Sagar Apollo Hospital plans to strike a deal with leading global medical equipment manufacturers, where manufacturers gain the recognition for their equipment in India, while the hospital will be able to provide world-class healthcare at an affordable cost.

Under the proposed deal, which is a novel concept in India, the manufacturer will install the equipment at the hospital free of cost, while the hospital provides advanced healthcare on them at a low price to patients. While the patients have the advantage of getting the best treatment at a price they can afford, other hospitals in the country will show more interest in the equipment, opening up the market for the manufacturers.

Today, it is the cost of imported equipment that is a forbidding factor for Indian healthcare providers. The manufacturers will not be able to bring down costs of their equipment unless they sell their products in large numbers. With the high demand for world-class healthcare in India, more and more hospitals are looking to install advanced equipment, the potential for installing hi-tech equipment is high. With the high cost of imported equipment and with no proof of their performance in Indian conditions, healthcare providers are wary of investing such huge sums on untested gadgets. This is where Sagar wants to step in and break the viscous circle.

``With Sagar showing the efficacy of the equipment, healthcare providers in the country will be convinced about their competence and will consider acquiring them for providing world-class healthcare and eliminate human errors,'' Dr. D. Premachandra Sagar, vice chairman and CEO, Sagar Apollo told Pharmabiz.com in an exclusive interview.

"There are leading equipment manufacturers in the US who want to tap the Indian market but healthcare providers here are wary of the cost-benefit factor. If the deal is through, then we should be able to offer some of the outstanding medical technologies in the world. Such partnerships between manufacturers and the healthcare providers are common in the US, '' he said.

India is a promising centre for the purchase of equipment, which could help the global equipment makers to slash costs. In such a partnership, the manufacturer cannot generate any revenues initially, but once the equipment is proved successful automatically inquiries can be converted into orders, he said.

Dr.Sagar said, "We are negotiating for top-end equipment like the 'Cyber Knife' a first of its kind in India used for cancer blasting. The cost of the equipment is around $ 5million and no hospital can purchase it. Under a partnership programme, the equipment can work and earn for itself. I will not be able to disclose the names of the manufacturers until the agreement is signed for which I am leaving for the US in April to see how some of these technologies work."

Further, cost of healthcare in India is cheap and with the advent of advanced equipment, more and more patients from abroad will prefer to get treatment in India. Already, global procedures are being performed in India because of the technological advancement. This has benefited not only Indian people but patients from abroad too, he said.

Sagar Apollo is exploring the possibilities of limb replacement and correction of deformities. It is also is working to set up a department of micro invasive surgeries (MIS)as well as an operation theatre, which would be completely dedicated for this.

The hospital plans to become a paperless hospital in the next two years and has set for itself a 3-year programme to completely remote manage the patient where at any time, doctors from anywhere in the world can look at the mainframe of Sagar Apollo to view the patient, his records and also have a virtual visit. Touch screens will be installed at the patient's bedside where doctors can retrieve x-rays or any details. It is moving towards becoming an ISO 9001 hospital in the next couple of months and has applied for JCHO.