Apollo Hospitals on Saturday concluded its two-day annual conference titled International Health Dialogue, an amalgamation of the International Patient Safety Conference (IPSC) & Transforming Healthcare with Information Technology (THIT), in Bangalore.
On the sidelines of the conference, Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group said, while addressing the media, they have over 3900 delegates and, large number of speakers.
“…The response has been amazing. The idea is really to do a few things. Number one is to highlight recent advancements that will help hospital practitioners owners etc. improve patient safety practices in their hospital, find better methodologies and then transform healthcare with it. We showcase some of the latest technologies, which will then become mainstream. So these are showcased at stalls. We have stopped up presentations as well so people who are not yet in the highlight, have an opportunity to come forward. And we propel and request for collaborations. So we spoke to the Indian Institute of Science today we understood from the Minister about the National Health Policy and the fact that the National Health Policy has a 70% allocation for private sector. In terms of collaborative work. We are yet we need to decipher and understand that more. So basically as a follow up to this conference. We will be doing a workshop to accelerate the partnership between the government scientific institutions and the private sector,” Reddy said.
In August last year, Apollo Hospitals announced a pan-India expansion of its connected care programme, Apollo Connect, to provide the largest integrated healthcare ecosystem in India.
Through this, Apollo aims to empower hospitals and nursing homes in both metro and non-metro areas to offer holistic and superior patient care. It rolled out services like eICU, diagnostics, surgical consultations, remote monitoring, clinical and quality training as well as accreditation support across India for the benefit of its connected care partner network, a release from the hospital said.
On the current status of the programme, Reddy told Financial Express.com: “…Connect is a methodology for us to connect with smaller hospitals and nursing homes for expert advice for continuous monitoring in the intensive care for one on one consultation if they have a difficult patient and they want a second opinion we have distinct Tida connectivity with 57 nursing homes as of now. We believe that this number is going to grow exponentially because we’re in conversations with many, but we have over 3500 nursing homes who are seeking our assistance and help on different things. They’re not part of the formal Connect platform. But you know are asking us one on one for various things. So we’re trying to formalize that.”
The conference was marked by the presence Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for S & T, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space (Vice President, CSIR), along with prominent industry leaders.
As part of IHD, Apollo Hospitals also introduced a first-of-its-kind hackathon ‘Solvathon 2024’, running in parallel to the conference between Feb 22nd to 24th in Bengaluru, in collaboration with IITACB and the THIT Conference, where participants will immerse themselves in 36 hours of intense collaboration, building impactful projects to redefine healthcare through creativity, ingenuity, and community-driven solutions.
The first day of the IPSC conference started with a walkthrough of Apollo’s SMART HOSPITAL- The Future of Healthcare- A Walkthrough’, followed by impactful key notes by Dr. Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals Group, and Dr. Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director of Apollo Hospitals Group alongside Dr. Carsten Engel, CEO of the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua), and Dr. Dana Safran, President and CEO of The National Quality Forum, Dr. Neelam Dhingra, Head of Patient Safety Flagship Unit at the World Health Organization (WHO), and Dr. Joel Roos, Vice President of International Accreditation at Joint Commission International (JCI). Their presence symbolized a collective commitment to advancing healthcare quality and patient safety at a global scale.
At the THIT conference, luminaries like S. Somnath from ISRO, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw of Biocon Limited, and Dumitru Prunariu, former Chair of the UN Committee on Peaceful Use of Outer Space, convened to discuss “Transforming Healthcare with IT.” Notable participants included Russell Andrews, former Medical Advisor at NASA, and Thais Russomano, CEO of InnovaSpace Ltd., among others, representing diverse expertise from healthcare, technology, and space exploration.
Throughout the day, the patient safety conference witnessed a surge in participation across key sessions, reflecting a growing commitment to enhancing healthcare standards. The event also featured workshops on essential leadership for sustainability, underscoring the multifaceted approach towards patient welfare and healthcare advancement.
Day 2 of Apollo Hospitals’ 11th International Health Dialogue emerged as a call to action to India’s healthcare ecosystem for prioritizing health equity and saw notable leaders such as Dr. Neelam Dhingra, Head of the Patient Safety Flagship Unit at the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Carsten Engel, Chief Executive Officer of the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua), Dr. Joel Roos, Vice President of International Accreditation at Joint Commission International (JCI), share their perspectives on creating awareness around patient safety rights. Additionally, Richard Mitchell, Chief Executive, University Hospitals of Leicester, NHS Trust (UHL); Dr. Anupam Sibal, Group Director Medical Services, Apollo Hospitals; Dr. Stella Vig, National Medical Director for Secondary Care and National Clinical Director for Elective Care, NHS, England discussed future of patient safety in the AI world and shared global best practices to aid our ecosystem.
While Dr. Karan Thakur, Group Lead, Sustainability & ESG, Vice President, Public Affairs, Apollo Hospitals moderated a session around healthcare sector contributing to global NetZero Goals, Dr. Navina Evans, CBE, Chief Workforce, Training & Education Officer, NHS, England delivered a hard hitting keynote address on the tech-savvy face of the future healthcare workforce.
The theme for this year’s THIT was centered around the topic of “From A to l, Achievement through Innovation”; exploring the potential of Artificial Intelligence in strengthening healthcare services in India. Dr Karan Thakur, Vice President, Projects & ESG Operations, Indraprastha Apollo hospital, New Delhi kickstarted the day with an insightful session around the positive impact on the environment delivered through telehealth; this was followed by deep dive sessions around the role of AI in revolutionizing connected medical devices and how India is driving innovation in healthcare on a global scale led by Vishnuvardhan Pogunulu Srinivasulu, Founder & CEO, Vizzhy Inc, Bengaluru, Lalit Singla, Founder & CEO, SteerXInnovations and Taslimarif Saiyed, Director & CEO, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms, Bengaluru.
Since the first edition in 2013, the spectrum of participants and range of discussions have magnified. With over 100 sessions, more than 200 speakers, the sessions in 2024 amplified patient perspective, put the spotlight on the integration of artificial intelligence in building a futuristic healthcare model and emphasized on the rising importance of data privacy at every step, the company said in a statement.
