30 Minute Interview

'We Plan to Set up Over 15 hospitals Across India by 2015'

Artemis Health Sciences (AHS), a healthcare venture from the promoters of Apollo Tyres Group, will start its first hospital in Gurgaon from May 2007 with 260 operational beds entailing an investment of Rs 200 crore. While the entire 500-bed hospital will have approximately 5,25,000 square feet of built-up area, the first phase with 260 beds will have approximately 3,00,000 square feet. Dr Kushagra Katariya, CEO, AHS spoke to Rita Dutta about the upcoming hospital and Group's future projects. Excerpts:

Dr Kushagra Katariya CEO, Artemis Health Sciences (AHS)

Which facilities would be available in the first phase of the hospital that would be inaugurated soon?

With over 450 doctors, consultants and over 900 employees, the world-class super-speciality hospital would offer specialised and state-of-the-art services in cardiology and cardio-vascular surgery, oncology and orthopaedics. In addition, a plethora of tertiary care services in fields like neurology, nephrology, bariatric surgery, urology, gastroenterology and aesthetic surgery will be offered. These services will entail comprehensive medical solutions, including consultancy, diagnostics and therapy.

The Institute will also run specialised programmes like senior citizen programme, home care programme, well woman programme and chronic care programme amongst others. Artemis will also have a comprehensive international patient services programme, to provide internationally benchmarked healthcare services to patients across the globe.

In addition to a chain of hospitals, Artemis Health Sciences will soon be venturing into three more business verticals which are research and development, medical education and device development.

Tell me more about the three more business verticals.

Research will include a small and large animal facility to carry out advanced in-vivo and in-vitro research focused on cardio-vascular diseases and oncology. Later, it will include research in medicine, biotechnology, genomics, proteonomics, stem cell therapy and nanotechnology. Device development is still at a conceptual stage.

Medical education is a very important area for us. AHS will bring together the world's best faculty in medical, nursing, paramedical education and allied health training. Artemis will have collaborations with some of the finest medical universities in the world.

When will you start the second phase?

Work on the next phase, which will involve addition of 240 beds, will begin in August 2007 with an investment of Rs 150 crore. The second wing will be up and running by October 2008. It will also include a hotel, which will cater to the needs of relatives and friends of out station patients.

Why did Artemis Health Sciences build the hospital in NCR and not in any other part of the country? What were the key findings of the market feasibility study?

Our choice of first hospital was Gurgaon because of very encouraging demographics—it has a population of around 25 lakh and is growing rapidly at the rate of 14 per cent per annum. The place has the highest level of urban literacy and highest per capita income in urban India. Gurgaon is also the destination of choice for a large number of corporates and transnational companies setting up their offices in India. The high level of telecom infrastructure, coupled with its proximity to the domestic and international airport in Delhi, makes it an apt place for us to start setting up a world-class hospital using new age technology and offering the best facilities to patients.

How would the recent partnership with Philips help?

Artemis has recently signed a $ 7 million technology partnership deal with Philips to position the flagship Artemis Health Institute, Gurgaon on par with the leading hospitals in the world. Philips, one of the market leaders and innovators in healthcare systems, would supply 60 per cent of the equipment required for the Institute in Gurgaon. Philips will also collaborate with Artemis in its worldwide research and development efforts. This collaboration will allow Philips to get real time scientific data from India, which can be used for product development and upgrading various imaging modalities like PET CT, MR, and Cardiac CT.

What cutting-edge technology would the hospital boast of?

AHS has a number of firsts to its credits in India, chief among them being intelligent critical patient monitoring system with clinical decision support application with portal imaging technology, filmless and paperless environment (seamless integration with the Hospital Information System), an endovascular suite is being set up inside an operating room.

This will allow endovascular surgery, catheter-based procedures along with hybrid surgery in the composite unit. Besides, we also have functional MRI scanning using Non-Contrast Imaging for Cancers (DWIBS), MRI-PET fusion technology and 3-D dynamic road mapping for reconstructive imaging.

Additionally, Artemis will also have cath labs with a stent boost (software visualisation tools), 64 Channel CT machine with step and shoot technology (reduces X-Ray radiation by 83 per cent), intelligent ultrasound/echo technology, PET CT machine, 3 Tesla MRI machine, whole body imaging with contrast and high-end spectroscopy.

What would be the USP of the hospital?

Artemis aims to provide excellent health services in a caring and patient-centric environment, backed by cutting-edge technology. Artemis will ensure an international healthcare experience to its patients by adhering to globally acceptable healthcare norms.

Enthused by our customer-centric USP, many leading doctors certified by the US and Western bodies are joining us.

Would you be tapping medical tourism? If yes, what efforts would you make to get medical tourists?

Artemis aims to provide internationally benchmarked healthcare services to people across the globe. These services will include advanced cardiology and cardio-vascular surgery, orthopaedics and joint replacement surgery, cosmetology, oncology and neurology amongst others. By having surgeons and physicians certified by the US and Western regulatory bodies, along with smooth and streamlined systems and processes, Artemis hopes to be the primary destination for patients seeking medical solutions away from their countries.

We are tying up with medical tourism facilitators and Governments in various countries who are keen to send their needy patients to us as soon the hospital is functional.

Which are your future projects?

Keeping in mind our larger aim of providing the finest quality of healthcare to the largest segment possible, we plan to set up over 15 hospitals across India by 2015 in cities like Baroda, Kochi, Indore, Nagpur, Kanpur and Jaipur amongst others.

rita.dutta@expressindia.com