Narayan Hrudayalaya Hospital-Revolutionizing Indian Healthcare
On Jan 17, we visited Narayan Hrudayalaya (NH) hospital – located in Bangalore. NH has many branches throughout India serving the needs for millions of patients with cardiac problems. Most of patients are farmers with very low income. When I arrived, I saw many patients probably traveling from very far distance to NH hospital. They all look tired. All of them probably have a big hope that your health problems would be cured.
The majority NH’s patients are farmers. NH provides very low cost heart surgeries, and no charge for patients who could not afford. Health insurance plan for farmers is 20 rupees (about 0.3 dollar) per month. Cardiac surgeries are 2-3 cases/day in US hospitals, and about 30 cases in NH hospital. More surgeries will keep the lower cost. Although surgeons do not have a high pay, they are willing to work because of their dedication serving people. NH provides free of charge of surgeries to whom could not afford.
Telemedicine is one of the innovated tools improving the quality service of NH, and reaching out the needs of patients from rural areas. In a near future, ‘Icare” app will be a useful way to monitor patients’ medications and medical records.
When entering Dr. Shetty’s office, I saw a big post on the wall “If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk together” Ratan Tata. Teamwork is a driving force for the success of NH hospital. A great leader – Dr. Shetty and his team provide the best services for many patients not only in India but also in other countries.
