Apollo Hospitals on Wednesday launched the Apollo Centre of Excellence in Critical Care (ACECC).
According to a press release, ACECC will harness digital technology to create an integrated network of eICUs providing critical care across the Apollo Hospitals network and in partnership with non-Apollo units in India and abroad. It will focus on capacity building of critical care specialists.
Speaking at the launch, Ravi Mahajan, director, Critical Care Integration and Transformation, Apollo Hospitals, said 80% of physicians work in urban areas while 70% of the population lived in remote locations.
“The aim of ACECC is to provide smart solutions to national shortage of experts, standardise critical care throughout the Apollo network and beyond, and to partner with non-Apollo units, both public and private,” he said.
K. Hari Prasad, president, Hospitals Division, Apollo Hospitals Enterprises, said they were connected with 500 beds through one hub in Hyderabad. With the launch of the Chennai and Madurai hubs in a week, another 500 beds would be added. The goal was to connect 10,000 beds over a period of one year.
Prathap C. Reddy, chairperson of Apollo Hospitals, said critical care was a crucial part of healthcare. “It is how we coordinate, digitise and bring in artificial intelligence to give expertise to patients. The aim is to give expertise to people in remote areas,” he said.
The ACECC would be based on a network of hub-and-spoke units between Apollo and non-Apollo providers, both public and private, to ensure that every citizen has access to critical care when needed, Preetha Reddy, executive vice chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Group, said.
Suneeta Reddy, managing director, Apollo Hospitals Group, said it was important to reach out to patients wherever they were. In critical care, the use of technology, trained doctors and nurses could reduce mortality rate, she said.
Demonstrating how it worked from an ICU command centre, Sai Haranath, consultant Intensivist and Pulmonologist, Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, said they could monitor critically ill patients who needed assistance that was mostly not available locally. For instance, they used teleneurology to advice remotely and guided stroke care for a 32-year-old man with acute stroke. By close monitoring, transfer of patient was avoided.
