Health all pledging their allegiance to the cause.

Sudhanshu Vats, Vice President, Home Care and Personal Wash, Hindustan Unilever Ltd. "It is a proud day in the history of Lifebuoy, as we set out to break a Guinness record with the enthusiastic support of the Government of Tamil Nadu and WHO. What is most satisfying is the fact that the record is for spreading awareness around the essential hand hygiene habit, which has a potential to save the lives of millions of children. This is in line with the global mission of Lifebuoy, and our desire to contribute to the UN Millennium Development Goal 4"

Every day India loses around 1,000 children to diarrhoea due to poor hygiene and water borne infections. This means 41 children die every 60 minutes due to this highly preventable disease. Globally, every year, more than 3.5 million children do not live to celebrate their fifth birthday because of diarrhoea and pneumonia.

According to WHO, diarrhoea alone kills almost 2 million children every year, making it the second leading killer of children world wide. And one out of every five of these children who die of diarrhoea is an Indian! A simple personal hygiene habit - washing hands with soap - could almost halve this figure. Yet, despite its lifesaving potential, hand washing with soap is seldom practiced and not always easy to promote.

An initiative of a coalition between public and private partners who together form the Public-Private Partnership for Hand Washing (PPPHW) (www.globalhandwashing.org) GHD will be the centre piece of activities that will mobilise millions of people in more than 88 countries across five continents to wash their hands with soap.

Hand washing plays an important part in the efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals relating to health improvements, education and the reduction of poverty and child mortality, as well as access to and effective use of water supply and sanitation services. These were agreed to by UN member countries at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in September 2002.

The practice of hand washing with soap tops the international hygiene agenda, and Global Handwashing Day spotlights this important issue.
Stepping up education and practice of hand washing will be crucial to meet the child health targets set by the UN.

This will be implemented through large-scale hand washing Information Education Communications (IEC) interventions by combining the expertise and resources of the soap industry, with the facilities and resources of the government.

Although people around the world wash their hands with water, very few wash their hands with soap at critical moments (for example, after using the toilet, while cleaning a child, and before handling food). Water borne diseases like Diarrhoea is both preventable and treatable, yet families in developing countries continue to pay the price of this disease in lost lives, missed school days, reduced resistance to infections, impaired growth, malnutrition and poverty.

When coupled with educational initiatives, hand washing with soap is one of the world's most cost-effective preventive health interventions and has been proven to reduce the risk of not only diarrhoea and pneumonia, which together are responsible for the majority of child deaths, but also some of its more severe manifestations, such as cholera and dysentery, by 48-59 percent.

The Global Hand Washing Day aims to bring about a change by raising awareness with children, school teachers and parents who will join celebrities, government officials, NGO ambassadors and members of the private sector to call for proper hygiene practices across the world and raise awareness that hand washing with soap is a powerful public health intervention. (editor@thesynergyonline.com) .

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 07 :
AN anticipated loss of $ 160 billion is estimated to Indian national income due to increasing heart diseases, strokes and diabetes between January 2010 until beginning of 2015, says a joint report of PWc and ASSOCHAM. The national loss on account of these diseases were estimated around $100 billion between a period of 2005 onwards until beginning of the calendar 2009, it points out.

The report named Working Towards Wellness, some of the findings of which are released here today by ASSOCHAM President, Mr. Sajjan Jindal highlight that due to tensions arising out of transitional liberalization in working and social life, number of people with hypertension in India is expected to see a quantum leap of nearly 127.5 million in next few years.

The number of people that suffered hypertension in the process of being a part of liberalized economy for survival has been estimated at over 60 million until about 2009, says ASSOCHAM and PWC.

Mr. Jindal further added that India’s loss in terms of losing potentially productive years due to deaths from cardiovascular diseases in people aged between 35-60 years is one of the highest in the world.

The reason for this is that since India is one of the fast developing countries it has yet to create facilities to take on tensions and high blood pressures that often lead to cardiovascular diseases.

According to the paper, 4 years ago, it was estimated that chronic diseases in India accounted for almost 53% of all deaths and 44 per cent of disability adjusted life years. It is estimated that deaths from chronic diseases in India would register a sharp increase from 3.78 million in 1990 to over 6 million by 2015. In percentage terms, the increase accounts for over 60 per cent.

The ASSOCHAM Chief said that India’s national income is hard hit since it has absolutely inadequate health centers even for routine check ups and on the other hand pressures arising out of integrated economy most of the working population is working over time beyond the prescribed work hours to retain their jobs. This breeds tensions and hypertensions and cause attacks which often prove fatal. This leads to higher deaths which amount to great national incomes losses, the estimates of which have already been given.

It suggests that preventing chronic disease requires reducing tobacco intake, eating a healthier diet and exercising regularly. There are quick fixes, people must change their behavior so as to grow healthier. India is the world’s second largest consumer of tobacco resulting in experience huge rates of cancer, including the largest numbers of oral cancer in the world.

The government alone can not prevent the spread of chronic disease. The workplace will become and increasingly important place to prevent chronic disease. According to government estimates, almost 66 per cent of all deaths in 2020 is likely to be from chronic diseases. The government has now decided to address the issues related to chronic diseases with equal energy and focus and is keen to involve and work together with a private sector and the civil society with a goal to prevent chronic diseases and save millions of lives.

The role of the private sector in India in prevention of chronic diseases is of paramount importance at this moment. India’s total health care expenses as percentage of its GDP is much lower than the world average of around 9 per cent. The country’s public expenditure on health as a per cent of the total health expenditure is lower than countries like China, Pakistan and Bangladesh and is far lower than the world average. (editor@thesynergyonline.com) .

MAKE SCREENING FOR DEAFNESS IN NEWBORNS MANDATORY ACROSS ALL INDIAN HOSPITALS

NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 24 :
CONSULTING ENT surgeons at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, through an interactive briefing session organized on Thursday in the Capital, unanimously called for screening for deafness in newborns to be made compulsory across all heath care facilities in the country.

The interactive briefing titled "Breaking the silence…" addressed all pertinent issues related to 'Universal Newborn Hearing Screening & Early Intervention' and how it can save scores of Indian children born with significant hearing impairment from turning deaf and dumb.

According to Dr. B.K Rao, Chairman, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, "A deaf may not be dumb right from his or her birth. In our country, deafness in children is often also associated with dumbness i.e. their inability to speak as well. And this is how the commonly used term "deaf and dumb" has come into origin. In reality, hearing impaired children do have the capability to learn and speak after birth, and often babble spontaneously. However, subsequently, they stop babbling and do no develop speech simply because they are unable to hear themselves and others around them. The unfortunate aspect is that hearing impairment in children often remains undetected, until the child is a few years old."

According to Dr. Ashish Lahiri, ENT Consultant & Cochlear Implant Surgeon at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, "Children can learn to speak language only at a young age. As they grow, the "neural plasticity" or the flexibility of the brain to learn speech diminishes. When deafness is not detected early and deaf children are not treated early, they will not develop speech. Therefore mandatory newborn hearing screening and early intervention is imperative. In Europe, North America & Australia, newborn screening for deafness is mandatory. This should be emulated in India as well."

Current international research studies have shown that children diagnosed before 6 months, and who receive appropriate and consistent treatment, have significantly better language levels than children identified after 6 months*. Deafness can be detected in children as early as a few hours after birth with modern diagnostic instruments such as an Oto-acoustic Emissions (OAE) Analyzer and ABR (Auditory Brainstem Response) System that are available at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

Elaborating on the treatment options available for children with severe hearing impairment, Mrs. Asha Agarwal, Audiologist at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital elucidates, "Hearing aids and cochlear implants are the treatment of choice, depending on the degree of hearing loss. There is no greater joy for a parent than to see their deaf child hear, learn to speak and go to a normal school. An increasing number of parents in India are opting for early diagnosis and treatment for their very young children".

Mr. Sanjay Mishra, father of 9 year old Ayush Mishra, whose deafness was detected early and who received a Nucleus Cochlear Implant at 14 months of age adds, "Doctors advised us that deaf children can learn to speak only when they are very young and this valuable small time window should not be missed. Thanks to Asha Speech & Hearing Clinic's Cochlear Implant Program, Ayush has learnt to speak and has the same opportunities to achieve his dreams that other children born with normal hearing capabilities have." (editor@thesynergyonline.com) .

NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 20 :
"ASK for Breast Cancer Screening TODAY for Your FUTURE. Breast cancer is the number one cancer that affects the women. Routine screening makes a difference. FUJIFILM supports the campaign,” reads FUJIFILM poster which the company requests the hospitals across the world to put up on Pink Ribbon Day (the fourth Monday of October every year), a day that marks breast cancer awareness and fund raising activities across the world.

FUJIFILM India , the wholly- owned subsidiary of FUJIFILM Corporation, a global medical systems company , has upped the ante against breast cancer with the launch of AMULET – its digital mammography system in India recently. This launch not only enhances its medical systems line-up in the country but also reaffirms FUJIFILM’s resolve against the global menace of breast cancer.

According to Mr. Kenichi Tanaka, Managing Director, FUJIFILM India, “We pioneered digital mammography more than 20 years ago, and since then, we have been the market leaders in the domain. We are proud of this achievement and shall strive further to fight the global menace of breast cancer.”

“FUJIFILM will continue to contribute to maintaining and promoting human health through developing Digital mammography solutions and other leading-edge products, and supporting the Pink Ribbon campaign, which appeals the importance of early detection, early diagnosis and early treatment for breast cancer,” said Mr. Suhas Pokale, Country General Manager Fujifilm India Pvt. Ltd.

Despite the recent technological advances, there is still a ‘miss’ rate, though significantly lower, as far as detection of breast cancer is concerned. The new digital mammography system launched by FUJIFILM provides world's smallest pixel size of 50µm and produces both high resolution and low noise images which contribute to more accurate diagnosis of breast cancer and therefore reducing the miss rate dramatically.

AMULET system can show micro-calcifications and tumours in greater detail, both significant indicators for early diagnosis of breast cancer. AMULET also reduces the interval between two x-ray exposures by approximately 15 seconds. This allows many images to be captured more rapidly thus improving workflow and reducing stress for those waiting for examinations.

The ergonomic design of the unit was developed following the thorough evaluation by experienced female radiologic technologists. The discomfort during examination has been significantly reduced by the design of armrests which allow a comfortable position to be maintained and the use of various pads around the breast support to further reduce discomfort. (editor@thesynergyonline.com) .

NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 18 :
NOW just shunning bad habits and becoming hard core veggie is not going to help you save from the risk of heart diseases anymore, say our scientists. Latest researches published shore up the fact that India will carry 60% of the world's Heart disease burden by 2010.

26 year old a call centre executive Rishabh (name changed) was otherwise a healthy looking guy just like all his collogues around him, until one wed morning when he collapsed on his workstation with his first angina attack. He was later found out to be suffering from Ischemic heart disease, which is a leading cause of death in India. Rishabh was surprised to discover this fact as he was not just a non smoker, but also a hard core vegetarian.

Researches have demonstrated that India caters to 2-4 times higher number of patients of heart disease as compared to people in other developed countries. The average age of heart patients in India is lower as weighed against other western countries. About 25% of all heart attacks among Indians occur before the age of 40 years.

By and large, their cholesterol levels have been normal. Blood pressure problems are not the issue in the community. Smoking is not much prevalent and more than half of the population is vegetarian. The causes behind this are the faulty eating habits and their tendency to gain weight in the abdominal region which makes at them at greater risk of heart disease.

According to Dr K. K Saxena, Senior consultant, Interventional Cardiologist (Apollo Cardiac centre, New Delhi), "People in India are not much concerned about the silent onset of these ailments. They think that just because the look healthy and they feel healthy, they don't need to get tested for heart disease. Its only when they find out themselves on the hospital beds, they realize the graveness of the disease." In the past three decades, coronary artery disease rates have declined by half in many developed countries, but have more than doubled in India. He also states that "medical practices in India are quite different as compared to developed countries, holding us behind in many aspects."

Rather than chomping on our fried delicacies, one should go in for lighter foods alternatives like Oats. These bonus breakfasts are rich in soluble fiber and play a very important role in healthy digestion keeping our heart beating healthier for longer. Oats contain ß-glucan that increases the excretion of bile acids from the body and hence reduces blood cholesterol.

Dr. Praveer Aggarwal, Interventional cardiologist (Escort Heart Institute and Research Centre, New Delhi), comes with a solution saying that "the risk of heart diseases can be greatly reduced with simple lifestyle modifications. Key to head off most cases of heart disease even before they appear is eating right and eating light." Our breakfast is the most important meal of the day and we should always choose it wisely.

He adds, "one should also try to stay physically fit by doing safe exercises to improve body oxygenation. For people who are diagnosed with heart disease or had a heart surgery, exercise is an important part of keeping the condition under control. Perform safe exercises, recommended by your physician. It should not make you feel exhausted.

Get your doctor's approval before lifting weights or before using a weight machine, jogging, or swimming. Be sure any exercise is paced and balanced with rest.
Exercises such as push-ups and sit-ups should be avoided as they involve straining of muscles. Hence a heart disease patient should opt for low-to-moderate intensity exercise like:

" Brisk Walks
" Slow to moderately-paced cycling
" Yoga (leaving out headstands and straining postures/asanas)
" Pilates
" Stretching
" Stair climbing short flights with built-in rests
" Walking the dog
" Controlled breathing exercises (leaving out those that involve the Valsalva technique)
" Gardening
" Household chores

Regular workout along with dietary changes could reduce the risk. On this World Heart day, Dr. Aggarwal suggests you to go for health checks, organized walks, runs and fitness sessions, public talks organized by WHO in association with the World Heart Federation. With simple measure like these we can prevent the heart disease hitting the epidemic proportions in our country.(editor@thesynergyonline.com) .

NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 17 :
FLUID monitoring is a more accurate predictor of worsening heart failure compared to daily weight monitoring in heart failure patients with implantable devices, according to results released today from the FAST (Fluid Accumulation Status Trial) clinical trial.

FAST is a global, prospective, double-blinded study involving 156 heart patients implanted with ICD (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator) or CRT-D (cardiac resynchronization therapy-defibrillator) followed for an average of 18 months at 18 centers in the United States, Canada and Hong Kong. Heart failure events detected in this study were within 30 days of a fluid index threshold crossing or an acute weight gain.

According to Padmshree Dr. Balbir Singh, Senior Consultant, Electro-physiotherapy & Interventional Cardiology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, "This is indeed an important breakthrough because Indians are at a higher risk owing to higher incidence of diabetes and hypertension. Treatment for other heart conditions, particularly myocardial infarctions (heart attacks), has improved substantially which means that more patients survive the short-term events and hence the number of people who are at risk for developing heart failure subsequently is on the rise. Another cause of worry for India is the increasing life expectancy. We all know that the risk of heart failure increases dramatically with age. Approximately, heart failure affects 10 out 1000 people above the age of 65."

Results showed that OptiVol® Fluid Status Monitoring, a feature available only in InSync Sentry™ (a CRT-D device by Medtronic, Inc., world's leading medical technology company specializing in implantable and interventional therapies) which measures changes in fluid build up in the chest cavity, predicted 76 percent of future heart failure events as compared to only 23 percent detected by weight monitoring alone. In other words, fluid monitoring was three times more sensitive.

These findings were presented as a late breaking clinical trial during the recent Annual Scientific Meeting of the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA).

Thoracic fluid accumulation is a primary indicator of worsening heart failure. The InSync CRT-D by Medtronic is the world's first implantable medical therapy offering automatic fluid status monitoring in the thoracic cavity - the chest area encompassing the lungs and heart. It uses low-level electrical pulses that travel across the thoracic cavity to measure the level of resistance, indicating fluid in the chest - a common sign of heart failure. OptiVol's ability to measure fluid status trends over time can provide important insights that are used in conjunction with ongoing monitoring of other patient signs and symptoms. As fluid builds up in the lungs, OptiVol feature can be programmed to alert the patients and physicians, acting as an early warning, and allowing for appropriate clinical response.

Heart failure is the number one cause of hospital admissions, and most of these admissions are because of fluid overload. Often, this fluid build-up goes undetected and untreated until the patient becomes critically ill warranting his/her hospitalization. The CRT-D with automatic fluid status monitoring signals a new era in heart failure management, representing the convergence of sophisticated diagnostics and proven therapy in a single implantable device.

The four chambers of the heart contract in synchrony (people experience this as their heartbeat). However, in heart failure patients, the electrical impulses that coordinate the contractions of the heart's chambers may be impaired. As a result, in up to 30 percent of people who have advanced heart failure, the two lower chambers, called ventricles, no longer contract simultaneously.

In cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), a device is implanted in the upper chest in an attempt to resynchronize the contractions of the ventricles by sending tiny electrical impulses to the heart muscle. These pulses cannot be felt by the patient and do their work silently. CRT is also known as biventricular pacing.

Three very thin insulated wires (leads), with tiny electrodes on their distal ends, are manoeuvred through veins from the device to the heart. The implantation procedure is typically done with local anaesthesia, so the patient remains conscious. A typical time, depending on physician experience and patient anatomy, is between 2-3 hours. Patients usually stay in the hospital overnight. The device is smaller than the palm of an adult hand.

Studies have shown that heart failure patients are at a higher risk for sudden cardiac arrest. Special CRT devices are available which can potentially stop life threatening ventricular fibrillation (very fast heart rates) by delivering an electrical shock (called defibrillation in medical terms) to the patient. A CRT-D device (wherein D stands for defibrillator) is a combination of a conventional Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (the "shock box") and the pacemaker. It is also called as a "Combo" device. (editor@thesynergyonline.com) .

NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 14 :
THE sugar-free chewing gum brand, Wrigley's Orbit®, has partnered with the fashion industry at the first ever Van Heusen Men’s Week to send out strong oral care messages on World Oral Health Day.

Oral health pledges were signed by fashion fraternity veterans like JJ Valaya and Sunil Sethi along with Lt. Gen. Dr. Paramjit Singh, President Indian Dental Association (IDA), Dr. Ashok Dhoble, Secretary General IDA and Himanshu Khanna, Director Marketing Wrigley India.

The campaign, rolled out for the World Oral Health Day , will identify various influencers to reach out to the unreached, raise awareness about good oral hygiene habits and equip them with oral health tips and dental checkups. Orbit® sugar-free chewing gum in collaboration with IDA has partnered with 60 dentists in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore for conducting free oral check-ups to mark World Oral Health Day today. Moreover, phone lines at Radio Mirchi will be open for free dental consultancy.

Expressing the solidarity by the fashion fraternity with the Wrigley’s Oral Health Campaign JJ Valaya said, “I am happy oral health has been given due credence since it impacts overall general health. Large sections of Indian society do not have access to proper oral health. The Van Heusen India Men’s Week provides an important platform to bring the designers and models together to participate in Orbit® sugar-free chewing gums oral health campaign. ”

Said Mr. Sunil Sethi President FDCI, “The fashion fraternity has come forward to endorse World Oral Health Day in collaboration with Orbit® sugar free chewing gum. Fashion, good health and personal grooming go hand in hand. Orbit® sugar-free chewing gum’s oral health campaign will empower people with information on oral care. I have signed my oral health pledge today to commemorate World Oral Health Day and urge the fashion fraternity to do the same. ”

Lt. Gen. Dr. Paramjit Singh, President, IDA said, “Poor oral health impacts oral health. A complete oral care routine should include - brushing, flossing, chewing sugar-free gum and visiting a dentist regularly. On the occasion of World Oral Health Day we would like to reach out to as many people to communicate the importance of oral health.”

Dr. Ashok Dhoble, Hon Secretary General, Indian Dental Association (IDA), said, “Easily accessible and sound advice is instrumental in encouraging oral health consciousness in the country. We wish to address these two key areas through our able and trusted team of dentists. The Indian Dental Association will partner with Orbit® sugar-free chewing gum and raise awareness about oral health in India.”

Oral health remains a major public health problem in several Asian and Latin American countries. The Indian Government is also promoting ‘Oral Health for all by 2020’. Poor oral health impacts overall health and leads to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and others.

On this occasion of World Oral Health Day, Wrigley also unveiled its new and improved Orbit® which will now be available to its Indian consumers in its international format. The bright packaging will retain some aspects of the existing design elements that Indian consumers have grown to trust and identify with, but will offer greater appeal in its new avatar and introduce the Indian consumer to a one-world-one-design format.

Said Himanshu Khanna Marketing Director, said, "On the occasion of World Oral Health Day Orbit sugar-free chewing gum has partnered with the fashion industry to raise awareness about oral health. The Van Heusen Men’s Week provides us with an important platform to reach you to the designers and the model fraternity. On this occasion we will also unveil to the new and improved Orbit® sugar-free chewing gum, that the Indian consumers will get to appreciate and will set the tone for the exciting developments that will follow." (editor@thesynergyonline.com) .

NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 13 :
WRIGLEY , the maker of Orbit® sugar-free chewing gum have reaffirmed their commitment to oral health by participation at the World Oral Health Day, celebrated every year on Sep 12, through a variety of initiatives.

These include providing free dental check-ups by 60 dentists across six major cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai, by dentists from Indian Dental Association (IDA). To raise awareness about oral health, Orbit partnered with the fashion fraternity at the Van Heusen India Men's Week and launched Wrigley Oral healthcare Programme in India this year. Wrigley will also be participating in the World Dental Show organized by IDA in October. The initiatives are a formal declaration of Wrigley's resolve to intensify oral health consciousness in the country.

Grounded in more than two decades of clinical research and consumer outreach, the Wrigley Oral Healthcare Program (WOHP) has activations across the globe with one uniting focus: to help oral care professionals and patients worldwide better understand the role of sugar-free gum in a regular oral care routine. With clinical research proving that chewing Orbit® sugar-free gum can reduce the incidence of tooth decay by up to 40%, dentists around the world are agreeing that "Check-up, Brush, Floss, Chew" is a strong combination for healthy teeth and healthy gums.

Himanshu Khanna Marketing Director, Wrigley said, "Wrigley's Orbit sugar-free chewing gum is proud to be a partner with the fashion fraternity in raising awareness about oral health in the country. In India, where oral care is still the much neglected health aspect, we believe our participation will help build a strong framework for furthering the cause of regular oral care and set the stage for other such initiatives to follow".

All those seeking free oral check-ups can personally visit the authorized IDA dentist in any of the cities mentioned.

Dr. Ashok Dhoble, Hon Secretary General, Indian Dental Association (IDA), said, "India, produces approximately 19,000 dental graduates every year and is becoming a favored tourist destination for dental treatment of international standards. However, we need to create awareness about oral health. This innovative programme by Wrigley's through clinical research on various issues like plaque reduction, saliva stimulation will further empower the dental fraternity with new empirical data and promote good oral routine in India." (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 12 :
ON the occasion of World Oral Health Day, Mrs Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister of Delhi, flagged off mobile dental vans in the Capital on Saturday. The mobile dental van flag off is part of Oral Health Month 2009, a nationwide oral health awareness campaign organized by the Indian Dental Association (IDA) and Colgate-Palmolive (India) .

Free dental check-ups were also conducted for children from Pratham, a community based organization that promotes education of underprivileged children in 24 states in India.

Speaking at the event, Mrs Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister of Delhi said, "Basic oral care facilities should be accessible to every individual since oral health is an important and crucial part of one's overall health and wellness. Unfortunately, it is often neglected. I am delighted that the Oral Health Month campaign is intensifying its efforts to reach out to a large section of the society who cannot afford basic oral care by offering free dental check ups through the mobile dental vans. This kind of private-professional-partnership is a role model for more companies and professional organizations to join hands and benefit society."

She added, "On the occasion of World Oral Health Day, I request each individual to realize the importance of oral hygiene and make the most of the free dental check-ups which will be conducted through September and October as part of Oral Health Month."

Dr. Ashok Dhoble, Secretary General - Indian Dental Association said, "Oral health is very important and critical for the overall health. Research has shown that dental diseases can best be prevented through early detection and primary prevention. Through Oral Health Month, it has been our endeavor to reach out to as many people possible to spread awareness about basic oral health habits. We appreciate the support from the Hon'ble Chief Minister for furthering this cause."

According to a recent national Consumer Usage and Attitudes Survey (CUAS), dental problems in India are reflected in the low awareness levels and poor oral hygiene habits. The study conducted by IMRB, sponsored by Colgate, shows that 67 per cent of Indians have never visited a dentist and around 87 per cent of the Indian population does not believe in visiting dentists unless there is a problem. Only 3 out every 100 respondents said they visited dentists at least once a year. By contrast, the global average for people visiting dentists is 57 per cent.

Oral Health Month is a nationwide oral health awareness campaign, in its 6th year, organized by IDA and Colgate that establishes and promotes the importance of good oral health habits.

Mr. Roger D Calmeyer, Managing Director, Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited said, "We would like to thank Smt. Sheila Dikshit, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Delhi for her support in spreading the oral care message on World Oral Health Day. We believe that such partnerships serve as catalysts in furthering social causes and help spread the message to a wider audience. We are also excited that in its 6th year, Oral Health Month will reach over 1,000 towns and cities across India, up from 200 cities last year, to spread awareness about oral health." (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 05 :
AS the world and India in particular is heading towards stepping up efforts to minimize the impact of swine flu pandemic, the Global Hygiene Council supported by Dettol has recommended the adoption of good hygiene practices to protect from flu and viral infections.

Sharing its findings at a recently organized media conference Global Hygiene Council came out with simple and effective guidelines on hand washing that would help the public protect their families against flu and virus.

According to the Council, steps such as washing hands frequently with soap and water for a minimum of 20 seconds, coughing or sneezing into elbows, washing hands thoroughly after contact with an ill person, are the most effective and powerful tools against many infections.

The Council emphasizes that these simple and easy practices are adaptable by every individual and are exercisable both inside and while outside home.

At the same time the new study conducted in 2009 by the Global Hygiene Council and Dettol reveals that startling results on poor levels of hand hygiene amongst Indians.

With only 42 per cent of Indians feeling that hand washing is an effective way to prevent the spread of flu and viruses, 29 per cent of people in India not washing their hands properly after coughing or sneezing and 70 per cent of Indians not wash their hands for the recommended duration of at least 20 seconds.

Further nearly 3 in 5 (59 per cent) parents admitted that their children may not wash their hands in between meal snacking.

Sharing these results, Dr Narendra Saini, India representative, Global Hygiene Council said, "Good hand hygiene is the first line of defense against spread of many illnesses. We at Global Hygiene Council along with Dettol has been undertaking countrywide workshops reaching out to doctors, schoolchildren, RWAs, and imparting basic education and hand hygiene and personal hygiene.

AS part of the workshop, simple aspects like '6 steps of hand washing' were demonstrated and taught. Till now over 2700 doctors have been contacted in cities like Delhi, Jaipur, Baroda, Calcutta, Trivandrum and more.

The Council's survey shows that lack of personal hygiene among people leads to being exposed to common infections like flu or even the recently experienced swine flu. Based on the results of the survey, the Global Hygiene Council recommends simple effective guidelines that help the public protect their families against this virus.

Practice good cough and sneeze etiquette to prevent spreading germs to others that is coughing into your elbow rather than your hands and sneeze into a tissue to minimize hand contact transmission of germs.
Avoid touching your mouth, nose and eyes with your hands.
Wash your hands thoroughly after contact with ill person.

Releasing the book on recommendations and results on behalf of Dettol, Mr Chander Mohan Sethi, Chairman and Managing Director of Reckitt Benckiser (India) said, "The results of the studies conducted bring out the reality of hand hygiene standards amongst people from across socio- economic strata .

There has never been a more important time to relook at our hand hygiene habits, for hands are the key carrier of germs that spread infections and good hand hygiene is the one tool within easy reach to everyone, that can reduce the risk of infection."

Hand hygiene standards in India compared poorly against respondents from other countries like US, UK, Germany ,Australia and South Africa.

However, Indian hand hygiene standards were better than respondents from Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.

Seventyfive per cent of Americans believe that hand washing is important to help protect against catching cold or flu, while 42 percent Indians and only 21 per cent in Malaysia think so.

More than 55 per cent Americans and South Africans believe that handwashing at home is the most effective way to prevent the spread of germs, while 44 per cent of Indians believe the same.

On the occasion Dr Dharam Prakash, Honorary Secretary General , Indian Medical Association said, "It is imperative to continue to spread the message of hand hygiene for the prevention of illness. We at IMA aim at promoting good hygiene practices in India and appreciate the work being done by Dettol in this regard." (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

Mr Nitin Paranjpe ,CEO, Hindustan Unilever and Mr Sudhanshu Vats, VP, Home Care and Skin Cleansing look on as Ms Sujata Rao, Secretary, Department of AIDS Control, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare inaugurates the Lifebuoy National Child Health Symposium in New Delhi on Friday.

NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 04 :
A national symposium on child health was organized on Friday here by Lifebuoy, a health and hygiene soap brand from Hindustan Unilever.

Experts and leading practitioners in the fields of hygiene, nutrition, education and child health representing prominent institutions and organizations such as The Energy Resources Institute (TERI), National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), St. John’s Medical College, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW), Diabetes Foundation of India (DFI), Association of Adoloscent Child Care in India (AACCI) and Scientific Advisor to Lifebuoy and Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) participated in the 1st Lifebuoy National Child Health Symposium 2009.

The one-day symposium was inaugurated by Ms Sujata Rao, The Secretary, Department of AIDS Control, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and Director General NACO, Govt. of India and Mr. Nitin Paranjpe, CEO, Hindustan Unilever .

Speaking on the occasion Ms Sujata Rao said, “This is an interesting and important initiative that Lifebuoy has taken. It is heartening to see prominent institutions such as NIMHANS and others participating in the symposium. Such partnerships are valuable to the cause. The endeavor to provide a healthy and enabling environment to our children so that they realize their full potential will contribute significantly to ensuring that we as a country actually reap the demographic dividend.”

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Nitin Paranjpe said, “Through the Lifebuoy Symposium we hope to make a contribution, in our own small way, by bringing multi-functional experts, practitioners and policy-makers together on one platform for a better understanding of child health and towards formulating interventions needed to make a positive and sustainable impact on child health. The most important and pressing taks for us a country today is to invest behind the health and education of our children.”

The symposium focused on 5 key factors influencing child health – Nutrition, Hygiene, Education, Physical Environment and Socio-Psychological Environment, with focus on interventions that can be put in place and implemented easily by teachers in schools and by parents at home towards improving child health on a sustainable basis.

Each of the sessions were Chaired by different subject experts. The Nutrition session was chaired by Dr. Swati Bhave, Executive Director, AACCI and the Education session was chaired by Ms. Saroj Bala Yadav, National Council of Education Research Training, the Hygiene session was chaired by Mr. Sudhanshu Vats, Vice President, Hindustan Unilever , The session on physical environment was chaired by Dr. Y.L. Tekhre, National Institute of Health & Family Welfare, and the session on Socio-Psychological Environment was chaired by Dr. Shekhar Sheshadri, NIMHANS.

More than 100 professionals, including academics and representatives from leading NGOs such as Care India, Navjyoti Foundation, USAID and WASH among others participated in the symposium. They deliberated on the various interventions required in each of the five focus areas. The symposium ended with a Recommendation Group on each subject drawing up conclusions and putting forth suggestions for parents, schools, community and the government. The various Recommendation Groups unanimously endorsed the need for strengthening early childhood programmes and research as an effective means to improve child health.

The symposium will culminate with the presentation of the inaugural Lifebuoy National Child Health Awards. The awards will be presented across six categories to six NGOs for exemplary work in Nutrition, Education, Hygiene, Physical Environment, Psycho-Social Environment. The winners were chosen by an eminent advisory board from a pool of 119 entries received from across the country. The award application process was facilitated by IndianNGOs.com. The award selection process was also validated by IMRB.

The Symposium advisory board comprises of Dr. D. Nagaraja, Director & Vice Chancellor, National Institute of Mental Health And Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS), Dr. B. Sesikeran, Director National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Ms Ranjana Saikia, Associate Director, Social Transformation Division, Mr. Sudhanshu Vats, Vice President Home Care and Personal Wash, HUL, Dr. Swati Y. Bhave, Executive Director, Association of Adolescent Child Care in India (AACCI). (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 02 :
DESPITE increase in life-style diseases including infectious one’s, only 3 per cent of corporate staff is worried about their future health since majority of it is hardly able to spare resources beyond meeting their daily needs and the absence of any affordable health services provided by corporates to majority of its employees, reveals a Survey of The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) on Preventive Healthcare.

It further reveals that 48 per cent of such a staff is “sometime fearful” about their future health and 37 per cent are “not at all fearful” and remaining 12 per cent are totally ignorant for their future health conditions. This is indicative of the fact that health care has yet to draw desired attention as well as sensitivities for wage earners”, says Mr. D S
Rawat, ASSOCHAM Secretary General.

Quoting findings of the Survey, Mr. Rawat said that in terms of physical fitness, 37 per cent of corporate employees surveyed by ASSOCHAM team said, that they hardly have any time to exercise. While 25% said that they do physical workout devoting less than one hour a week. 24 per cent of such employees said that they exercise for 1-3 hours a week although 9 per cent of employees said that they exercise for 3-6 hours a week. It is only 5 per cent of corporate employees who regularly exercise for more than 6 hours a week to keep physical fit and mentally agile.

In the survey, over 500 corporate employees were interviewed between age ranging between age group ranging 25 to 50 in 18 broad sectors, which include infrastructure, power, media, telecom, advertisement, manufacturing, IT/ITeS, financial services and engineering. Other sectors include market research, management, FMCG, food and beverages, textiles etc.

On the issue of whether health problem discourage corporate employee, 48 per cent responded by saying that they were discouraged by their health problem in doing various activities, while 40 per cent replied that they were not at all `discouraged’ by their health conditions.

It was only 11 per cent of the employee who felt that most of the time, they dare discouraged in conducting work and only 1% of the employees felt that they were highly discouraged by their health problems.

Fourteen per cent of respondents experience workplace fatigue but they still believe themselves to be in `good health’, while 10 per cent of total corporate employees consider their health condition to be poor without perceiving to have `no diseases at all’. 9 per cent and 5 per cent of the sample population suffer problem of sleeping disorder.

Other findings of the Survey include that among the IT/ITeS sector employees, 93 per cent feel that company sponsored wellness program act as a motivating factor for them. However 7 per cent feel depressed about the healthcare program.

Employees engaged in media sector, 60 per cent consider wellness program as a motivating factor, whereas remaining 40 per cent feel that it acts as a depressing factor. Survey respondents engaged in FMCG sector, for 75 per cent of the employees it act as a motivating factor.

For 84 per cent of employees, companies sponsored wellness program acts as a motivating factor, but 16 per cent of the respondents in the sector feel it as a de-motivating factor. In rest of the sectors 100 per cent of the employees consider company sponsored wellness program act as a motivating factor for them. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, AUG 29 :
THE financial performance of the Indian healthcare industry suggests that the companies catering to the sector remains in pink of their health by registering a growth of 42.44 per cent in net profit during the first quarter of the current fiscal, according to The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

The ASSOCHAM Financial Pulse (AFP) Study on "Financial Health of the Indian Healthcare Industry" stated that the domestic healthcare industry, which includes medical care providers, specialist clinics, hospitals and medical diagnostic centers, registered a healthy growth in terms of both income and employment as per the financial analysis of 10
healthcare groups.

"When the whole world was reeling under the heat of global slowdown, one sector which remained largely untouched from the slowdown and registered healthy growth during the first quarter of the current fiscal is healthcare industry" said Mr. Sajjan Jindal, President, ASSOCHAM.

Releasing the Study, the Chamber chief added "Healthcare always promotes people to seek medical care and necessities, therefore not feasible to be sacrificed like many other consumer goods and services. The reason behind the growth of healthcare services could be traced in the increase in per capita income of people leading to better affordability of health care services"

According to the Study, India has a comparative cost advantage through which it provides better and cheap healthcare services than most of other countries. With the booming healthcare industry, medical tourism has also grown at a significant pace over the recent years.

In healthcare sector, the 10 major groups registered a growth of 23.94 per cent in total income and 21.37 per cent in total expenditure in the first quarter of FY '10. While the employee cost increased by 22.24 per cent during the Q1 FY '10 as compared to the same period in last year.

Healthcare services provider such as Apollo hospital, Piramal Healthcare, Cadila and Glaxosmithkline registered major growth in net profit and employment cost during the first quarter of FY '10 as compared to the same period last year.

Asia's largest healthcare group Apollo hospital registered 23.36 percent growth in total income and 53.06 per cent growth in net profit during Q1 FY '10. Whereas total expenditure also registered 23.41 per cent growth in which employment cost increased by 30.75 per cent during the first quarter of FY '10 as compared to the same period last year.

The globally integrated healthcare company Piramal healthcare registered 16.48 per cent growth in total income and 45.48 per cent in net profit during the period. The total expenditure grew at the rate 11.74 per cent, employment cost increased by 13.20 per cent during Q1 FY '10 as compared to the same period last year.

Other major healthcare group such as Cadila and Glaxosmithkline registered 26.54 per cent and 24.15 per cent growth in total income. The net profit of these groups grew by 32.69 per cent and 19.56 per cent respectively where as the total expenditure increased by 26.43 per cent and 21.80 per cent respectively during the first quarter.

In the healthcare segment, other major healthcare groups including Fortis hospitals group, Kovai Medical Center and Hospital Limited, Malar Hospitals, Sharma East India Hospitals & Medical Research, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics and TTK Healthcare registered growth in total income, net profit and total expenditure including employment cost.

Fortis hospital limited registered 155 per cent growth in total income during the Q1 FY '10 as compared to the same period in last year, whereas the group registered just 8.33 percent growth in net profit. The group shows 19.52 per cent increase in total expenditure and the employment cost of the group grew by 39.65 per cent during the first quarter of FY '10 as compared to the same period in last year.

Healthcare groups such as TTK Healthcare wth in total income respectively. Both groups registered more than 500 per cent growth in net profit during the period. The total expenditure of the groups registered a growth of 43.15 per cent and 13.23 percent of which
employment cost increased by 48.64 percent and 22.29 percent during the first quarter of FY '10 as compared to the same period in last year.

Other healthcare service provider which registered growth in net profit and employment cost were Kovai Medical Center and Hospital (64.22 per cent and 34.17 per cent), Malar Hospitals Limited (126.98 percent and 217.93 percent) and Sharma East India Hospitals & Medical Research (25.28 percent and 26.50 percent). (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, AUG 26 :
WOCKHARDT Hospitals, a Super Speciality Hospitals Group, on Tuesday signed an agreement to divest 8 hospitals including 4 super speciality hospitals, 3 satellite hospitals and 1 medical institute to Fortis Healthcare in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata for Rs. 909 crore. The agreement also includes 1 hospital still under construction in Kolkata and 1 in Peenya in Bengaluru.

Wockhardt Hospitals will however 'continue to retain its association' with Partners Harvard Medical International , a self-supporting not-for-profit subsidiary of Harvard Medical School.

Speaking on this divestment, Wockhardt Chairman Habil Khorakiwala said, Wockhardt Hospitals is built on the premise of creating clinical care centres of excellence to meet the unmet medical needs of the community. This has been a fair agreement through which, we believe Fortis will continue to deliver quality care and patient safety."

He further added, "Wockhardt Hospitals is committed towards saving lives and will strive to reach new heights of medical excellence by way of its relationship with Partners Harvard Medical International."

By retaining 7 of its super speciality hospitals in Rajkot, Surat, Nasik, Nagpur and Hyderabad, Wockhardt Hospitals has a strong presence in the Western part of the country. In addition to these, Wockhardt Hospitals has 3 Community Hospitals in Bhavnagar, Goa and Vashi in Mumbai.

Leveraging its intellectual and managerial strengths, Wockhardt Hospitals plans to expand its reach into 4 more cities over the next 3 years. Speaking on the future, Wockhardt Chairman Habil Khorakiwala stated, "Wockhardt Hospitals will continue on its journey of growth which would include a state-of-the-art multi-speciality hospital in Mumbai Central within a year." (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

MUMBAI, AUGUST 22 :
THE Foundation Stone of a GAIL sponsored Radiation Oncology Center at the Cama & Albless Hospital was laid by Mr Murli Deora, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas here on Saturday. Mr Suresh Shetty, Minister of State for Medical Education, Higher & Technical Education, Tourism, Special Assistance and Parliamentary Affairs, Government of Maharashtra, Mr Milind Deora, Member of Parliament, Mrs. Annie Shekhar, M.L.A., B. C. Tripathi, Chairman and Managing Director, GAIL, Mr Apurva Chandra, Joint Secretary (Marketing), Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, Mr Bhushan Gagrani, Secretary, Medical Education & Drugs Department, Government of Maharashtra, other senior officials of the State Government and GAIL were also present on the occasion.

GAIL has made a contribution of Rs. 20 crore for setting up of the Radiation Oncolgy Center. The project would involve procurement of a Linear Accelerator machine for treatment of cancer patients. This state-of-art machine would enable more precise targeted destruction of cancer cells. It is understood that such treatment machine is presently not available in any hospital in and around Mumbai.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Deora recalled that during one of his visits to the Hospital, he was made aware of this requirement and felt that it was necessary specially as the Hospital was catering to the not so privileged persons specially women.

He said the contribution made by GAIL for this Radiation Oncology Center is one of the single largest such contribution by any oil and gas sector PSU under their CSR programmes.

Mr B. C. Tripathi, Chairman and Managing Director, GAIL said that GAIL was privileged to be associated in helping the hospital in getting state-of-art cancer treatment facility. GAIL, he said, has been taking up a number of meaningful socially useful programmes across the country, specially focused in the rural areas where the company has a significant presence, for upliftment of the under privileged segment of the society.

The setting up of the Radiation Oncology Center as an initiative of Mr Murli Deora, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and his active role and guidance in the setting up of the Center was widely acknowledged by the various dignitaries present at the occasion.

At GAIL, Corporate Social Responsibility stands for continuing commitment for operating the core business in socially responsible way, complemented by investment in communities to produce an overall positive impact on society.

The Company as a policy has allocated 2 per cent of its net profit after tax (PAT) of the previous financial year for CSR activities across all its work centres and offices. This overall budget is then distributed amongst seven specific thrust areas as community development, drinking water, sanitation, educational aid, environment protection, healthcare / medical, infrastructure, literacy enhancement/ empowerment.

In the state of Maharashtra the CSR spends, other than the contribution to Cama Hospital, have been to the tune of Rs. 2 crore over the last 3 years. The programmes taken up by GAIL in Maharashtra under CSR include distribution of Sewing Machine & Tricycles, cataract surgeries, adoption of 1000 girls through Nanhi Kali programme, adoloscent sensitisation programme, contribution for Watershed, purchase of school bus for mentally challenged students, construction of cement concrete road, providing drinking water pipelines, etc.

NEW DELHI, AUG 18 :
Dr. Balbir Singh, Senior Consultant, Electrophysiotherapy & Interventional Cardiology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital has suggested heart patients to be more cautious against the swine flu outbreak . According to Dr. Singh, heart patients have a harder time when infected as compared to normal patients. Flu produces significant stress on the cardiovascular system like breathing difficulty, changes in blood pressure, rapid heart rate, and even direct effects on the heart.

All these factors make flu infections even more difficult, and ominous, especially for someone who has a heart ailment. Heart patients, who should be most cautious because they could face maximum risk owing to complications, are those with chronic conditions such as heart failure, or those with complex congenital heart disease who may not be able to bear any lung congestion.

“As of now, there is absolutely no proof whatsoever which indicates that people with heart disease are more vulnerable or prone to catch swine flu than those who do not have any heart ailment. However, if heart disease patients do happen to catch it, the probability that they may have an acute cardiac event increases. Swine flu, or for that matter any other form of flu, is a case of acute inflammation and we have enough medical evidence that suggests that heart attacks generally take place during or immediately post such acute inflammations,” says Dr. Singh.

“It is always better that heart patients seek professional help, medical advice and treatment at the very first signs of flu. If any of the symptoms show up, or for that matter if they suspect strong exposure, it is better that they visit the doctor and take antiviral drugs besides having their heart condition assessed,” adds Dr. Singh.

Cardiologists could face increased number of patients being admitted with heart attacks if the epidemic continues to spread and loom large, the manner in which it as of now in some parts of the country. As of know it has not been established whether swine flu is more ominous that other variety of flu but if you are a heart patient, any kind of flu is dangerous and therefore precaution is suggested.

Precautions to be taken by heart patients to prevent worsening of underlying chronic conditions:

· Every year get vaccinated for Influenza (flu), it reduces the risk of acute cardiac event (vaccination by injection and not live attenuated vaccine given as nasal spray - as recommended by American heart Association)

· If you are in an area where flu has not become an epidemic yet, frequent washing of hands with soap or sanitizer and keeping away from visibly sick people is advised

· If flu has attained epidemic proportions in your area, restrict movement out of the home and avoid public gatherings in particular

· If you wish to wear a face mask, make sure it covers nose and mouth and forms a tight seal around (N95 masks recommended)

· Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.

· If any of the flu symptoms show on you, do not try any over-the-counter drug (may contain decongestants which heart patients should avoid) and consult the doctor immediately, remind the doctor of your heart disease, take antiviral drugs (work best if taken within two days of symptoms)

· Call for medical help immediately if you develop difficulty in breathing and this condition fails to improve in 3-4 days, or it worsens further especially after beginning to recover . (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

THE importance of health insurance becomes very apparent in situations like the current Swine Flu pandemic scenario. Unlike other countries, most health insurance policies in India cover hospitalization expenses arising out of such epidemics.

Future Health Suraksha, a health insurance cover from Future Generali India Insurance Company Limited covers hospitalization expenses arising out of accidents and/or illness like Swine Flu. Health insurance policies however
do not cover expenses incurred for testing diseases like Swine Flu, cover becomes applicable only once the person is tested positive and gets admitted to the hospital for treatment.

Like any other health insurance policy, illness contracted in the first 30 days of taking a fresh policy is not covered. Post 30 days any hospitalization expenses other than those due to pre-existing illness or those specifically excluded under the policy are covered.

Since the percentage of people insured under health insurance policies is not high, the number of claims that have got reported to insurers till now is not significant. However Future Generali is receiving many calls from intermediaries or insured about coverage of Swine Flu under the health insurance policy.

Awareness and interest levels in insurance protection tend to shoot up after every major calamity. Eg. After the Gujarat earthquake there was a spurt in demand for protection against loss due to earthquakes. Similarly, after the 26/11 terrorists attack the number of requests and calls for anti-terror policies reached an all time peak.

There is however a need for sustained awareness creation on the need for proactive health insurance by all concerned stakeholders so that adequate protection can be put in place for and received by all citizens. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, AUG 12 :
ABOUT 50 per cent of sanctioned posts of specialists at various Community Health Centres (CHCs) throughout India are vacant, which shows that the primary health still remains the lowest priority of state governments including union territories, reveals an ASSOCHAM Paper

`Role of Health Insurance in Medical Care in India'.
Currently, there are about 4500 CHCs operational through out India which are managed and run by state governments, in which 59.2 per cent of posts of surgeons, 46.4 per cent of obstetricians and gynaecologists, 56.6 per cent of physicians and 51.9 per cent of pediatricians are vacant, adds the ASSOCHAM paper.
Releasing it, the ASSOCHAM President, Mr. Sajjan Jindal said that 2525 CHCs should have been added to current operational community health centres that number around 5000 by end of 2008-09 which did not happen at all, speaks of utter apathy that state governments observes towards them.

The community health centres are supposed to provide specialized medical care in the form of facilities of surgeons, obstetricians & gynaecologists, physicians and pediatricians throughout the country to promote rural health.

Even out of the sanctioned posts, a significant percentage of posts are vacant at other levels. For instance, about 8.8% of the sanctioned posts of Female health worker are vacant as compared to about 32 per cent of the sanctioned posts of Male Health Worker. At PHC (primary health centres), about 13.8 per cent of the sanctioned posts of Female Health Assistant, 22.1 per cent of Male Health Assistant are vacant.

At the sub centre level, the extent of existing manpower can be assessed from the fact that about 5 per cent of the Sub Centres were without a Female Health Worker, about 37.2 per cent Sub Centres were without a Male Health Worker and about 4.7 per cent Sub Centres were without both Female Health Worker as well as Male Health Worker. This indicates a large shortfall in Male Health Workers, resulting in poor male participation in Family Welfare and other health programmes.

About 5.6 per cent of the PHCs were without a doctor, about 40 per cent were without a Lab technician and about 17 per cent were without a Pharmacist. About 50 per cent of Sub Centres, 76 per cent of PHCs and 91 per cent of CHCs are located in the government buildings. The rest are located either in rented building or rent free Panchayat/ Voluntary Society buildings. In case of Sub Centres, overall 66382 buildings are required to be constructed. Similarly, for PHCs 3618 and for CHCs 199 buildings are required to be constructed.

The existing manpower is an important prerequisite for the efficient functioning of the Rural Health Infrastructure. The Chamber has therefore recommended that states who manage the aforesaid centres should attach equal priority to their well being just as they take up issues of creating infrastructure such as roads, ports, aviation etc. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

WITH a distinction of being the world’s largest trained manpower in healthcare, medical education in India has significantly improved in the qualitative terms also. The credit for this goes to a large extent to the apex body of the medical education in the country, Medical Council of India. Ever since Dr Ketan Desai has been at the helm of the MCI as its president, the Council is also working to further standardize the curriculum of medical education which is not only expected to be catering to the national needs but also cater to the global needs.

Dr Ketan Desai, President, MCI has been repeatedly taking initiatives so that the Council incorporates the global needs in the ambit. All due to the excellence in performing the role of the medical education watchdog, India today has the distinction of being the single largest producer of trained health manpower in the entire Globe. With 299 medical colleges in operation as of now with annual intake capacity of approximately 33,000 for the M.B.B.S. Courses, in terms of the number it is the largest producer of the trained health manpower when interpolated against the facts that even the United States of America, has only 152 medical schools as on date.

This is only considering allopathic medicine. When we consider Ayurved and other systems, the number gets even larger. However, the respective governments never seem to have made it a priority sector. Medical education per-se has never been construed as a priority in any of the budget making exercises of either the Central or State Governments and therefore to that extent the annual budget of the financial year 2009-2010 does not make any exception.

It needs to be borne in mind that ultimately medical education is the platform from where the trained health manpower is expected to be generated. The efficacy and efficiency of this trained health manpower therefore is directly proportional to the standardized sustenance of medical education.

If the necessary requirements of medical education in the context of ‘developmental grants’ are not met with, the desired standards would not be attainable. This will result in the compromised generation of the health manpower, which is suicidal. The Medical Council of India under Dr Ketan Desai can only pave the way; the onus of excellence in the medical education ultimately falls in the power corridors. (editor@thesynergyonline.com) .

Q. What is India's positioning in the medical education vis-à-vis other developing countries?

A: India today has the distinction of being the single largest producer of trained health manpower in the entire Globe. With 299 medical colleges in operation as of now with annual intake capacity of approximately 33,000 for the M.B.B.S. Courses, in terms of the number it is the largest producer of the trained health manpower when interpolated against the facts that even the United States of America, has only 152 medical schools as on date. This is only considering allopathic medicine. When we consider Ayurved and other systems, the number gets even larger.

Q. Where do we lag behind developed countries as far as the quality medical education is concerned?

A: There are two specific areas where we lag behind as far as the quality of medical education is concerned:
i) Technological advancements
ii) Original Research generation and Patentization

There is also paucity of accrediting agency including a standing mechanism being in place for award and monitoring of quality assurances in the domain of accreditation of educational institutes.

Q. unlike the western countries, many of the medical colleges in the country do not have the required hospital affiliations. What is MCI doing to meet this challenge?

A: It is incorrect to say that medical colleges in the country do not have the required hospital affiliations. As a matter of fact, the Regulation notified by the Medical Council of India, which is binding and mandatory in character with regard to minimum standard requirements for opening of medical colleges with 50, 100, 150 intake respectively mandates that the teaching hospital with the prescribed number of specified beds commensurate with the annual intake capacity must be owned and managed by the Trust or the Agency running the said medical college. At present, ipso facto, there is not a single medical college in India which does not own or manage a teaching hospital affiliated to the medical college.

Q. Why is medical education so costly that the average middle class candidate can't afford?

A: It is imperative to note that the private capital has come to state in the domain of medical education. Ever since the incorporation of section 10 (A) in the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 vide which no new medical college can be opened without the prior approval of the Government of India, on the recommendations of Medical Council of India, a statistical configuration speaks for itself. Nearly 140 new medical colleges came up during the 15 years period from 1993 to 2008, of which more than 90% of them are in the private sector.

The Hon'ble Supreme Court has categorically validated the concept of 'cost based higher education' including medical education. A standing mechanism has also been put into place for the purposes of monitoring of the chargeable fee and also regulating the admissions in unaided institutions of higher education including medical education. The said fee regulatory fee committee in each State is headed by retired Judge of the High Court, which upon taking into consideration the admissible expenditure incurred by the unaided institutions prescribes the chargeable fee for the said college. To that extent it is incidentally a reality that the cost of medical education in private sector has gone beyond the affordability of the middle class. However, with easy availability of bank loans on reasonable terms, it is not a formidable hurdle as it seems to be.

Q. There is a general perception that the Medical Council of India has not done enough to make the medical education viable to everybody?

A: It is not within the scope and mandate of the Medical Council of India to ensure that the medical education is viable to everybody especially in the context of inevitable privatization of medical education for various socio-political reasons, which are beyond the ambit and jurisdiction including control of the Medical Council of India. As I have already stated above, it is the Fee Monitoring Committee in each State which is entrusted with the task of regulating fees in medical colleges.

Q. How far is medical education controlled by the MCI and where does it come under the purview of UGC?

A: Medical education per-se does not come under the purview of University Grants Commission. As a matter of fact the Medical Council of India, primarily has been created by a parliamentary enactment in the year 1956 for the purposes of generating standards and monitoring them for the medical education in the country through appropriate mechanism. The Council is required to be acting as a 'watch dog' for setting and ensuring adherence by the all concerned to the prescribed standards. Through various provisions of the IMC Act and Regulations framed thereunder, MCI regulates all facets of undergraduate and postgraduate medical education.

Q. Do you feel that the mandatory service in the rural areas for medical students will encourage the rural youth to opt for this profession and ease out healthcare anomalies?

A: The Council had dealt with the problem of improvisation of the health care services amongst the rural poor. Realizing that small time mechanism here and there would not result in generating either interest or enthusiasm amongst the medical graduates to opt for the rural health care services, the council constituted a study group, which independently formulated a comprehensive model of undergraduate medical education for generation of rural trained health manpower. All relevant details and niceties have been worked out in the said model and upon being adopted by the Executive Committee and the General Body of the Council, the same has been forwarded to the Government of India, for necessary action. The matter is still pending with the Government of India.

Q. The year 2009-10 budget has announced moderate to massive allocation hike to social sectors that also includes education. From the perspective of improving medical education in the country, do you think budget has anything concrete to offer ?

A: Medical education per-se has never been construed as a priority in any of the budget making exercises of either the Central or State Governments and therefore to that extent the annual budget of the financial year 2009-2010 does not make any exception.

It needs to be borne in mind that ultimately medical education is the 'ceat' wherefrom the trained health manpower is expected to be generated. The efficacy and efficiency of this trained health manpower therefore is directly proportional to the standardized sustenance of medical education. If the necessary requirements of medical education in the context of 'developmental grants' are not met with, the desired standards would not be attainable, which would result in the compromised generation of the health manpower, which is suicidal.

It is for this reason, the Council has opined that just as UGC extends 'developmental grants' to the various institutions of the Govt. in higher education with reference to Section 2(f) read with 12 (b) of the UGC Act, the concept of developmental grants on similar footing needs to be actualized for the medical education, as well.

Q. This country is being touted to emerge as a hotbed of medical tourism in the coming years. Would it entail any kind of changes in the curriculum of medical colleges? What are MCI views on it, how can medical colleges contribute to attain this objective?

A: It has been the concern of the Council that the curriculum for the various modern medicine courses needed to be updated in a periodic manner, so as to make them commensurate with immediate and long term requirements. In order to give an academic direction and fillip, 'Academic Cell' has been constituted in the Medical Council of India, which is primarily vested with the responsibility of catering to the academic requirements of medical education in the country. Curriculum update is the one of the premier tasks, which is being dispensed, for which a 'standing mechanism' in the forms of 72 Boards of specialities with expert members included thereat have been constituted. These Board of specialities taking stock of the various developments update the curriculum in the concerned specialities for the consideration of the authorities of Medical Council of India. The council has also defined the 'unit of update' which in case of the postgraduate studies is three years and for the undergraduate 5 years, which incidentally is the duration of the said courses. It is ensured that the updated curriculum are effected in a prospective manner. Likewise, a continuous effort is made by the academic cell to evolve desired innovations in the domain of teaching, learning and evaluation process and also evolving quality measures to be inculcated in to the system, so as to make the model of medical education 'competitive and sustainable'.

The context worked out by the council is in the paradigm that the 'national objectives' for the health care delivery system are required to be set in and a commensurate national curriculum is to be evolved for the fulfillment of the said objectives. It is also envisaged that the curriculum is not only expected to be catering to the national needs but as India is required to generate trained manpower even for the global requirements, hence the global needs are also incorporated in the ambit.

Q. Finally, do you think medical education is still attracting the best talent in the country or it is the select choice of only those who come from the medico background?

A: Medical education and profession even today turns out to be a premier choice of eligible young population across all sectors for several reasons. The glamour blended with recognition including capability to serve, all have proven to be the strong motivating points for young students to opt for medical profession. This attracts every one and is not restricted to the children from the medico background. However, it is imperative that the diligent efforts by all concerned including Medical Council of India are required to be undertaken in a 'holistic' manner so as to ensure generation of an environment, situation and circumstances, which are bound go a long way in fulfilling the legitimate expectations of the youth of this country opting for medical education and health care profession.(editor@thesynergyonline.com) .

NEW DELHI, JUNE 18 :
EASY access of Visa facilities often permitted by India to overseas patients coupled with best emerging medical infrastructure facilities in its large and tertiary towns, prospects of India Medical Tourism becoming a lead foreign exchange earners will grow to an extent of Rs. 8000 crore by 2012.

The findings are arrived at The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) Paper on Prospects of Medical Tourism for Higher Forex Earning' in which lead doctors from various hospitals were involved.
Releasing the ASSOCHAM estimates, its president, Mr. Sajjan Jindal pointed out that currently, the earnings accrued through medical tourism annually are estimated around Rs.4500 crore.

"The primary reasons as to why medical tourism would flourish in India include much more lower medical costs for various ailments such as bone narrow transparent, bye-pass surgery, knee surgery and liver transplant as compared to western countries".

As a result of higher and very expensive medical costs in Western countries, patients from economies of scale and even blocs like Africa, Gulf and various Asian countries have started exploring medical treatment in hospitals located in various well-to do places in India. This is because its' medical infrastructure has geared up to provide them non-subsidized medical treatment at much lower costs, adds Mr. Jindal.

The other reasons as to why India would emerge as a lead hub for excellent medical treatment is because of its strength of highly qualified medical professionals and even equally higher qualities of availability of nurses.
India has over 7,5 lakh qualified doctors and numbers of qualified nursing graduates and diploma holders are equally good and of high professional caliber who are content and satisfied with reasonable professional fees.
A comparison of treatment costs is given in the tabulated form, comparing India's cost of medical treatment with countries such as USA, UK and Thailand :

According to ASSOCHAM, this is the major advantage which works in favour of India as a result of which movement of patients from various developing and developed countries would shift towards India as its hospital infrastructure is not only confined to large metros but equally getting better in tertiary towns in which the cost of living is still lower with quality of supreme nature.
Still other reasons for medical tourism getting wide spread in India is because of its strength of traditional treatment in homeopathy, naturapathy, ayurvedic, unani etc. which are becoming popular because of their non-side effects, said Mr. Jindal.

The Indian healthcare policy is getting adequately recongised from the policy makers as in India health spends in proportion to its GDP is about 1% which the government is gradually trying to increase. The increase in health GDP ratio would amount to proliferation of new health facilities as well as their centres for patients and such centres of excellence will finally be able to accommodate overseas patients as with increasing health facilities, its health infrastructure would still move for better and find acceptance in great deal of patients. Therefore, the prospects of medical tourism in India would be of super facilities and holds an excellent future, concluded Mr. Jindal. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, MAY 23 :
WHITE-COLLARED employees are at a higher risk of heart diseases due to a sedentary lifestyle, complex mental activities and long working hours, according to senior cardiologist at Max Devi Heart and Vascular Institute, Dr. Anil Dhall. They, therefore, must take utmost care of their heart and rework their lifestyles immediately, suggested the doctor while addressing BSNL employees in a public lecture held this Friday.

He said people engaged in mental activities are immensely stressed up. Because of this, their blood pressure and heart rate get elevated to a dangerous extent. Also, the people who are more mentally or emotionally stressed and work in chronically stressed-out conditions are more likely to take up smoking and binge eating, and are far less likely to exercise. All these together can make them develop heart diseases eventually.

Not just that. Mental stress can trigger a lack of blood flow to the heart and increase the risk of death in people with coronary artery disease, warned Dhall referring to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

This comes in the wake of a study conducted by Duke University. The study showed that the stress of performing difficult jobs, which involve extensive mental work like solving an arithmetic problem can constrict the coronary arteries in such a way that blood flow to the heart muscle is reduced drastically, ultimately leading to a heart attack. Of grave concern is the fact that more than 50 per cent persons, including corporates, who suffer heart attacks die before any medical help can reach them.

What's more, a study has found out that 15 per cent of bank employees and corporates alike are at significant risk as far as heart disease goes. The study says they are more vulnerable to heart diseases and heart attacks due to sedentary lifestyles and long-working hours.

"Prevention and early detection is the key", says Dhall. First and foremost, avoid tension. Work within your capacity and don't try getting out of it unless and until you are pretty much sure of accomplishing it on time. Be happy with what you have. Always be honest with your boss. Don't keep anything from him. Even if you are unhappy about something, express it to your boss in a subtle way , he added.

Then, revise your lifestyle and dietary pattern. "Small lifestyle changes can help prevent heart diseases", says Dr Dhall. "Eat wholegrain cereals like oats containing betaglucan and soluble fibre, leafy vegetables and fresh fruits. Give up high cholesterol food and trans fatty food. Always consume those oils that have zero trans fat like rice bran oil. Quit smoking if you do, keep your blood pressure in control and walk for at least 30 minutes every day. Do some exercise as well. Most importantly, keep your blood sugar in control especially if you are a diabetic and if you are overweight or obese, start reducing your weight ," he adds. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

AO LAB LAUNCH BRINGS ADVANCES IN TRAUMA MANAGEMENT AT SIR GANGA RAM HOSPITAL, MAX SUPER SPECIALITY

NEW DELHI, MAY 5, 2009: India's 'first ever' AO knowledge lab, designed to take the surgical management of 'Trauma & Musculoskeletal disorders' to new heights, was 'initiated' at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and Max Super Speciality Hospital Saket today. It was inaugurated by Prof. Thomas P.Ruedi (founding member AO foundation) and Prof. Chris Van Der Werken (Past President AO foundation). Dr. (Prof.) O.N. Nagi, Senior Consultant, Department of Orthopaedics, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital took Prof. Ruedi and Prof. Werken on a guided tour of the hospital. The professors visited the study centre and the knowledge lab and obtained a ' first - hand' impression of the facilities on offer. Dr. Nagi also briefed them about the nature of cases the hospital deals with.

AO (Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen - loosely translated as the Association for the Study of Internal Fixation) was founded in 1958. Conceived with the aim of achieving excellence in the 'surgical management of trauma & musculoskeletal disorders, AO has helped train thousands of Orthapaedic surgeons worldwide in the principles of management of fracture and trauma ever since its inception. With the initiation of the knowledge lab and the 'setting up' of the training centre, AO brings its expertise to the doorstep of the Indian surgeons. The 4- month fellowship programme at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (and some other hospitals that have been selected) will ensure that Indian Orthopaedic surgeons won't have to go to other countries for training.

To begin with, AO will offer scholarships to surgeons taking up the fellowship programme. Eventually a total of 30 national fellowship programmes will be run through selected national reference centres. Apart from the centre at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital these, at the moment, include 6-7 centres all over India. The centre at Sir Ganga Ram houses a fully equipped lab, a library with a huge collection of books (including all AO books), a large number of educational AO DVDs and bone models for hands - on training. An assortment of journals and books related to fracture management would also be available.

Says Dr. B.K.Rao, Chairman, Board of Management, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, "In India we have about 800 Orthopaedic Surgeons passing out every year. Being trained by the best in the business and being exposed to the cutting edge advances in the field right at the outset is an opportunity of a lifetime for these young surgeons. The initiation of the knowledge lab and the setting up of the AO centre at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital gives further impetus to our endeavours of bringing in International expertise to the country and also goes a long way in making advanced treatment options available to the patients"

According to Dr. SKS Marya, Director, Orthopaedics & Joint Replacement, Max Super Speciality Hospital, "It gives me immense pleasure to announce the launch of India's first knowledge lab for Orthopaedics. At present there is no such lab that exists in India to train our Fellows in Orthopaedic Trauma. The AO knowledge Lab & reference centre will emphasize on the education of young surgeons on trauma care, so that people are benefited through better treatment modalities".(editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, MAY 02 :
NATIONAL Health Insurance Scheme which hitherto was meant for below poverty line people is going to be extended to all citizens in view of its popularity after 15th Lok Sabha is constituted, says Director General, Labour Welfare, Ministry of Labour & Employment, Mr. Anil Swarup.

Inaugurating ASSOCHAM orgnaised Internal Workshop on `Knowledge of Labour Laws’ here , Mr. Anil Swarup disclosed that an official decision to this effect has already been taken. “Hopefully, by 1st July 2009 Indian citizens above poverty line would have the Health Insurance Card in their possession to entitle them free insurance covered treatment in government as well as private hospitals. An official announcement in this regard could be done after the new government is formed”, announced Mr. Swarup.

Premium amount to extend Health Insurance Card for people above poverty line would be decided by state owned and private insurance companies that are selected for coverage of this new scheme through open competitive bidding system as decided by the government.

So far, 4 million people residing under below poverty line have been issued Health Insurance Card (HIC) for which they paid a meager premium of Rs.30 each. The Union Labour & Employment Ministry has set for itself a target of covering 10 million people of below poverty line to issue HIC in current fiscal, said Mr. Swarup, adding that new software are being developed to accommodate large number of populace for free medical treatment under this scheme.

According to him, “this Scheme throughout the country has got so much popularity that in its initial phase, while the insurance companies agents were distributing 1000 cards each day for people below poverty lines, these companies today issue as many as 30,000 cards each day”.

The popularity of this Scheme has grown so much that overseas countries have started approaching India to sell this scheme to them also. These countries include Bangaldesh, Afghanistan even Singapore and US, said Mr. Swarup adding that recently team of Afghanistan and Bangladesh health experts held discussions with Union Labour Ministry.

“Not only this, even the World Bank approached India about details of its National Health Insurance Scheme and I have personally made a detailed presentation in this regard at Washington office of the World Bank”, said Mr. Swarup.

The current National Health Insurance Scheme is jointly funded through Centre and States initiatives in which 75 contribution is made through central government and remaining 25 by states concerned, pointed out Mr. Swarup.

In his welcome address, past president ASSOCHAM, Mr. R K Somany complimented Union Labour Ministry for taking a decision to extend National Health Insurance Scheme to people above poverty line also.

Mr. M K Garg, Sr. Advisor HR ASSOCHAM who also spoke on the occasion said that the Labour & Employment Ministry should also ensure disbursement of wages to Contract Labour engaged in Indian industry equally on lines that they pay to their own workers. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI,APRIL 19 :
HORLICKS , a brand from GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare on Saturday unveiled here Nutrition Academy to be based in Gurgaon. The Horlicks Nutrition Academy aims at playing to play a significant role in helping the cause of overcoming micronutrient deficiencies among Indians. The company claims that the launch is important in view of the disconcerting facts that at present, upto 70 per cent of children between 6 to 59 months & more than half of women in India (55 pwer cent) have anaemia (NFHS-3).

Additionally, according to a report of National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad and UNICEF - "Childhood under Threat" - children may lose their eyesight because of a deficiency of vitamin A, which is another vital micronutrient.

Speaking at the launch, Dr Prakash Shetty, Professor of Public Health Nutrition at University of Southampton, UK, said, "Micro-nutrient deficiency may lead to several devastating health consequences, some of which can even be life-threatening. It is not that people are not aware of such health complications, but they are unable to find a credible source of information that can answer their nutritional queries as well as fully assess their current nutritional status.

"Horlicks Nutrition Academy will provide nutritional information, assessment, advice and provide tailor-made nutritional solutions while helping consumers make the right food choices; as a one stop solution for all nutritional needs that Horlicks Nutrition Academy can offer," he added.

Added former Director of NIN, Dr. B. Sivakumar, "Horlicks Nutrition Academy has been launched with an objective to control the increasing menace in India of nutrition related deficiencies across age groups. For e.g. in India almost half of children under 5 are stunted. It is an alarming fact that upto 50 per cent of Indian children are deficient in micronutrients which may have serious implications on India's future while potentially crippling the growth of the country and its economy if active measures are not taken immediately."

Malnutrition results from the consumption of an improper or inadequate diet. "Research data indicates that it is almost equally prevalent amongst urban Indians as amongst their rural counterparts," confirms Dr. SivaKumar.

He says, "While economic deprivation, or the inability to afford nutritional foods are said to be the primary cause of malnutrition because of which a large number of lower income group gets affected. The irony is that even people of the high-income group are also falling is this category due to consumption of junk food every now and then, to satiate their hunger. "

"Because of unhealthy eating habits people from higher income groups may miss out the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of several vital nutrients that are essential for complete well-being. Solutions made available by Horlicks Nutrition Academy will help consumers meet the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of required micronutrients," he adds.

"Horlicks Nutrition Academy has proposed to IMA for supporting in scientific nutrition programmes like CMEs, etc for doctors. IMA is always open to such public health and social awareness initiatives. For many years, the association has been striving hard to build a platform from where it could deal with the nutritional problems (one of the most debilitating health problems) of the country.

The academy will act as an educational home, where doctors and local and international experts will be brought together from across the country to share and discuss the latest scientific and in-field advances in nutrition. " says Dr. Ashok Adhao, National President of IMA Headquarter.

The academy's other activities will include supporting academic research, contribute to capacity building and human resource development in food and nutrition, developing educational modules on various aspects of nutrition related diseases, helping practitioners, food and nutrition professionals and students in their education, co-ordinating food science professionals for their career development.

The Horlicks Nutrition Academy has its dedicated product research centre where new and current products will be tested through science-based research. Many other, nutrition researches will be performed in partnership with leading Nutrition Institutes across the country.

By contributing to research, development and education Horlicks Nutrition Academy will play an important and independent role while facilitating the development of an overall research network in food and nutrition in India. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, APRIL 18 :
WORLD Haemophilia Day, observed on Friday, the 17th day of April this year, presents an opportunity to raise the bar as far as Haemophilia awareness is concerned. 17th April marks the birthday of Frank Schnabel, the founder of World Federation of Haemophilia (WFH), who made immense contributions to the cause of improving care for people with Hemophilia.

Hemophilia, the once dreaded bleeding disorder has long since ceased to be synonymous with misfortune and doom especially with prophylaxis coming up. The immense resourcefulness and perseverance displayed by researchers worldwide has resulted in continuously evolving treatment modalities and better life spans for Haemophiliacs today. Even though a complete cure still eludes us, modern medicine has very effective systems in place to effectively manage Haemophilia

The mainstay of treatment as far as Haemophilia is concerned is 'Replacement therapy' - replacing the missing or deficient clotting factors (Factor VIII or factor IX depending on the type of Haemophilia) through regular infusions.

Factor concentrates have been employed extensively to manage Haemophilia and to deal effectively with bleeding episodes. Derived from human plasma, these concentrates may be infused or injected directly into the bloodstream.

" Persisting risk of contamination with Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C, although rates of contamination and infection are much less compared to other blood derived products

Even though the risk of contamination with Hepatitis B virus, Hepatitis C virus and HIV is real, safety measures developed by scientists have ensured that the incidence of these infections since the late 80s has been extremely low.

Plasma - derived concentrates being produced nowadays are safer than ever before. This has been a direct result of measures adopted to ensure the safety of these concentrates. These include using repeat donors and quarantining plasma for defined periods of time.

Making Haemophilia treatment universally available however keeps on running into obstacles every now and then. Some of the commonest problems encountered are, shortage of the plasma - derived products and high cost. Since plasma - derived products are sourced from human blood; the availability of these products is directly proportional to the amount of stored plasma and the number of donors available. Needless to say, there is a perennial shortage of both in India.

Nevertheless, factor concentrates are available and can be obtained but with a little difficulty. Having said this, an alternative would be more than welcome.

Here, a new recombinant DNA clotting factor serves the need. With its arrival, effective Haemophilia treatment has received a tremendous boost. This clotting factor (produced without the use of additives derived from human blood) provides added reassurance against any theoretical infection risks that may arise from the use of blood - derived products.

Recombinant factor VIII has been recommended as the first choice

replacement therapy for people with Haemophilia by the Medical and Scientific Advisory Council of the National Haemophilia Foundation in the U.S.A., by the Medical and Scientific Advisory Council of the Canadian Haemophilia Society and by the United Kingdom Haemophilia Centre Directors organisation.

Recombinant clotting factors with much improved viral safety represent one more milestones in the effective treatment of Haemophilia. In consonance with the standard plasma- derived factors, these are poised to revolutionize Haemophilia treatment in the days to come. The need of the hour is to address availability issues so that 'living a normal life with Hemophilia' becomes an attainable goal for Haemophiliacs even in the third world countries.(editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, APRIL 08 :
ON the occasion of World Health Day, Lifebuoy started a crusade for health with its Banaye Healthy Hindustan campaign. Hundreds of school children, between the age group of 6 and 12 years signed an appeal to health experts and authorities, to take care of their health concerns. The event took place at two of India's historic monuments, India Gate, Delhi and Gateway of India, Mumbai.

Lifebuoy Banaye Healthy Hindustan campaign follows close on the heels of the recently released Lifebuoy Child Health Quotient report, a 17 state capital survey, conducted amongst mothers of children aged between 4 and 12 years. The survey brought to light mothers' perception and satisfaction levels on the overall health (physical, mental and social) of their children and the important factors that influence overall health of children in a city.

According to the survey, mothers gauge the health of their child based on (1) Frequency of minor illnesses (2) Frequency of major illness (3) Resistance to disease (4) weight of child and (5) growth of child. It also brought to light that mother's place greatest importance on factors (both internal and external) like Nutrition, Pure water, Hygiene habits, Quality of Education in school, Cleanliness of surroundings. The children gathered at both venues created beautiful murals that signified the reasons for the lack of satisfaction of mothers with regards to the 5 key health factors.

These murals were then pieced together in a beautiful collage. The findings of the health report prompted children of Delhi and Mumbai to raise a voice for health, giving way to the Banaye Healthy Hindustan signature campaign. Lending support to the cause were parents, children and eminent people from the society.

As a parent quoted ,"It is shameful to know that according to the Lifebuoy Child Health Quotient, we are still having to live in dissatisfaction regarding our child's health. I am here in the times of elections to make sure that the voice of these little children is heard and authorities take notice of the same. I attest the demand of the children of this country for better health and a healthier India. Kudos to Lifebuoy for providing this platform and living up to its 100 year image as the Health soap of India."

Present on the occasion was Mr. Srikanth Srinivasamadhavan General Manager- Media services (South Asia), Hindustan Unilever .

Commenting on the campaign , he said Lifebuoy is overwhelmed with the enthusiastic response it has received from the children. We will definitely make sure, that this appeal for health reaches its logical conclusion. We will also work to bring together health experts who can work on providing solutions to factors that can be immediately addressed. Lifebuoy as a Health and Hygiene brand also commits to take up the factor of hygiene awareness and education, and shall leave no stone unturned to extend this in sustained manner across the country.

Various personalities present on the event commented on the commendable effort of Lifebuoy and the enthusiasm of the future stars of the nation, who came together to sign up for health and show that they care to make a difference. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

Thousands of people reach hospital with damaged kidneys.
Kidney stones can be silent
End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) can result in kidney transplants / Life long dialysis.

NEW DELHI, MARCH 20 :
WE all have heard of silent killers. But only few among us know that even kidney stones can be silent…i.e. with no visible symptom they can lead to a stage where they can damage your kidney. You may suddenly get abdomenal pain and are rushed to a nearby hospital; after investigations the doctor informs you that your kidney is completely damaged.

"Thousands of people every year come to us with their damaged kidneys due to kidney stones and they are rushed to emergency rooms for treatments. Out of thousands of kidney transplants every year, several are because of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) due to neglected stones in urinary tract", explains Dr. Anil Varshney, Chief Urologist, RG Stone Urology and Laparoscopy Hospital.

Dr. Anshuman Aggarwal, Senior Urologist, RG Stone Urology and Laparoscopy Hospital, said "Mostly, patients discover about the abnormality while checking for any other health condition. Sometimes stones are detected during an ultrasound or X-ray for an unrelated condition."

"To save yourself from such a condition, you must go for regular ultrasound and X-rays. Specially if you have kidney stones running in your family. Because genetic predisposition is one of the main causes of kidney stones. Timely diagnosis can save your kidney" Dr. Varshney added.

"As the patients are recognized with large stones therefore surgery remains the only option. But if patients come early then kidney stone can be removed easily and patient can come back to normal routine in just 1 or 2 days ," says Dr. Aggarwal . (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, MARCH 14 :
IN consonance with the October 2, 2008 resolution against tobacco, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital is taking a lead role in making the Organizations tobacco free. SGRH is organizing a 5- day workshop, in the premises of Pawan Hans Helicopters , New Delhi from March 16 - 20, 2009 (2.00 pm - 4.00 pm), wherein employees who are addicted to smoked (cigarettes and bidis) and smokeless tobacco (tobacco chewing) will be given treatment for tobacco dependence. The programme would be organised by Tobacco Cessation Centre of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, by our lead Tobacco Cessation Specialist, Dr. Sajeela Maini.

The hospital would provide a Structured Tobacco Cessation Workshop, wherein habitués would be provided with intensive psychotherapeutic interventions in a group setting, along with pharmacotherapy (medicines) to substantially reduce the withdrawals/ urges of quitting. It is a step-by-step intervention to make the quitting process easy and less discomforting.

The smokers would be taught yogic exercises to help them expel toxins and revive their lungs. The treatment is followed after a detailed assessment. CO levels would be measured on a regular basis to assess objectively the quitting status of the habitué. The habitués would be trained for remaining abstinent by providing detailed relapse prevention training and adaptive coping skill training.

Dr B K Rao, Chairman, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, says, "The essence is to create a 'Tobacco Free Human Capital" for the organisation. Such a workforce would have increased energies and enhanced morale, leading to higher productivity and profits for the organization".

Dr Sajeela Maini, Tobacco Cessation Specialist, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital added, "We aim at a society free from the bondage of tobacco. We dream for a "Tobacco Free World". We have made a small beginning; we know there are miles and miles to go."
( editor@thesynergyonline.com)

GURGAON , MARCH 13 :
WORLD Kidney Day (WKD) was held on Thursday to educate masses about kidney disease and motivate them to undergo tests to ensure that they are not at risk. The theme for this year's campaign is 'Keep the Pressure Down', and would highlight the fact that high blood pressure is both a risk factor and symptom of chronic kidney disease.

To ensure better treatment for its patients, a Renal Sciences and Transplantation Centre (RSTC) at Sir Ganga Ram Healers Hospital, Gurgaon, has been set and was launched . This state-of-the-art centre has been established with the objective of making advanced treatment options available to its patients at the doorstep in the integrated fashion.

Dr B K Rao, Chairman, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and Sir Ganga Ram Healers Hospital, said on the occasion, "The inauguration of Renal Sciences and Transplantation Centre on the World Kidney Day was held to highlight the importance of the event and kidney related diseases. We expect this centre to actively contribute in the treatment of patients and make various renal treatments available to them."

Simultaneously, a free medical camp was also held at Sir Ganga Ram Healers Hospital in relation to the World Kidney Day. This camp conducted screening tests for kidney diseases, urine examination, blood tests (S. Urea, S. Creatinine), ultrasound (for kidneys), ECG, etc. free of cost. More than 200 people came for the kidney screening test and about 1200 investigations were done.

Public awareness lectures on the signs & symptoms and the causes of kidney diseases were also delivered by eminent medical experts during the event. Furthermore, they focused on the various treatment options available like haemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and transplantation.

Nearly one billion people worldwide suffer from high blood pressure and more than 500 million have chronic kidney disease (CKD). When high blood pressure remains undetected, it may severely damage the kidneys, which is a major cause of CKD. When CKD remains undetected, the functions of the kidney slowdown resulting in a need for dialysis treatment or even kidney transplant.

Explaining the current grim scenario, Dr. Harsha Jauhari, Chairperson, Renal Transplantation, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi and Director, RSTC, Gurgaon said, "The incidence of chronic kidney disease is on the rise. And very few patients are aware of the situation they are facing. They are like those silent sufferers who quietly and unknowingly continue to suffer without even knowing about it. It is later when they are treated for some other disease does the existence of this condition surface. At times the case becomes so bad that the patient could even reach death's door at the time the disease is first detected.

To make matters worse millions are dying prematurely of cardiovascular diseases linked to chronic kidney disease. If awareness about the risk factors is created, patients can easily identify them and seek medical aid to ensure the situation from becoming worse."

Dr. A.K. Bhalla, Chief Nephrologist, added, "We shall bring to the Renal Sciences and Transplantation Centre, Gurgaon, the vast experience of over 20 years of Renal Care, comprising over 2500 Kidney Transplant, almost 2000 CAPD insertions and over 3 lac Dialysis in addition to large number of Urology operations and procedures. We intend to place this entire expertise at the disposal of patients from Haryana."

The services of the following doctors will be available at the new centre:
Transplant Surgery and Urology: Dr. Harsha Jauhari, Dr. Ajay Sharma, Dr. Sudhir Chada, Dr. Atul Jain and Dr. Sachin Kathuria. Nephrology: Dr. A.K. Bhalla, Dr. Ashwani Gupta, Dr. Dinesh Khullar, Dr. Deepak Jain and Dr. Hemant Rohatgi.
( editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, MARCH 13 :
IN an endeavour to provide door- to- door medical emergency services, Gurgaon- based Rapid Rescue Services has launched an emergency medical rescue service across New Delhi and Gurgaon. The emergency service will be run by qualified MBBS trained by Medical team from US to provide the customers a door to door service in the event of a medical emergency.

All the doctors and paramedics will be carrying emergency medical equipment and administrative drugs, who will come on a special designed motorbike to avoid the traffic congestion. This is the first company to launch an emergency medical service in case of emergency and will be providing the services anytime, anywhere in New Delhi and Gurgaon region.

The launch of the service means that from now on in case of emergency, the residents of New Delhi and Gurgaon can be attended maximum within 30 minutes to provide the customer the fastest, most effective and reliable medical service. To help the team reach the patient faster, the company has also installed GPS system in place. This will help the team to find out the exact location of the patient. The service will be available to all customers signed to a plan, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year in the Delhi and Gurgaon vicinity.

"We intend to provide the most effective and reliable emergency rescue to our members in need of help anywhere, anytime. There is a need for the general public in pre hospitalization treatment and we aim at addressing that with the help of our international standard service," commented Bhavin Shukla, Director, Rapid Rescue Services.

The company has floated two kinds of memberships-Gold and Silver. The Gold Customers will be located using a GPS key ring. In the event of an emergency all the customer has to do is press the predefined number on their mobile phone in order to be connected to the team to take care of him. The rescue team will reach at the location in not more than 30 minutes and will be given the necessary medical treatment then and there.

In case of life threatening emergencies, the patients will be taken to a nearest or desired hospital in an ambulance. Apart from the patients' preference, the company is also in the process of tying up with some of popular hospitals across the two cities. The annual subscription for Gold membership is Rs 15,000 per person and any additional membership will cost Rs 7500.

The other one is silver membership. The silver customers are covered within their homes and need to call the toll free number-1800 102 3005, using either their landline phone or registered mobile in the event of a medical emergency. In this case also the rescue team will reach their home within 30 minutes, where they will be given medical treatment at the incident scene and in case of life threatening emergency can be taken to the nearest or desired hospital in an ambulance. The annual subscription fee for two people from one family is Rs 10,000 per year. An additional per person would be Rs. 2000. ( editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, MARCH 13 :
INDIA'S tobacco problem is large, complicated, and has serious implications for the country's fragile healthcare infrastructure. India will witness the fastest rise in the death rate attributable to tobacco usage of any country in the world during the first two decades of the 21st century, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Despite a broader commitment by India to curbing tobacco use, concrete actions aimed at doing so remain hampered by politics and weak enforcement capabilities, according to a new study: The war against tobacco: A progress report from the Indian front.

The study, conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by Pfizer, looks at areas where India seems to be lagging other countries in the war against tobacco use. The findings of the study are based on in-depth interviews with relevant experts and executives.

The strategies adopted by India in its anti-tobacco movement have been tried and tested in the developed world. In India, however, some are easier to implement than others.

For instance, measures like a comprehensive, nationwide ban on smoking in public places and a ban on direct tobacco advertising are showing some encouraging results. Taxation policy, however, has not yielded the desired results because it has not been evenly applied across different tobacco products, leaving users with cheaper alternatives. Other policy areas that need more concerted efforts by the government include public awareness and access to tobacco-cessation methods.

"The key to the effectiveness of other countries' anti-tobacco crusades is their holistic approach, covering taxation, public awareness, access to cessation methods and, most importantly, enforcement" says Manoj Vohra, a senior editor and research director with the Economist Intelligence Unit. "While India's government has introduced several anti-tobacco measures, they have been mostly piecemeal and ineffective due to weak and lopsided enforcement."

The study indentifies some of the key areas where India's anti-tobacco policy needs refinement, including:

Public awareness: Since 2007, the government has deferred the decision to introduce mandatory pictorial health warnings on tobacco packaging six times. Activists allege that a strong political lobby, protecting the interests of the tobacco industry, has prevented the necessary legislation from being introduced.

Meanwhile, attempts to ban smoking in public places have had mixed results. Though the momentum towards implementing such a ban has gathered force, sustained enforcement and public awareness hold the key.

Tobacco taxation: Taxing tobacco heavily has been effective in reducing tobacco consumption in several countries, such as South Africa and Spain. In India, however, existing taxation policy has been ineffective. Although cigarettes are taxed heavily, there is almost no tax on bidis (a leaf-rolled local mini cigarette) and chewing tobacco, meaning cigarette smokers have been able to switch to cheaper methods of tobacco consumption with little penalty.

Indirect advertising and promotion of tobacco products: India has a comprehensive law to prohibit tobacco advertising, sales and promotion, although it does not apply to "point of sale" advertising. Regulation and enforcement of the law, however, is complex, and monitoring weak. Most tobacco companies blatantly exploit surrogate advertising and promotions. For example, they are still allowed to promote fashion shows, awards functions like bravery awards for women and so on.

Access to structured tobacco-cessation methods: India has only about 20 tobacco-cessation centres in the country-and the focus is on offering behavioural counselling, with limited medical treatment capability. While the government has ambitious plans to establish a cessation centre in each district of the country by 2012, it is going to be a tall order, given India's competing health priorities and the lack of skilled human resources at the district level.

Beyond government efforts, industry associations have been contemplating organising counselling and cessation services for industry clusters. But very few have actually done anything about it. Experts blame the inadequacy of counselling and cessation infrastructure in the country for this deficiency. A few companies in India, however, have gone ahead and started providing counselling and cessation services to employees. ( editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, MARCH 09 :
THERE are still misperceptions that cardiovascular disease ( CVD) is not a real problem for women, while the truth is that it ranks first among all disease category in hospital discharges for women and the need of the hour is to know more about your heart and to modify your lifestyle as early as possible, " said Dr. Anil Dhall, Sr. Consultant, Cardiology, Max Devki Devi Heart and Vascular Institute, Saket, New Delhi, on Sunday at a public health lecture here on "You and Your Heart" in collaboration with Heal India Magazine on the occasion of Women's Day .

"Heart disease risk in India has grown 300 percent in 30 years, specially number of coronary diseases in women have increased by 300 per cent in last five year; not only this but the fact also remains that nearly 38 per cent of women as compared to 25 per cent of men will die within one year after heart attack. In America 39 per cent of all female deaths occurs from cardiovascular disease(CVD); death rate due to CVD is substantially higher in black women than in white women ," he added.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 60 per cent of the world's cardiac patients will be in India, making India the epicenter of the heart disease in future. As per WHO, India can lose $236 billion due to heart related disease by 2015.

"Ischemic heart disease, mainly heart attacks and coronary artery disease, is the leading cause of mortality in the world. More than 80 percent of these have been found in developing countries. What is more striking is the fact that these conditions are now striking at an earlier age." said Dr Dhall.

Referring to the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr.Dhall shocked his audiences by saying that Indians can't afford to smoke. "India has already become a home for 12 per cent of the world's smokers and will witness 930,000 deaths by 2010. India has about 120 million smokers who will contribute to deaths mainly from heart disease, tuberculosis and cancer", said Dr.Dhall.

He also referred to study that suggested that females are more likely to be affected by heart disease due to marital discord. A stressed relation not only impacts the mental health of women but also raises blood pressure, obesity and cholesterol-all symptoms that add up to "metabolic syndrome" that can lead to heart disease. Hence apart from the traditional risk factors heart disease is also affected by the quality of our emotional and family lives.

In an hour long presentation, followed by questions and answers session, Dr Dhall discussed about how heart attack occurs and how it can be prevented by simple modifications in one's lifestyle.

Further he added, "Heart attack is a leading killer of both men and women and a rapid pace among youths. Apart from smoking - genetic problems, lack of physical exercise, changing lifestyles and growing work pressure are the leading causes. While you can't fight with your genes, you can certainly alter your life style."

Reducing the risk of heart attack usually means making healthy lifestyle choices such as following a low-fat ,low cholesterol diet rich in fruits and vegetables, lowering your salt intake, control blood pressure, losing weight if you're overweight or obese, quit smoking, control your blood sugars to reduce further complications from diabetes and doing regular physical activities.

"Do something proactively about it, heart disease can literally kill India, and Walking is free! And it can be sociable if you have company.So, enjoy it", he added.

(Dr. (Col) Anil Dhall, Sena Medal is a Senior Interventional Cardiologist at Max Devki Devi Heart and Vascular Institute, Saket, New Delhi. He can be contacted at 09810721001 and email: anildhall@hotmail.com) ( editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, MARCH 08 :
THE ASSOCHAM Study released on the eve of Women’s Day expresses serious concern over deteriorating heath condition of working women in urban areas as in a Survey of 103 employed females, more than two-third are reported to be suffering from lifestyle diseases.

As 27 per cent of females in urban India are employed, their health issues are a major concern both for society and business, ASSOCHAM analyze the issue through survey based study “Preventive Health Care and Corporate Female Workforce”, revealing that 68 per cent of the working females surveyed under the age bracket of 21- 52 years were found to be afflicted to lifestyle disease such as obesity, depression, chronic backache, diabetes, hypertension etc.

On the eve of Women’s Day, ASSOCHAM’s study based on the survey of 103 corporate female employees from 72 various companies/organizations across 11 broad sectors of the economy focused on the health issues of corporate female employees.

The study analyzed that high psychological job demands like long working hours, working under deadlines, without clear direction leads 75 percent of the working females suffer depression or general anxiety disorder than those women with lowest level of psychological job demands.

However, it was found that factors such exposure to industrial pollutants and environmental toxins found in daily life, poor quality sleep, lack of exercise and sunlight exposure, poor nutrition, excessive intake of alcohol consumption and drug abuse (like cocaine etc) too causes depression among working females.

“Females’ plays vital and multiple roles, especially those who are employed as a balance needs to be maintained by them both at home and workplace, thus ignorance of health care can have multiple implications on her surrounding environment such as her family, workplace and social network., said the study.

Ladies employed in sectors demanding more time such as media, KPO, touring jobs are unable to take leaves when un-well, pulling themselves to work mainly due to job insecurity specially in time of the on-going financial crisis. Work pressure and deadlines often lead 53 per cent of the survey respondents to skip their meals and munch more of junk food.

Seventy seven per cent of the working female respondents have avoided visiting the doctor. The reasons varied such as 26 per cent were unable to take out time from their busy work schedule, 20 per cent were afraid of the outcome, 17 per cent preferred to take home remedial measures, 9 per cent were too embarrassed to visit the doctor's while 5 per cent didn't like to visit the doctor.

Corporate female employees’ hectic schedule of balancing workplace and home along with balancing between social and personal requirements causes their health care to get ignored. Hence, to balance the body certain nutrients are required to strengthen the immune system, increase energy levels and support the balancing of the female hormones.

The survey revealed that corporate females’ dietary/nutrient supplement includes multi-vitamins that is consumed by nearly 36 per cent of the respondents, followed by 19 per cent take Vitamin D capsules (that include allopathic and herbal). To overcome iron deficiency 21 per cent of females prescribe to iron based dietary supplement, 26 per cent of the working ladies intake calcium supplements.

ASSOCHAM’s working female employees’ healthcare survey found 47 per cent of the respondents who are suffering with cold, flu, headaches and stress spend less than Rs 500 on their health care in a year, 22 per cent of the employees spend in the range of Rs 500-5000 in a year as they suffer with health problems such as obesity, depression, spondolysis etc.

Twenty nine per cent of the sample population are spending in the range of Rs 5,000-50,000 on their health care in a year as they are afflicted to high blood pressure; low blood pressure, diabetes, heart diseases, asthma, bladder/urinary infection, arthritis etc. Merely 2 per cent of the female employees spend more than Rs. 50,000 as they suffer chronic heart/cardiovascular disease, paralytic attack; slip disk, internal injury etc. ( editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, MARCH 02 :
THE heart disease risk in India has grown 300 per cent in 30 years. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 60 per cent of the world's cardiac patients will be in India, making India the epicentre of the heart disease in future. As per WHO, India can lose $236 billion due to heart related disease by 2015.

Addressing a gathering at a public health lecture on "You and Your Heart" at C9, Community Center, Vasant Kunj, Delhi on this Sunday, Dr. Anil Dhall, Sr. Consultant, Cardiology, Max Devki Devi Heart and Vascular Institute, Saket, New Delhi said, "Reason for this trend can be numerous and the need of the hour is to know more about your heart and to modify your lifestyle as early as possible." This initiative was taken by the federation of 37 RWAs of Vasant Kunj in collaboration with Heal India Magazine.

Referring to the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr.Dhall shocked his audiences by saying that Indians can't afford to smoke. "India has already become a home for 12% of the world's smokers and will witness 930,000 deaths by 2010. India has about 120 million smokers who will contribute to deaths mainly from heart disease, tuberculosis and cancer", said Dr.Dhall.

In an hour long presentation, followed by questions & answers session, Dr Dhall discussed about how heart attack occurs and how it can be prevented by simple modifications in one's lifestyle. Further he added, "Heart attack is a leading killer of both men and women and a rapid pace among youths. Apart from smoking - genetic problems, lack of physical exercise, changing lifestyles and growing work pressure are the leading causes. While you can't fight with your genes, you can certainly alter your life style."

"Do something proactively about it, heart disease can literally kill India, and Walking is free! And it can be sociable if you have company.So, enjoy it", he added. ( editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, FEB 21 :
SUMAN Aggarwal, 34-year-old housewife from New Delhi was facing heavy bleeding during her periods. The ultrasound scan revealed a condition called as “Adenomyosis”, in which the muscle of the uterus had enlarged becoming the size of 4 months’ pregnancy.

Mrs. Suman then consulted Dr. Shivani Sachdev Gour, Fertility Expert Phoenix Hospital, as she wanted a no scar operation. Thus ENOTES was operated on her for the first time in India.

Team of surgeons in Delhi revolutionised the process of laparoscopy. For the first time in India uterus had been removed through navel, without any other cut on the body. That means surgery without a single ugly looking mark on the body.

Team of doctors that include Dr Shivani Sachdev, Dr Anil Malik performed the surgery at Phoenix Hospital.

Dr. Shivani Sachdev, Gynecologist and fertility expert, Phoenix Hospital, who made this surgery possible, explains, “ENOTES (Embryonic natural orifice transumbilical endoscopic surgery) is the latest modification of laparoscopic surgery. It has been introduced in India by urologists for kidney surgery.

In this technique, all the instruments for surgery are introduced into the patient’s abdomen via the umbilicus/ navel/ belly button, which is a natural orifice, and the entire surgery is done from this small area so that post operatively there is no visible scar at all on the woman’s abdomen.”

Ms. Neeta tandon another patient got operated with ENOTES cholecystectomy (removal of gall bladder) by Dr. Malik, Hysterectomy by Dr Shivani Sachdev Gour.

Hysterectomy is a surgery that is becoming extremely common now a days and its age group is declining, many young women are now a days undergoing this procedure. As per PGIMER Chandigarh, a government hospital based survey published in 2007 – as much as 7 per cent of women in India have had their uterus removed. Hysterectomy rates in the West are between 10 to 15%, much higher than that in India, commonest indication again being excessive bleeding.

Traditionally, hysterectomy or removal of the uterus was done by the abdominal route which means making a vertical cut on the woman’s abdomen or the more aesthetic “bikini line” incision. However since the first laparoscopic hysterectomy in the world in 1988, this has been revolutionised. Laparoscopic or keyhole surgery is now becoming the international standard technique and has replaced the traditional methods. This is because of less pain/ discomfort ,less hospital stay , early return to work and cosmetically much better scars .

Mrs Okunoye, a 40 year old Nigerian lady approached Dr. Shivani, “doctor, my cousin had a hysterectomy by laparoscopy, but she has 5 cuts all over her abdomen and even though they are small, they are visible scars – isn’t there a better way of surgery so as to hide or reduce the scars?”

“This is what set us thinking and we decided to try to apply the technique of ENOTES – for hysterectomy – we were successful in performing surgery to remove a woman’s uterus through her navel/ umbilicus”, says Dr. Shivani.

Especially in the Indian woman’s scenario, even in the most conservative outfit, the saree, the midriff or the abdomen is the exposed area and by this technique there are absolutely no visible scars!

Mrs Suman Aggarwal, 34-year-old housewife from New Delhi consulted Dr. Shivani for excessive bleeding during her period. She has 2 grown up children and was not planning any further pregnancy. She was extremely troubled by heavy bleeding during her menstrual cycle. She had tried medical treatment in the past but it did not help. The bleeding was so severe that she was anaemic and was on iron tablets for a long time.

The ultrasound scan revealed a condition called as “Adenomyosis”, the muscle of the uterus had enlarged and the uterus was the size of a 4 month pregnancy. Team of doctors planned a hysterectomy for her.

This was the first such procedure done in India (to our knowledge no such procedure has been published from anywhere else in India

The surgical team consisted of Dr Shivani Sachdev, Dr Anil Malik and Dr Vishal Gour

We have recorded the entire surgery and plan to present it at an upcoming national conference, Dr. Shivani has also received an invitation from doctors in Singapore and the UK to present it at conferences there

Post operatively, Mrs Suman is fine, she had some weakness due to anemia but now that the bleeding has stopped, her haemoglobin has risen and she is feeling much better than before.

This surgery can also be used to remove the gallbladder (cholecystectomy), Dr Anil Malik has done this surgery for the first time, patient satisfaction levels are very high. ( editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, FEB 18 :
ALL style diseases be it diabetes, obesity, hypertension…most of them can be managed if one follows a healthy food habit.

Obesity is the mother of all chronic diseases. Many high-carbohydrate foods common to Indian diets produce a high glycemic response [high-glycemic-index (GI) foods], promoting postprandial carbohydrate oxidation at the expense of fat oxidation, thus altering fuel partitioning in a way that may be conducive to body fat gain. In contrast, diets based on low-fat foods that produce a low glycemic response (low-GI foods) may enhance weight control because they promote satiety, minimize postprandial insulin secretion, and maintain insulin sensitivity.

The GI diet is a sure shot, successful way to lose weight and it has become very popular amongst thousands of people. The results have been amazing and people have experienced surprising weight losses, renewed energy levels and consequential positive benefits.
Many doctors and physicians advise and recommend the GI diet for weight loss and treating many chronic diseases.
The GI diet helps in maintaining and sustaining weight loss. The diet is easy to follow, simplistic and has a long term approach for managing weight successfully.

" GL builds on the glycemic index concept to provide a measure of total glycemic response to a food or meal based on serving size
" GL = GI (%) x grams of carbohydrate per serving

It would be ideal to stay on a low glycemic diet which reflects eating food with a value given under 55. With a total low glycemic load of an optimal value of 80 per day.

Glycemic Index
High GI = 70 or more (These foods need to be carefully monitored.) ( editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, FEB 18 :
'SNACKING ' for most of the Indian mothers is all about high calorie, high fat junk foods. Snacking is important because snacks help keep your energy levels up between meals. Contrary to the general perception, consumption of healthy, well-balanced snacks in between meals may actually help avoid obesity.

It becomes particularly important therefore that healthy snacking be encouraged. Binu Bhatia, Nutrition Consultant, Heal India, believes that Snacking is necessary.

She says, "To satisfy hunger pangs and reduce temptation to over eat an upcoming meal, a leading cause of obesity, healthy snacks should often be served to children in between the two meals."

Fried foods are very unhealthy. Dipped in hot oil untill being cooked, these tend to retain the fat and oil. Trans fat (like saturated fat) raises LDL (Low density lipoprotein) cholesterol. "Fried foods are high in fats and contain too many calories. "Baked food has little calories and little fat.

The dilemma of a mother so far has been that although her children love snacking, salty snacks are a favourite. She takes it for granted that salty snacks mean junk food. With snacks like baked chips and other baked foodstuffs she finally has a reason to think otherwise.

Baked foods are perfectly positioned to emerge as a healthy snacking option in the days to come. Go for snacks, which are:
" Baked not fried
" Has 50% less fat
" Helps in cholesterol management
" High in Protein & Fibre ( editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, FEB 16:
THERE are good tidings for dieticians and nutritionists . Calculating dietary nutrients is no more complicated job now for new software has been designed to calculate the same. The software will facilitate dieticians and nutritionists to do their calculation with a click of a mouse.

This is an important step as the experts will quibble on the value and its usage will save much of their time which otherwise they waste to calculate it manually in a hospital setup . The software designed by AIIMS Dietician , Ms Gurdeep Kaur was launched recently at an Diebetic Association's ( Delhi Chapter) seminar held at Batra Hospital and Medical Research Centre.

"Given this , the software is designed to iron out operational problems in meeting fast pace of modalities of professionals dealing in Nutrition."DietSoft - A solution to dietary calculations is an attempt forward making the nutritionists' job easier," said Ms Kaur while launching the product.

It's not for the first time that software has been designed to calculate nutritive value. But, this one overpasses the existing ones in various aspects. In most of the earlier softwares, the nutritive value of foods once added in the directory data base, cannot be changed or updated.It provides a wealth of information on the nutritive value of foods.

However, this software allows making any number of amendments, if need be. As a result there is no fear of the software becoming outdated in case of any revisions made by National Institute of Nutrition in nutritive values of foods.

The software is based on the Indian Nutritive values of foods given by Indian Council of Medical Research.
"Many times we do not have an Indian value of particular nutrient and we are forced to use some other source.
This software helps one enter data in such a manner that, against each nutrient one has its source of information. This helps one know if the value of that particular nutrient was picked from NIN or USDA or from the food package or any other source , " said Ms Kaur.

Dr C M Batra, Senior Consultant Endocrinology, Batra Hospital and Ms Rekha Sharma, former Chief Dietician AIIMS, dwelt on the 'Latest trends in Diabetes'.

Namrata Singh, another Dietican of AIIMS updated on the importance of Registered Dietician Board and on the latest development by the board.

She further added that in coming Nutrition Week 2009, Refresher Course for the working dieticians will be organised by the board on how to train the trainees."

Further discussion was carried by Chief Dietician, Anita Jatana of Batra Hospital on " International Organisation for Standardisation" and "National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare."

Anuja Agarwala, president IDA and Swapna Chaturvedi , Secretary, IDA , both dieticians of AIIMS cheered the sessions during the seminar and emphasised that each and every member of the association should make efforts to improve the dietary services in India. ( editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, JAN 28 :
"DIABETES " - is a word that almost everyone is quite familiar with. Diagnosing it at the earliest stage is the key to keep it in controlled levels.

Dr Vandana Lal , Executive Director , Dr Lal PathLabs says, “There are various tests that are carried out to determine the level of diabetes in individuals but one reason why many people with diabetes remain undiagnosed is because commonly prescribed diagnostic tests require that a patient be fasting, which means that people who have eaten on the day of a doctor visit will not be diagnosed unless they have quite advanced diabetes”.

With the change in lifestyle pattern, unhealthy eating habits, stress related with work, the magnitude of people suffering with this problem has increased manifold, it becomes essential to keep a check on this killer disease with regular monitoring.

With HbA1c test, one can easily and accurately monitor the glucose level in the blood at anytime. This is a long term blood sugar monitoring test done to know the glycohemoglobin levels in the blood of persons who already have diabetes.

“Hemoglobin is the oxygen-carrying part of the red blood cells. Occasionally the hemoglobin of the red blood cells gets coated with glucose and it is called glycohemoglobin /glycosylated hemoglobin or HbA1c”.HbA1c test value are generally measured in percentage.

The normal range for HbA1c is usually about 4% to 6% in people without diabetes. HbA1c level will be high in a person with diabetes say up to 7 per cent. If the level of HbA1c is more than 7%, adjustments should be made in the treatment plan and care should be taken to reduce the sugar levels. If it is 7% or less, the person with diabetes has achieved good glucose control.

“The measurement of HbA1c does not require fasting, while current accepted tests require the patient to fast for at least eight hours. In addition, HbA1c more accurately reflects long-term glucose concentration in the blood over a period of 90 days; other tests for monitoring diabetes can easily be affected by short-term lifestyle changes, such as a few days of dieting or exercise.”

The technology used at Dr Lal PathLabs is HPLC (High performance Liquid Chromatography) which is the ‘Gold Standard Reference Method’ for measurement of HbA1c and has been used in world’s famous clinical trials (DCCT, UKPDS etc.) that have established HbA1c as a test for long term diabetes monitoring. The results are highly accurate and precise.

Diabetes can lead to complications if a strict regimen is not followed, however, with effective control and check one can definitely avoid these complications. It’s aptly said, “Precaution is better than cure."( editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, JAN 25 :
MANY Delhi-based doctors have kept the pride of medical fraternity alive. In a rare recognition of their quality service and commitments, eight city doctors have been conferred the prestigious Padma Awards announced by the Government late Sunday, on the eve of Republic Day.

Dr B K Rao, chairman of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and head of critical care is the only medico from modern medicine in the city to have been chosen for the Padma Bhushan award. Dr Purushotam Lal, chairman of Metro Group of Hospitals in Noida and a leading interventional cardiologist has been nominated for the Padma Vibhushan award. Five other city doctors have been nominated for Padma Shri awards while one from Ayurveda Vaidya Devendra Triguna gets Padma Bhushan.

The Padma Bhushan award is an Indian civilian decoration established on January 2, 1954 by the President of India. It stands third in the hierarchy of civilian awards, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Sri. It is awarded to recognize distinguished service of a high order to the nation, in any field.

"I am humbled and honoured. To me this is the best recognition of the long and dedicated 25 years of hard work I have put in in this profession," said an elated Dr Rao. A clinician and a researcher of international repute, Dr. Rao remains deeply committed to his passion - the growth of critical care medicine in the country. In addition to the meritorious services rendered to the department of critical care, he has made vital academic contributions to the field.

In the administrative capacity he has made singular contributions to the growth of the hospital ever since his induction into the board of management in 1996. It is as a result of his pioneering efforts that the specialty of Critical Care Medicine has come up well.

He was awarded International fellowship by the American Respiratory Care Foundation and American Association for Respiratory Care, Dallas, USA in 1993 in recognition of the global efforts to promote respiratory care practices.

Dr Lal, an acclaimed cardiologist, also said he was "honoured at the distinction bestowed by the government and would continue his tireless effort." With many firsts to his credit, Dr. Lal has played a critical role in pioneering interventional cardiology in India having introduced a number of new interventions for the first time in India such as diamond drilling for blocked arteries of the heart, shaving of heart arteries, closure of heart holes without surgery, gold stenting, atherectomy, supported angioplasty, valvuloplasty and many more. Dr. Lal is credited with a rare distinction of performing highest number of angioplasty in the world.

Other city doctors who made it to the coveted list includes pathologist Dr Arvind Lal, Dr Ashok K Vaid (Oncologist), Dr A K Grover (Ophthalmologist), Dr Kalyan Banerjee and Dr Yash Gulati (Orthopaedician). ( editor@thesynergyonline.com)

BANGALORE, JAN 23 :
LEAIDNG global and national child experts and researchers will convene at Pedicon2009 to take on the challenge of Child Pneumonia in India. Urging immediate action at this annual meeting of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP), the group will work on formulating strategies to improve child health in India.

One of the most pressing issues that will be deliberated is the prevention of childhood pneumonia and meningitis.As in many countries, Pneumonia is an under-recognized problem in India, despite the fact that pneumonia kills more than 400,000 children here each year.

According to UNICEF and WHO, the country accounts for nearly 40 per cent of global pneumonia child pneumonia cases. Child health experts point to effective childhood pneumonia prevention and treatment interventions that could save more than 1 million children each year.

Speaking on the occasion, former IAP president Dr. Alagiriswamy Parthasarathy said "the current death toll is unacceptable. There is a dire need to check the situation and act on priority. We have means to deal with the problem and we should act on improving the situation now. Implementing proven interventions now could save the lives of children in India".

A majority of pneumonia is preventable. Established prevention techniques, such as improving nutrition, exclusive breast feeding, reducing indoor air pollution, and vaccinating against measles and pertussis (whooping cough) have successfully lowered pneumonia risk among children. Two of the most effective interventions for reducing pneumonia are vaccines that protect against Hib and pneumococcus.

Most life-threatening pneumonia is caused by two bacteria: Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b) and pneumococcal (Streptococcus pneumoniae). Together, Hib and pneumococcal account for almost half of the total child pneumonia deaths in India. Based on a thorough review of data by leading experts in India, Government of India has indicated that they plan to introduce Hib into the Universal Immunization Programme this year.

"Hib and pneumococcal vaccines have the ability to prevent tens of thousands of child pneumonia deaths in India," said Dr. Mathuram Santosham Professor Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who will speak at Pedicon about child pneumonia.

"However there is no magic bullet-because pneumonia is caused by multiple organisms and since multiple factors increase risk of disease, an integrated approach which includes reducing risk factors, giving appropriate treatment, and vaccines should be implemented," said Dr. Santosham.

The WHO estimates that vaccines against Hib and pneumococcus can prevent a large portion of more than one million child deaths caused by these bacteria. Eliminating pneumonia is critical to achieving goals of India's 11th Five Year plan as well as the Millennium Development Goals' target of reducing child mortality by two thirds by 2015.

Both Hib and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines are proven to be safe and effective at preventing pneumonia and meningitis in children, in low-income and industrializing countries. Countries that have introduced Hib and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines into the routine immunization program have experience great health impact. WHO recommends introducing routine Hib and pneumococcal vaccines in national immunization programs.

Childhood pneumonia is a global health problem with proven interventions for prevention and treatment. The landmark report, "Pneumonia: The Forgotten Killer of Children," from UNICEF and WHO, sheds light on ways to combat this neglected disease that silently kills over two million children under five years of age each year. Pneumonia kills more children than any other illness - more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined.

Although pneumonia affects all children in India, the risks and consequences are higher among disadvantaged Indian children. Darshan, a six-month old baby of an electrician living in a crowded 2-room flat on Mysore Road, was hospitalized for pneumonia several times after being misdiagnosed.

Continuing to pay for expensive antibiotics, his family faces a mountain of debt that they will struggle to pay over several years. But child pneumonia strikes even families of means. Manisha, of Golf Course Road, had two surgeries to suck fluid from her lungs when she was not three years old. Even with the best care at Manipal Hospital, her parents nearly lost her.

"In our wards every day we see child wasting away from pneumonia," said Dr. Jagdish Chinnappa, a pediatrician at Manipal Hospital. "There is no time to wait--we must take all measures, including making preventative vaccines part of India's routine immunization programme, to protect children and families from this emotionally and financially devastating illness," said Chinnappa.
( editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, JAN 23 :
GIVEN the outcry among doctors' fraternity against repeated attacks on them there is a crying need to create awareness in the society to restore image of the noble profession Against this backdrop All India Ophthalmological Society (AIOS) at a press conference here criticised the slew of attacks on doctors. In spite of public protests from time to time, nothing has been achieved, no action has been taken and no legislation passed. Doctors continue to suffer humiliation at the whims and fancies of people.

On Christmas Eve, Dr Prakash Kankaria, a past pesident of MOS, was allegedly assaulted, his clinic vandalized and his dignity affronted right in front of his hospital in Ahmednagar, at the stone throw distance of a Police Station.

About 10-12 persons, in a well planned move, carried out this assault with military precision, an act so brazen as to offend each and every decent human being. This sordid saga began on December 18 , 2008 when a couple (who shall remain unnamed, as the matter is sub judice), created a ruckus in Dr Prakash Kankaria's chambers when they refused to pay a follow- up charge of a mere
hundred rupees , alleges AIOS.

According to AIOS , the lady was the patient and the "concerned" husband, frustrated at her slow recovery, vented his anger not just by refusing to pay, but also by smashing furniture and destroying property. When the Police were summoned, he left in a hurry .

A Police complaint was duly filed and registered and the next day passed off without any untoward incident. That, however, was the lull before the storm. On 24/12/08, about 10-12 people entered Dr Prakash Kankaria's clinic in ones and twos. They then surrounded him, grabbed him by the shirt and in a well-planned maneuver, dragged him out of his clinic. Money was looted from his personal drawer and furniture was disrupted. What followed was pure Terror.

Dr Prakash Kankaria was held immobile and rendered powerless. Three to four persons held both his arms apart, while still others pushed him from behind. An offensive "garland" of footwear was draped around his neck. Black ink was poured, from a can onto his face and clothes. His face was blackened manually. Finally, the greatest humiliation of them all, He was pushed, pulled, and paraded thus, along the streets of his beloved city.

Four streets away, finally, the Police arrived. Strangely, nobody was booked or arrested. The Police merely hailed an auto rickshaw and two of them escorted Dr Prakash Kankaria back home. That is it. No action taken then.

His public humiliation led to an indignant uproar in the civil society there. Meetings were held. Doctor colleagues poured out onto the street. Officials were petitioned. Politicians made the appropriate noises.The entire horrible episode have been captured live on tape.

In the aftermath of the recent attack on Dr. Prakash Kankaria, Ahmednagar on December 24 ,2008, the ophthalmic fraternity has decided to get together as one unit without fanfare, without fuss and to ensure that the government takes it seriously and passes a strict legislation to punish such offenders and deter such attacks in the future.

AIOS has also decided to press the government to pass an Ordinance and follow it up till it becomes a law. The doctor's protection act should be such that the guilty should be penalized (non-bailable offence) for destroying property. There should be a minimum jail sentence of 5 years and minimum fine of Rs 3 to 4 lakh. ( editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, JAN 17 :
CHRONIC Care Foundation (CCF) has commissioned a niche research project using the services of one of the India's leading Market research Organizations across four regions of India. The research - "Non-communicable chronic diseases (NCCDs) in India - A study of the gaps , quality and cost of care "has been conducted across Government and private facilities at all levels of service delivery (Primary, Secondary & Tertiary).

As stated by Dr. Anoop Misra, Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board of CCF, "This is first-of-its-kind truly representative study for Indian subcontinent, and clearly delineates gaps in quality of health care, emphasizing room for improvement in diagnostic and treatment facilities at each levels of health care in the area of diabetes, chronic kidney disease and heart disease."

"Physicians, hospital management, government and private healthcare institutions, policy makers, insurance companies and even patients would benefit from this elaborate study. If these gaps are properly taken care of, we would witness next level of healthcare in this country akin to that seen in developed countries ," he added.

The study was conducted in two stages, exploratory and survey stage. The Target groups for this study were Medical Service Providers and Beneficiaries-both affected and unaffected. The geographical coverage and sample size is across four regions of India and two levels i.e. Urban and Rural. In total 360 PSUs (primary sampling units) were covered across India and a total of 1800 beneficiaries included.

This research undertaken by CCF provides data on emerging trends in society on demand for health care services and the need in the delivery system for the management and treatment on NCCDs in India. Recommendations will emerge in the final report to improve the delivery system and management, of chronic care services at Government and private medical facilities, role and scope of involvement of different stakeholders - service providers, policy makers, corporate, patients and the community at large, initiatives and interventions required by the Government on policy and the private sector in combating the impact of chronic diseases in our society.

Some of the key findings of this research project highlight that 86 per cent of districts with high rural population do not have adequate provision of the most basic diagnostic tests required for managing these chronic diseases.

Only 34 per cent of the rural respondents find access to diagnostic centers easy, nearly half of the PSU's surveyed do not have any treatment facilities for any of the three ailments, significantly higher proportion of respondents reported to visit health facility outside their ward/village due to non-availability of services in their ward/village. Moreover, 80.9% of the PSUs in high rural areas do not have treatment facility for any of the chronic ailments

Further, the findings reveal that only 45 per cent of total respondents find easy access to medicines, this was most difficult for stroke and chronic kidney disease patients. There is high dependence on private facilities due to inadequate services at the Govt. managed units.

On quality aspects, the Indian Public Health Service (IPHS) standards were the benchmark for this study and the findings revealed that very low proportion of Health Care Facilities (HCFs) adhere to the quality parameters laid down by IPHS standards. Only 60 per cent tertiary HCFs had guidelines about time taken to admit a patient.

On Sterilization standards and methods followed, boiling was the most common method used especially in rural areas, due to lack of other alterative equipment. Primary health care facilities were found to lack the infrastructure facilities as suggested by IPHS guidelines.

It is also significant to note that blood Bank facilities present in less than 50 per cent of Tertiary HFCs. On the arena of cost of care, the study found that the direct cost contributed about 45.8% of the total expenses in rural areas as compared to 39.6% in urban areas. Hospitalization expenses contributed the most to the total costs. In rural areas, this cost reached staggering 79.1% of the total expenses due to lack of facilities locally and people having to move out for hospitalization and specialized care.

It was also found that lack of basic education, was a major contributor to the lack of awareness amongst the populace in understanding the preventive aspects of chronic diseases. Of the 754 unaffected respondents covered in both rural(24%) and Urban (76 per cent) areas, with a mean age of 41.5years, it was found that 31.8 per cent were without any form of education or schooling and 60.3 percent were educated up to 12th class only. Rural respondents in age band 35-40 years having relatively lower levels of education are the ones who lack awareness of chronic ailments

The use of information technology for clinical and administrative purposes, a much-needed method to improve patient care was only seen predominantly in the tertiary and urban HCFs. CCF identified the need to make technology more affordable and accessible to the other levels of care in the country to improve efficiency and delivery of care standards.

Covering the area of awareness for prevention with IEC material, the study found that only 10% of HCFs had material on education about chronic diseases, once again mostly in the tertiary level care centers. Aspects such as dietary counseling, proper medication, and the significance of rehabilitation services was practically non-existent and those that existed were only in the urban areas.CCF identified that there was an urgent need to generate awareness about insurance in rural areas, explore the gaps within intenders and address the barriers to taking insurance.

Mr.Harpal Singh, the Chairman of the Board of trustees, CCF, in his opening remarks highlighted that , "This study by CCF was a major step forward to contribute to the body of knowledge about chronic diseases (NCCD) ,as this is one of the primary focus areas of work at the foundation , through this study CCF will carve its way forward and build an agenda for action by involving stakeholders and working in partnership with them". He also called for "collective action and for a momentum to be created to galvanize action by all concerned be it, the government, policy makers, service providers and the community".

The study by CCF has been supported by: Strategic Knowledge Partners, Apollo Hospitals Educational & Research Foundation, Baxter India Pvt. Ltd, MSD Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd India, Aventis Pharma Ltd, sanofi-aventis group India; Knowledge Partners, Vitalhealth Software India ;Associate Partners, ASSOCHAM, GE Healthcare, Johnson & Johnson Medical .
( editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, JAN 12 :
'DEFINING a vision for India's future', Dr. R.K. Pachauri (Nobel laureate), Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Director - General, The Energy and Research Institute (TERI), New Delhi, delivered an enthralling speech at the 9th Annual Dharma Vira Oration, organized recently by Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. Dr. Pachauri disclosed his vision for the future of the country.

The oration is held every year in the memory of Padma Vibhushan, late Mr Dharma Vira, ICS. One of the most distinguished civil servants of post - Independence India, Shri Dharma Vira was a great visionary and an intellectual giant. It was due to his pioneering efforts that Sir Ganga Ram Hospital was restarted in 1954 at its present site.

Again it was his vision that led to the handover of the day - to - day management of the hospital to a group of doctors (called the Board of Management) in 1974. That Sir Ganga Ram Hospital is now a 650 - bedded state- of -the - art Healthcare Facility, nationally and internationally recognized, is due entirely to the selfless service and hardwork of the Board and the perspicacity of Shri Dharma Vira.

The Annual oration is delivered by the doyens of medical profession and luminaries in public life as a tribute to Late Sri Dharma Vira. From the very beginning (year 2000), speakers delivering the oration lectures have trained their sights on the youth of the country. This year the oration will concentrate on 'Defining a Vision for India's Future'.

" The annual orations are our way of paying tribute to late Mr Dharma Vira" said Dr. B.K.Rao, Chairman, Board of Management, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. " The aim, over the years, has been to reach out to the youth of the country through eminent personalities and public figures. We are fortunate in having Dr. Pachauri deliver the lecture this year. We are looking forward to the oration," he adds.

Organising the annual orations is one more milestone in the tradition of excellence that has come to characterize Sir Ganga Ram Hospital over the years. Equipped with state - of - the - art NABL certified laboratory services, the hospital has many centers of excellence housing almost all the major specialities and super- specialities.

At the cutting edge of clinical practice, Minimal Access Surgery, Critical Care Medicine, Organ Transplant, Neonatology, Surgical Gastroenterology, Gastroenterology, Nephrology and IVF make Sir Ganga Ram Hospital one of the leading hospitals of the country.

The hospital is also known for its academic achievements and is now running Post Graduate DNB training courses in 30 specialties and super specialities and fellowship courses in 6 Super Specialities recognized by the National Board of Examination. In July 2004, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former president of India inaugurated a Super- Speciality and Research Block, which is looking to take up Stem Cell research in the immediate future. ( editor@thesynergyonline.com)

MEINHARDT NAMED AS DESIGN CONSULTANT FOR ESCI HOSPITAL AND DISPENSARIES

Thesynergyonline Health Bureau

NEW DELHI, JAN 09 :
MEINHARDT, a Singapore- based global engineering company which principally provides project management and integrated engineering services in the areas of civil, structural, façade, MEP, transportation and infrastructure engineering has bagged another project of designing ESIC Hospital at Noida and dispensaries at Karampura, Raghubir Nagar, Inderlok, Madipur and Jahangirpuri in New Delhi.

As the project management consultant, Meinhardt would be responsible for the qualitative, economical and Timley completion of the project. The scope of work for Meinhardt comprises of conceptualising design report, Geo – technical and subsoil investigations, Material Investigation, Detailed design of the
building and designing of HVAC System , power system , fire fighting system , R O Plants & Lifts etc.

Meinhardt spokesperson says, "Our company is progressing at a high pace providing its services for residential, commercial, hotels and resorts, technology and industrial projects, sport complexes, hospital and healthcare facilities, aviation, highways, bridges, mass transit projects, water and sanitation and urban projects. We are delighted to get this project on board
and we will provide them with the best of our abilities,"

Focusing on the ESIC hospital project, the New Block is conceived to be a 50-beded multi-specialty hospital being built on the modular concept, leaving the scope of adequate provision for expansion to 100 beds at renovation. The new block with the built up area of 25000 sq mtrs, comprising basement plus 6 storeys would be a fine blend of aesthetics and functionality, in support with the state of the art building management system.

The basement area has been strategically designed to be used as the service area for the whole block- with maintenance, pharmacy, staff lounge, and stores all together. The ground floor plan puts together all the OPD's and administrative staff while the first floor comprises the 2 OT'S with wards lining the other side of the floor. Second floor has been deliberated to have 4 OT'S along side the wards.

Where as the rest of the three floors would seclude the other ward areas. Adequate space provision for the dical/administrative staff on each floor has been incorporated.

The latest computerized diagnostic equipment, computerization of services and strengthening of the support systems, including the manpower shall definitely help achieve the objective of setting up the model hospitals to provide adequate secondary patient care to the beneficiaries and thereby setting a need-based trend for qualitative and quantitative improvements in
the service delivery system. ( editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, JAN 08 :
DO you keep forgetting things and all your efforts to remember are worthless? Then wait… the solution may lie in Thyroid testing.

According to experts, Hypothyroidism leads to many problems like Weight gain, Muscle weakness (cramps and aches), Heavy periods, Slow pulse, which we are very well aware of. But, most of us don't know that Hypothyroidism may lead to Poor Memory.

Dr. Vandana Lal , Executive Director , Dr. Lal PathLabs stresses, "Besides Poor memory, you can also suffer from other psychological disorders like, Depression, Difficulty concentrating, and Dislike of cold weather".

Dr Vandana Lal adds, "Hypothyroidism is the condition, when too little thyroid hormone (TH) is released and in such case body's metabolic rate decreases, and the body slows down. It often goes undiagnosed because the symptoms are often mistaken for or attributed to other conditions. This is the main reason why disorders like poor memory, depression, hair fall, hair dullness, and fatigue in our body are mostly overlooked and over a period of time become serious."

If the weak memory condition persists especially in women, Dr Vandana Lal advices, to immediately go for a Thyroid Hormone check at a reputed lab. Once the link is established, poor memory can be recovered with proper medication controlling Thyroid levels.

Dr Vandana Lal suggests three hormones to be measured routinely that includes Thyroxine T4, Tri-iodothyronine T3 and Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH). She further adds, it is imperative to check Thyroid Antibodies as it leads to Hypothyroidism.

Dr Vandana Lal says that Thyroid Hormone check can be done as early as in newborns.

THYROXINE (T4)
Thyroxine is found in the blood in two forms i.e. bound to proteins and free of protein binding.The free component is the active form of the hormone and comprises only 0.03% of the circulating total T4. Total thyroxine comprises both the bound and free forms. The trouble with this is that the level of total thyroxine very much depends on the amount bound to proteins and therefore the level of binding proteins in the blood. The major protein binding thyroxine is called Thyroid Binding Protein (TBG). TBG can be low in some patients due to an inherited disorder but seemingly harmless deficiency. In these patients total thyroxine is low but the free and active component is normal. Medicines such as the contraceptive pill and life events such as pregnancy can also alter binding proteins giving spuriously high levels of total thyroxine, according to Dr Nimmi Kansal, HOD .

TRI-IODOTHYRONINE (T3)
There are two assays available, one measures total T3 and the other free T3. The total T3 comprises of both protein bound and free T3. The free component is the active form and comprises 0.3% of total circulating T3.T3 is the biologically active thyroid hormone, possessing 5 times the metabolic power of T4. In man some 80% of T3 is produced from T4 by conversion in liver and kidney. Therefore little is produced in the thyroid itself. The conversion of T4 to T3 can depend on a number of situations such as chronic illness or surgical stress which cause a fall in T4 to T3 conversion (called low T3 syndrome). Starvation also alters T4 to T3 conversion with a fall in T3 as the body tries to reduce its metabolism to conserve energy.

What does T3 do?
T3 alters the metabolism of the body. It alters protein manufacture, cellular activity and is essential for growth and well being. Without T3 the patient develops hypothyroidism. Too much and the patient develops an overactive thyroid called thyrotoxicosis.

TSH
TSH is released by the pituitary gland and circulates in the blood stream to the thyroid where it controls release of the thyroid hormones T4 and T3. TSH release is very sensitive to alterations in the blood thyroid hormones, with small decreases augmenting TSH secretion and small increases reducing release. Therefore in hypothyroidism, TSH is raised above normal reference ranges whereas in thyrotoxicosis TSH is suppressed into the undetectable range.

Thyroid antibodies
These are circulating antibodies to various thyroid gland components and indicate something may be amiss when the body is directing the immune response against itself, a so called "autoimmune" phenomenon.. The major antibody measured is thyroid microsomal antibody another antibody measured is thyroglobulin antibody. What do these indicate? Possible disease of the thyroid and the need for thyroid hormone surveillance. Why? Because a certain low number of patients with thyroid antibodies develop hypothyroidism over years if not decades.

Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism' is the name given when the thyroid gland is under active and produces less hormone. This affects as many as 2 in 100 females but only 2 in 1,000 males. Hypothyroidism results in a general slowing down both physically and mentally.

Symptoms
There are many symptoms associated with hypothyroidism. Some of the common ones are listed below, but different features may be more prominent in some patients compared to others:
General tiredness, Difficulty concentrating, Weight gain, Dislike of cold weather, Muscle weakness, (cramps and aches), Bloated tissue - puffy face, bags under eyes, hoarse voice, Dry skin, thin hair, Heavy periods, Slow pulse

There are two main thyroid hormones, namely Thyroxine (T4) and T3. T4 is the main hormone made by the thyroid gland, and it is converted to T3 in the tissues which themselves are more sensitive to T3. The thyroid gland is stimulated to make thyroid hormones by another hormone called thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) which is secreted from the pituitary gland which lies at the base of the brain.

Causes
Hypothyroidism is usually due to an 'autoimmune' condition. For some reason the body suddenly thinks the thyroid gland is foreign, and starts to attack it. The reason for this is unclear. This can run in families. Underactivity of the thyroid may also be the result of radioactive iodine or thyroid surgery used to treat some patients with thyroid overactivity.

Diagnosis
This condition can go unnoticed by the patient and their relatives for many years. It is however easily diagnosed with a simple blood test. The level of free T4 in the blood is low. TSH levels are usually high because the pituitary gland is trying to make the failing thyroid gland work harder. Very rarely it is the pituitary which is not working and in such cases thyroid hormones (T3+T4) and TSH levels are all low.

HYPERTHYROIDISM
'Hyperthyroidism' or 'thyrotoxicosis' (over-active thyroid) is the name given when the thyroid gland secretes more hormone than it is supposed to. Hyperthyroidism is like a car being in overdrive all the time - it can feel great to start with, but after a while everything starts to wear out or break-down!

Symptoms
There are many symptoms associated with hyperthyroidism. Some of the common ones are listed below. In any individual patient some features may be present to a greater extent than others: -
Loss of energy, although eventually can feel 'overdone' and exhausted, Nervous, anxious, irritable, Dislike of heat, Sweaty, Tremor, Good appetite, Weight loss. Occasionally can eat so much that weight actually increases, Increased heart rate - palpitations, Diarrhoea, Muscle weakness, Skin changes - e.g. on lower legs which can be uncomfortable, Swelling in throat - difficulty swallowing, Dry gritty eyes - painful protruding eyes, Double vision.

Causes
Hyperthyroidism is usually due to an 'autoimmune' condition. For some reason the body suddenly recognises the thyroid gland as foreign, and starts to attack it. The reason for this is unclear. However instead of destroying the gland this attack actually stimulates the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland starts to overwork and produce excess thyroid hormone.

Sometimes a nodule develops within the gland and works independently from the rest of the gland. If the nodules produce lots of thyroid hormone, then hyperthyroidism may develop. There are other rare causes of hyperthyroidism.

Diagnosis
This is easily diagnosed with a blood test. The levels of thyroid hormones in the blood are high. The thyroid gland is usally under control of another gland called the pituitary situated at the base of the brain. It does this by releasing the hormone TSH. Since the thyroid gland has gone out of control, the pituitary tries to stimulate the thyroid as little as possible, and hence TSH levels are very low or undetectable. ( editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, JAN 07 :
A recent survey undertaken by the leading remarriage portal -Secondshaadi.com revealed various reasons for remarriages in India. The poll revealed that the maximum people decide to remarry to start a family (53 per cent). The second most accepted reason for remarriage is a yearning for companionship – as reported by 38 per cent of the members.

The results were obtained from an online poll conducted amongst 1000 members of Secondshaadi.com. The poll consisted of two sections – My reasons for remarrying and My reasons for divorce. Reasons for Remarriage per cent age To Start a family 53 companionship /desire not to retire alone 38 Dislike being unmarried when other people around you are happily married 6 Financial Security 3 Security for your children from an earlier marriage 0

Unlike the general perception, financial security was not the determining factor for many when it comes to remarriage as only 3 per cent of the members chose this as their reason for remarriage.

Commenting on the survey, Vivek Pahwa, CEO, econdshaadi.com, said,” The top three reasons cited for remarriage, which constitutes of 97 per cent of the votes, clearly states that the prime motive for a second shaadi is desire to have a companion – be it in form of a family (kids) or a spouse. With this survey we aim to analyse the common reasons for separation and remarriage and help our members accordingly to overcome their inhibitions and start afresh.”

Also while conceptualizing the survey it was discovered that the reasons for remarriage may vary from reasons for a divorce. Therefore Secondshaadi.com simultaneously conducted a poll on reasons for end of the previous matrimony along with the poll on reasons for remarriage.

Almost 2 out of 5 people i.e. 36 per cent people cited emotional incompatibility as their reason for separation; followed by demise of their spouse (21per cent). While the other popular reasons include Change of attitude from pre marriage days, Extramarital Affair, Sexual Incompatibility; Career move and Incompatibility with in laws were the least common reasons for divorce, with just 4 per cent votes. ( editor@thesynergyonline.com)

NEW DELHI, JAN 04 :
EVERY mom is aware that "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." Well it is true! Children focus and are able to learn better if they eat breakfast. Breakfast made with the goodness of fortified whole grains is a nutrient dense breakfast and therefore makes a good meal better.

Many children these days leave home with just a glass of flavored milk and some mothers get lucky if they manage to give their kids to eat bread and butter. No doubt white bread is made up of wheat grain; the product, however, may not provide the goodness of whole wheat.

During processing from whole grain wheat to milled flour, many of the nutrients are lost. During milling and sifting there is a loss of about 80 percent of the fibre and vital nutrients such as vitamin B, magnesium, protein, zinc and calcium that are present in whole wheat, can never be added back to the food.

Food fortification is an important tool, not only to treat or prevent specific nutritional deficiencies, but also to promote a general state of well-being in kids.

An ideal breakfast comprises foods like whole grain fortified cereals that are low in fat and provide complex carbohydrates, fibre, protein and essential vitamins and minerals first thing in the morning.

Fortified ready-to-eat cereal in a breakfast routine - especially for children, provides goodness of Whole Wheat and extra Calcium Shakti and is enriched with 11 essential vitamins/minerals.

Fortified breakfast cereals with goodness of whole wheat are a good option. Breakfast cereals with added vitamins and minerals play an important role in achieving a healthy and balanced diet. In the UK, fortification of breakfast cereals has positively contributed to increasing vitamin and mineral intakes during childhood and adolescence.

Therefore, enriched foods such as fortified ready to eat breakfast cereals not only taste good for kids, but also serve the purpose of providing goodness of chapatti, extra Calcium Shakti and 11 essential vitamins and minerals in kid's diet.

To provide kids with the energy and essential nutrients needed for an active school day, breakfast should include foods from three or four of the food groups. Whole-grain fortified cereals, fruits (fresh and dry), milk/yogurt or eggs are good breakfast options.

Besides providing adequate protein, fibre and energy at breakfast it is also important to provide adequate quality through vitamins and minerals. Nutritionists across the world believe that breakfast should provide at least 25% of the day's requirement for vitamins and minerals.

Moreover, ready-to-eat fortified breakfast cereals which is

enriched with Calcium Shakti, is low in fat and makes the milk chocolaty. The kids, therefore, eat breakfast and drink milk all at one go without any complaints. The milk consumed with the cereal is also an important source of protein and calcium.

According to Ms.Sakshi Chawla, Chief Dietician, Fortis Hospital, Noida, "Breakfast should include fortified whole grain cereals as they are rich in fibre and essential micronutrients. A mother should try and kick-start their kids' day with a fortified whole wheat based cereal." The best way to include the goodness of whole wheat in your kid's diet is to offer fortified cereals in breakfast.

Fortified cereals provide goodness of more than 2 chapattis due to enrichment of the cereal with vitamins and minerals. Now mothers can provide energy, complex carbohydrates, protein along with the much needed vitamins and minerals first thing in the morning to prepare their kids for school and life! (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

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