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Dr Ramakant Panda
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Dr Ramakant Panda, the man who held ex-PM Dr Manmohan Singh’s heart in his hands, needs no other introduction. He has given a new lease of life to countless people suffering from heart ailments, including RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, who recently got operated by Dr Panda. At the same time, he has also been the kingpin behind the rise of Asian Heart Institute (AHI) as a premier heart care hospital, not only in the country but across the globe, in a matter of mere ten years.
A decade of ascent
Set up in 2002 under the aegis of Asian Hospitals, with Dr Panda at the helm as its Vice Chairman, AHI has achieved considerable success and a great reputation in just over a decade’s time. Talking about AHI’s growth, Dr Panda, beaming like a proud father, informs, “In the last ten years, AHI has put a benchmark in cardiac care in the country, whether it’s in terms of design, clinical results and patient outcomes, less complications or low infection rates. That is our biggest contribution.”
Today, the hospital has reportedly completed over 30000 angioplasties and 18000 heart surgeries since its inception. Aided by its talented and dedicated team as well as avant-garde technological advancements, it boasts of a staggering success rate of 99.6 per cent in cardiac surgery. The hospital also lays claim to handling the highest volume of cardiac surgical procedures in Mumbai, in the present day.
Stairways to success
A strong proponent of standardisation of medical care in the country, Dr Panda has ensured that AHI has several accreditations given by top notch global organisations such as Joint Commission International (JCI), National Integrated Accreditation for Healthcare Organizations (NIAHO), and International Organization for Standardization (ISO), to its credit. One of the top accreditating agencies in the world also ranked AHI as No.1 in results among its participating hospitals.
These accreditations stand testimony to the AHI’s endeavours to offer top quality care through strong adherence to patient safety and treatment protocols as well as infection control practices which was greatly aided by a patient-centric hospital design. Dr Panda highlights some of the measures taken in this area, “No hospital had a lounge or counselling room for those who accompanied ICU patients. We created a huge lounge with beds and shower facility for ICU relatives and when the treatment was in progress, the patients’ relatives are counselled about the procedure. Similarly, many hospitals had cafeterias but not of the quality and level that we put up.”
These measures paid off and played their role in building AHI’s reputation and credibility. Reiterating this, Dr Panda informs, “We are the highest accreditated hospital in the country. Our results are among the best in the world, not just in the country. Moreover, our infection rates are among the lowest in the country. A major worldwide accreditation agency conducted a two year survey from 2009 to 2011, of fifteen top most hospitals in the world. We were at the top in terms of results. So, when we are looking at quality of patient care, we have put a lot of benchmarks.”
Dr Panda also highlights that AHI has been in the forefront when it comes to adopting technology to spur better health outcomes. They are said to be the pioneers in robotic surgery in Mumbai and Western India. The da Vinci Si Robotic Surgical system in use at the hospital is reportedly one of the very first in the Asia-Pacific region to use a simulator for robotic training.
Comfort and quality, two of AHI’s most distinguishing features have also made it a ‘Mecca’ for medical tourists. Elaborating on the reasons that make AHI a preferred destination for medical tourists, Dr Panda says, “People come to AHI for the best results in the world. At 1/4 or 1/5 of the cost that is needed to go to the US, they can get it done at AHI.” The hospital has been ranked amongst the TOP 10 World’s Best Hospitals for Medical Tourists by Medical Travel Quality Alliance (MTQUA) in 2013.
Grit and the glory
The interesting journey traversed by the hospital on a path strewn with several milestones, bears similarity to the successes achieved by its leader, Dr Panda. Vincent Lombardi, celebrated American football player and coach had once quoted, “Leaders aren’t born they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work.” These words have proven prophetic in Dr Panda’s case. His accomplishments reflects hard work, dedication, determination and of course talent. Good at academics right from childhood, from small town beginnings he went on to learn cardiac surgery at AIIMS and complete his fellowship training from Cleveland Clinic, US (the Mecca of cardiac surgery) where he could learn from Dr Floyd D Loop, credited with being the pioneer in bypass surgery. A year of working as the Senior Registrar at the Harefield Hospital in the UK, gave him the opportunity to train under Professor Magdi Yocoub, one of the best cardiac surgeons in the world. Thus, a boy from a small village in Odisha, inspired by an article in the LIFE magazine on Dr Denton A Cooley (President and Surgeon-in-Chief, who founded the Texas Heart Institute), and one of the all-time great heart surgeons, traced a journey which has made him a name to be reckoned with in the field of cardiac surgery.
He is one of the most revered heart surgeons in India today; with over 18000 cardiac surgeries including bypass, complex aneurysms, valve repairs and replacements as well as over 1200 redo bypass surgeries to his credit. A pioneer of several cardiac surgery techniques such as ‘off-pump bypass’, ‘total arterial revascularisation’, and redo bypass surgery he has the distinction of handling over 3000 high-risk surgeries, of which many were considered ‘inoperable.’ His success in handling high profile cases like ex-PM Dr Manmohan Singh’s redo bypass surgery, Assam CM Tarun Gogoi’s bypass and valve replacement surgeries, and more recently, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s aortic valve repair and replacement surgeries have cemented his reputation as one of the safest cardiac surgeons in the world and earned him several notable awards and accolades including the Padma Bushan, the third highest civilian award by the Government of India.
Excellence with integrity
Dr Panda’s expertise is celebrated, but so are his ethics and integrity. He was given the prestigious Rashtriya Samman by the Income Tax department for being one of the highest taxpayers between 1994-95 and 1998-99. He refuses to be paid in cash and abhors the system of cut-practice, though it is widely prevalent nowadays. The same zeal and ethics are the pillars of AHI’s foundation as well.
Giving us an insight into the hospital’s working, Dr Panda informs, “We are also proud to say that in the last eleven years, we have been one of the very few hospitals which don’t believe in cut practice. We don’t pay any cut to anybody. I think these are some of the major milestones and contributions in the last ten years.”
Realising the serious concerns that accessibility and affordability of healthcare pose in our country, AHI has a motto to serve quality care through ethical practice at reasonable costs.
It also undertakes several initiatives and campaigns for the benefit of the masses. One such pro bono venture is that AHI, alongwith with the KEM Hospital, would carry out cardiac surgeries for infants and children suffering from complicated heart ailments and cannot afford treatment. Dr Panda has pledge to operate 1000 such children, completely free of cost at the AHI Pediatric Cardiac Centre, which is equipped with facilities at par with global standards.
Embarking on the next growth phase
Ten years of AHI’s existence comprises phenomenal growth and countless triumphs. Yet, if the journey to the top is hard then retaining the top slot is harder. Now, AHI has entered into its second decade and embarked on its next phase of growth. So, at a time when competition and opportunities both are in plenty, how would the hospital continue to deliver the best? And how would Dr Panda continue his strides towards his goal of providing world-class cardiac care in the country? What are his plans to take AHI to the next level?
A visionary by nature, Dr Panda has already charted out his strategies for the next phase of AHI’s development. Gung ho on growth, he believes that cardiac care has evolved significantly in the last three decades and would continue to do so. He narrates an incident where the dean of his medical college had to go to the US to get an angiogram done and says that today, au contraire; a patient can get an angiogram done at a centre within 100 metres from where he is located. He says, “When I was doing my post graduation, only four or five hospitals in the country had angiogram facilities. Today, only Mumbai has 50 centres for angiogram. Every tier-II or tier-III city has cardiac care facilities. Thus it has evolved in terms of reach as well as technological advances”.
Giving an insight on the changing standards of cardiac care, he says, “The type of treatment that was given 30 years ago and the current treatment methods are very different. When I got trained, bypass surgeries used to carry 50 per cent risk, 50 per cent people used to die. Now it is less than one per cent. In AHI, less than 0.5 per cent die. So there has been a quantum leap in the safety and standards of cardiac care treatment.” He informs that treatment methods like angioplasty, drug eluting stents, specialised pacemakers, using a catheter to resolve children’s heart problems were not imaginable thirty years back but they have wrought wonders today. In his opinion, in terms CVD treatment innovation and standards, India has a lot to offer. “I am proud to say that India is at par with global standards in terms of cardiac care, otherwise the PM would not have chosen to get himself treated at the hands of Indian surgeons,” he avers.
The current challenges plaguing Indian healthcare themselves would pave the way for AHI’s growth, believes Dr Panda. Hence, he has already laid the foundations to ensure that the hospital is ready to face the challenges and optimise the opportunities that would come its way in the times to come. Sharing some of his plans in the offing he informs, “We are looking at expansion of our current facility. Unfortunately we are stuck because of the new fire regulations which decree that a hospital’s height should not be more than 30 metres. Otherwise three years back we had already purchased 2,50,000 lakh sq ft land from the government. The plan was already in place.”
He further informs, “At the same time we are also looking at other expansion such as on the Mumbai-Delhi corridor side. Reiterating his plans for medical training centre in Odisha, he says, “I am also committed to developing a centre in Bhubaneshwar. We had acquired 10 acres of land from the government but it is stuck in litigation. We are hoping that the verdict comes in our favour, so that we can go ahead with the project.”
Thus, he has charted out his path for the future but believes, “there are miles to go” as poet Robert Frost would say. He feels that the government’s timely intervention and support would provide a much needed impetus for further progress in CVD treatment.
Pointers for progress
Informing that non communicable diseases (NCDS), especially cardiovascular diseases are one the biggest healthcare problems in the country, he says that WHO has predicted productivity loss of $243 billion from cardiovascular diseases between 2005 to 2016. “That is the magnitude of the problem we are facing. So I think that the government needs to focus quite a bit in this area. However, it needs a holistic approach for tackling the threat of CVDs.”
He also endorses the need for an effective system which would help achieve our healthcare goals by w educating and encouraging people to stay healthy and prevent illness;
- detecting health conditions early;
- universal healthcare insurance; and
- building the infrastructure and manpower to treat disease
He recommends educating the public to improve hygiene, sanitation practices and adopt healthier lifestyles, encouraging indigenous production of medical equipment, increasing healthcare resources be it nurses, doctors or paramedical staff, shoring up the number of post graduates by allowing private healthcare institutions to offer PG courses, improving Universal Health Coverage, especially for the needy populace; and creating more infrastructure for primary and secondary healthcare as measures that are crucial to better healthcare standards in the country.
His message to doctors in the country is the maxim he himself lives by. “Work hard and focus on the patient, not money. Money will follow automatically. Make sure that you give the best result and care to your patients, don’t compromise on that.”
Thus, Dr Panda is optimistic about growth in Indian healthcare and is all set to accelerate the revolution with AHI in the forefront. His zeal and enthusiasm offers new hope that healthcare in India is set for a renaissance.
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