Fortis Escorts Heart Institute

Fortis Escorts Heart Institute (FEHI) was incorporated in 1988 and today is recognised as the ultimate cardiac care destination in the Asia Pacific region. The institute has been setting benchmarks in cardiac care with its path-breaking work for over two decades. FEHI boasts of a vast pool of renowned doctors who are acknowledged leaders in their respective areas within the discipline of cardiology.

Vision

“To create a world-class integrated healthcare delivery system in India, entailing the finest medical skills combined with compassionate patient care” based on foundations of efficient systems and trust.

Raajiv Singhal

The 310-bedded hospital offers a spectrum of offerings including cardiac bypass surgery, minimally invasive surgery, interventional cardiology, non-invasive cardiology, pediatric cardiology and pediatric cardiac surgery. Talking about the hospital’s growth, Raajiv Singhal, Vice President, FEHI, says, “ Year-on-year, FEHI has continuously shown improvement in all areas of operations – financial growth, expansion, upgradation, new medical programmes and quality patient care.”

FEHI is equipped with the best infrastructure and the latest technology required for cardiac bypass surgery, minimally invasive surgery (robotics), interventional cardiology, non-invasive cardiology, paediatric cardiology and paediatric cardiac surgery. The hospital is backed by the most advanced laboratories performing complete range of investigative tests in the field of nuclear medicine, radiology, biochemistry, haematology, transfusion medicine and microbiology. It has a state- of-the-art Nuclear Medicine Department, Cardiac MRI including five Cath Labs equipped with OCT and FFR technology and nine operation theatres.

FEHI offers several firsts in areas of clinician engagement, specialty clinics, medical programmes and the latest technology. Engagement is one of Fortis Escorts Heart Institute’s core values and engaging clinicians is a critical element to building a quality and safety culture in the organisation. Clinical engagement empowers clinicians to improve collaboration to improve patient outcomes. In addition, the hospital runs several medical programmes and new clinical technologies. The hospital’s quality standards are at par with best in the world. Its hospital, CABG and paediatric congenital cardiac surgery mortality rates are among the lowest in the industry.

FY2012-13 saw FEHI perform India’s first TAVI procedure, a remote patient monitoring system aided by real time two way audio-visuals. It is an ideal blend of medicine with technology to improve critical care delivery. It is also a clinically proven programme that has resulted in delivering quality patient care with reduced mortality and infection rates along with decrease in ALOS.

Chest Pain Pathway (CPP) initiative was developed in collaboration with ‘The Medicines Company’, one of the global leaders in acute and intensive care in the world. Clinical pathways have been shown to have significant impact on quality and economics of healthcare worldwide. The chest pain pathway enable evidence- based medicine at the point where it matters the most: at the patient bedside. It works as a guidance for clinical care of patients presenting with acute chest pain right from admission till discharge and follow up. It helps standardise clinical care based on international consensus guidelines customised by Fortis Escorts. It also augments efforts to establish benchmarks in cardiac care by enabling measurement of quality parameters in real time and take necessary actions.

Critinext – electronic ICU

A remote patient monitoring system, aided by real time two-way audio-visuals. It is an ideal blend of medicine with technology to improve critical care delivery. It is also a clinically proven programme and results in delivering quality patient care with reduced the mortality and infection rates along with decrease in ALOS. FEHI currently supports several CritiNext sites and 25 HCCs across 10 states and four countries.

FEHI also uses Electronic Anesthesia Charting, a device which captures anesthesia records electronically as well as Massimo – Intra-operative Fluid Management Technologies in the operating room that enables monitoring and management of patients’s hydration status during major and high-risk surgery.

FEHI performed the first cardiac patient in Asia with coronary artery disease, successfully treated by using a Bioresorable Vascular Scaffold (BVS). It is the first hospital in Asia, to enroll a patient into the ABSORB EXTEND trial, a worldwide trial of up to 1,000 patients at 100 centres in Europe, Asia Pacific, Canada and Latin America.

In a first-of-its-kind procedure conducted in India in FY13, two patients successfully underwent heart valve replacement without anaesthesia. Further, the drug-eluting bioreabsorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) was launched. FEHI also created Fortis’s first team of Infusion Nurses to build capacity in this specialised area, and disseminate knowledge and best practices to other group hospitals.

The Fortis Acute Stroke Treatment (FAST) was launched in May 2012. On the preventive side, considering that diabetes puts individuals to greater heart-related risks, an exclusive helpline for diabetics and their caregivers commenced operations in September 2012. The helpline provides access to information on diabetes, its treatment and containment protocols. Fortis Organ Retrieval & Transportation (FORT), an initiative aimed at helping save lives, was also launched in FY13.

During the year FY13, FEHI set a “Guinness World Record” for conducting 14,161 preventive cholesterol tests in a single day, the highest number achieved by any hospital in the world. The institute aims to establish a heart failure clinic to give consultation and treatment to heart failure patients, as well as an arrhythmia Clinic, a 24*7 ECG service, where ECG reports can be sent to experts who can see and revert with the line of treatment immediately. A 24X7 free emergency ambulance service upto 10 km is also in the offing alongwith plans to provide comprehensive electrophysiological cardiology to the paediatric patients and launch hybrid cath labs to provide advanced imaging and at the same time fulfill the requirements for treating complex cases like high risk patients and structural heart disease.

Strengthening TAVI with e-ICU beyond borders at new locations in India and overseas is also planned