The Mumbai based pathology lab chain Metropolis Health Services Pvt. Ltd has signed an agreement with Kothari Medical & Research Institute (KMRI) in Bikaner for providing expert diagnostic testing services to KMRI hospital. With an investment of Rs 50 lakh it has set up its own lab facility at the hospital premises and it plans to set up more labs in other hospitals across India soon.

Metropolis Health Services would avail the lab area of KMRI hospital and perform testing within the lab premises. The lab will offer various services which would include, round the clock CT scan services, I C U with central monitoring system for the care of cardiac and other seriously ill patients, Nephrology department with dialysis facility and on-line computer aided management system. Apart from these services, the lab will now be able to provide a test menu of over 3600 high end specialized tests to the local clinicians and hospitals.

Speaking to Pharmabiz, Anand, vice president, business development, Metropolis Health Services said "We have invested Rs 50 lakh for setting up our own lab at KMRI hospital premises. We have laid down certain guidelines, strictly adhering to our commitment towards higher standards in quality. We have aggressively working towards piercing in cities and villages across India and providing premium and specialized services to our customers all over. Through our accreditations from NABL, CAP (College of American Pathologists) and CLIA we wish to help our partners across all centres including KMRI and set a benchmark for quality services with accurate results".

At the inauguration function, Dr B D Kalla, MLA-Bikaner, said "The turnaround time for reports plays a critical role in hospitals. It becomes a matter of life and death if the reports don't reach doctors at the right time. Hence in such cases it becomes imperative to not only offer results at the right time but also maintain accuracy and efficiency. Metropolis Health Services can leverage on their expertise and offer world class diagnostic services to the residents of Bikaner".

The agreement with KMRI Hospital is a part of the rapid expansion of the Metropolis. Including KMRI, Metropolis is associated with 16 hospitals all over India and five such projects are in the pipeline. Its alliance with KMRI is the third activity in the North India and remaining two are in the Delhi. The South claims a majority share with 9 HLM (Hospital Laboratory Management) services in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Metropolis benefits with the associated hospital as it works on an economical model constituting.

Talking about further activity, Anand, said, "We are planning to have Hospital Lab Management (HLM) contracts with some major hospitals in Alwar (Rajastan), Jaipur, Bareilly and Lucknow in UP, Kolkata and Calicut in Kerala within the next 3-4 months. We are also on the verge of finalizing lab management deals with diagnostic centres in Kannur (Kerala) and Hubli (Karnataka)".

Metropolis Health Services' diagnostics chain has a global presence at Srilanka, UAE, South Africa, USA and Thailand. It provides over 3600 specialized tests under a single roof ranging from oncology to genetics, molecular biology and immunoassays using best-of-breed and latest diagnostic equipment. Metropolis is a preferred referral centre for more than 20,000 laboratories, clinicians, hospitals and research institutions across the nation. The CAP, CLIA(USA), NABL accredited and ISO 9002 certified Metropolis chain of laboratories has over 350 franchisees and is a preferred partner for providing quality testing to over 10,000 referral network across the country.