Revolutionising patient experience through tech-integrated medical care

In an exclusive interview with ET Insights, Dr. N.K. Pandey, Chairman and Managing Director of Asian Institute of Medical Science (AIMS), discusses the potential of technology-integrated medical care to revolutionise the healthcare industry and improve patient outcome. He also emphasises on the importance of patient rights and accountability among healthcare professionals. Additionally, Dr. Pandey highlights the significance of reducing environmental damage and how AIMS takes steps to ensure their operations are aligned with regulations and sustainable. 

Excerpts below: 

What initiatives does AIMS have in place to foster a culture of accountability, professionalism, and ethical conduct among its staff and leadership? 

In the medical field, patients have certain rights and responsibilities. As healthcare providers, we have a responsibility to respect patients’ rights and to provide timely, responsive attention to their needs. We believe that patients have the right to dignity, respect, and quality care, and we prioritise these values in our practice.  

Accountability is an important aspect of healthcare, and our healthcare providers review their work and outcomes to ensure that they are providing safe and effective care. We monitor for infections, complications, and other issues that may arise during treatment in our hospital. We also run facilities for rapid culture tests and molecular tests for infections. During crucial operations, such as spine, joint replacement, cardiac and brain tumor surgeries, we ensure that patients receive best post-operation care. Special attention is provided to patients who require transplants as they are often immunocompromised and in long-term care with us. 

Professionalism is another front where we maintain strict vigilance on the patient’s and their well-being. We have a clinical audit department and an infection control department. We diagnose the patient’s disease and whether they are being treated appropriately and consult external specialists to come in and check if required. We maintain clear professionalism so that the patient gets the best doctor trained in that disease to treat them for the best outcome. 

What is your institute’s commitment on sustainability and environmentally friendly practices? 

Our healthcare organisation has an investor, the British Overseas Investment, which is directly under the Government of Great Britain fund. They have taken a tremendous amount of commitment from us on sustainability and environmental practices. To ensure that we meet these commitments, we have a manager who is responsible for monitoring our institute’s sustainability parameters. Regular reports are generated and sent to our investors, which frequently review how we are disposing of our waste, disposal of medical waste, where we how we dispose, and our power consumption. 

We take pollution around our medical facility seriously and regularly monitor it as defined by the Pollution Control Board of Haryana under Government of India regulations. We ensure to treat our medical waste, and bio waste is treated appropriately. 

We are aware of the environmental consequences of waste management, and we want to leave a better tomorrow for our children. We have also installed a water treatment plant in our hospital, and we have pits for water harvesting, ensuring that we do everything possible to reduce damage to the environment. 

How do technology and digital solutions contribute to your daily operations? 

The medical field has seen significant technological advancements over the years. Hospitals in the 60s were entirely different from the hospitals of today. As a surgeon with over 35 years of experience, I have a unique perspective on the changes in technology. Laparoscopy, which was a significant advancement in my early years of practice, has now transformed into operations conducted by Robotics. We have very active Robotic Surgical unit. At our hospital, we focus on upgrading technology, from basic tests like X-ray to CT, Nuclear scanning, MRI, PET scanning etc. 

We also provide medical teleconsultation to our patients who are long distances away from our medical facility. Our technological innovation helps us with video call consultation to ensure round-the-clock care for our patients. Telemedicine has increased access to high-quality healthcare facilities, and patients can now get more customised clinical services. It has also revolutionised surgeries, medical training, and teaching. Our goal is to continue to innovate and provide our patients with the best possible care using the latest technology. 

Technology has a huge role in our practice. It makes our lives easier. It gives us strength to take more difficult cases. Cancer treatments have especially benefited from these technological advancements. Today medical fields use only 20% of potential from the technological advancements and in the future, it might soar up to 100%.   

What sets your hospital apart from others in terms of patient experience and medical outcomes? 

At our healthcare organisation, we take patient grievances very seriously. We have implemented several measures to ensure that our patients receive the best possible care and that their concerns are addressed promptly. We only employ doctors who are well qualified and have a proven track record of delivering high-quality care. 

The clinical outcome of each department is reviewed thoroughly and routinely, and the unit head is responsible for ensuring that the highest standards of care are maintained. We have a patient grievance resolution system in place that considers every possible solution for patients. This system is designed to be extremely responsive to our patients and their well-being. 

At our healthcare organisation, we prioritise patient education and satisfaction. We ensure that every medical diagnosis is given with proper information to the patient and their relatives. We believe that our patients are an integral part of our community, and we are committed to serving them to the best of our abilities. Using technological innovations to improve patient care, such as telemedicine & video consultation which allows us to provide customised clinical services to patients and connect with physicians in other countries. Artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning is an integral part of our software to constantly improve and smoothen diagnosis and treatment for our patients.