A hospital often witnesses frantic relatives rushing into an emergency room, holding their unresponsive patient. With shallow breathing, dangerously low blood pressure and oxygen levels, and a high fever, most individuals are of the opinion that the heart of the patient is in jeopardy of stopping if left untreated any longer.
Life and death situations like this are a common occurrence in an Emergency Room. And this specialty plays a vital role in the healthcare system.
“Emergency medicine is an extremely important segment of the healthcare system. The initial management and stabilization of a patient is truly a specialty on its own, which people have come to realise over the years,” said President of the Apollo Group of Hospitals, Dr K Hari Prasad.
Dr Hari Prasad has been an instrumental force in establishing emergency medicine across all Apollo Hospitals. He started his career specializing in anesthesiology and critical care and later specialized in Emergency Medicine in 1996. At that time, Emergency medicine as a specialty was not recognized. In most of the hospitals, there were just ‘Casualty’ wings to look after accident victims and emergency cases. Often the patients were being treated by ordinary physicians who had little idea about the related complications. As such, he studied Emergency Medicine as a separate specialty and held training programmes with the help of faculty and institutions from advanced countries like the US where it was already a focused medical branch. From an inspiring cricketer to anesthesiologist-cum-critical care physician, to an emergency medicine specialist to finally becoming the president of India’s first corporate chain of hospitals, Dr K Hari Prasad’s has been an awe-inspiring journey.
“Life-threatening illnesses and injuries are now detected much earlier, and now being managed in a more efficient manner, thanks to emergency medicine. Emergency departments have become the frontline of medicine, treating a range of patients and making split decisions to save patient lives,” added Dr Hari Prasad.
In the opinion of Dr Hari Prasad, as much as emergency departments are important, he urges patients to choose a hospital or health care facility wisely. “With advancements in medical science, there are several hospitals now that cater to a specific problem. It is a good idea to visit such specialised facilities rather than a regular hospital that covers all aspects of medicine. Similarly, choose a hospital equipped with latest medical technologies and cost-effective facilities.”
Hospitals as Apollo offer world class Proton therapy (used to treat tumors and cancer cells with precision and with very low toxicity). In fact, the Apollo Proton Cancer Center is the first such facility in the world of South Asia. While a similar treatment could cost millions at other hospitals, it costs only one-fourth or less with Apollo.
With an estimated growth rate of around 20 per cent over the next two years, Apollo’s healthcare unit is all set to expand its presence. They have recently done a soft launch of their 300 bedded multispecialty hospital in India deploying their best talents to provide top quality service with their cutting-edge facilities.
