Guest Lecture: Shobha Mishra Ghosh (Senior Director of FICCI.)

Last week on the 23 September 2013 we had a guest lecture by Ms. Shobha Mishra Ghosh, Senior Director of FICCI.

Besides highlighting the activities of FICCI through its presence in 70 different countriesMs. Ghosh talked at length about current healthcare scenario in India. She cited that in 2004-05 fiscal year healthcare expenditure in India was about 22 billion USD same had moved to a remarkable figure of 60 billion USD in year 2011-12. At present, India spends about 4 % of its GDP on health care. She also mentioned that public spending in Indian healthcare sector is on the rise, it has moved to 2.5 % of GDP from earlier number of 1.5% in last 5 years.    

                Ms.Ghosh articulated three tenets of healthcare for all namely Accessibility, Affordability, and Quality. She mentioned that these elements can be successfully achieved through Standardization, Innovation, self-regulation and public accountability. 

                While speaking about state of healthcare affordability in India Ms.Ghosh mentioned that health insurance coverage in India is on the lower side with just 24% of the population under some sort of healthcare insurance coverage.  While speaking about Quality, she identified ‘quality of healthcare data’ as a major challenge in India. She mentioned that though India has one of the more affordable healthcare systems compared to many other countries still it has over 30% of its population under poverty line mainly because of rising healthcare costs.

She went on to talk about each of these points in detail starting with current situation of healthcare system in India. She mentioned at present the government is focusing on rural healthcare development. Out of 1.45 million hospital beds 45% are in private sector at the same time 65% of patients opt for private providers. She referred to a recent World Health Organization study which concluded that India loses almost 5% of its GDP to handle public healthcare burden. In 1970s Indian government strived for “Roti, Kapada, makan” for all; now it has a new focus of providing “Sehat(Health),Sadak(Infrastructure),Shiksha(education)” for all.

She talked about various ongoing efforts by Indian government though its organizations like NABH, NABI etc to improve the Quality and affordability of healthcare in India. For example NABH has already accredited 188 hospitals till 2013 and 470 more have applied for the accreditation process. Patient safety is main goal for these government organizations.

Next, she talked about FICCI health services and its working pattern of moving from identifying a key issue to publishing a white paper which covers all aspects of the particular issue. She also spoke at length about various standardization initiatives like standard healthcare guidelines. She indicated that till date FICCI has passed over 250 standard healthcare guidelines. 

Towards the end of the talk Ms.Ghosh briefed about various ongoing activities at FICCI like promoting quality in diagnostics, NCD management and prevention, healthcare costing, healthcare quality promotion through health insurance etc.  Some Questions raised by our class post her session:

Questions Session

 1. Opinion and governments outlook on the standardization and implementation of the Clinical Establishment Act 2010 act through the country. Will the act get implemented throughout the country in near future?

2.Opinion on governments take on reducing cost to the patient by reimbursing cost of treating emergency cases to hospital.

3. Point of view and governments take on the on certain provisions such as provisional certificate issue ,cancellation of registration of large hospitals.

4. Do health care managers fit in the FICCI? If yes,where? Can FICCI collaborate with SIHS to train students on the ideas expected in FICCI?

5. Shouldn’t government hospitals be accredited ?.

6. How to bring out standardization in healthcare throughout the country especially between urban and rural?

7. How to implement the policies related to health care and what is the role of the government in it?

8. How can you provide better quality health care at a low cost?

9. Can FICCI collaborate with symbiosis in providing training to students for research? 

10. How can we implement a healthcare model which is suited to the need of India? 

As reported by Dr Yogita Patil  & Dr. Saad Saiyed  

Requisite Skill-set from Healthcare Management Professionals

Healthcare management professionals facilitate patient care by managing the delivery of healthcare services, promoting comprehensive healthcare policies, and refining business processes thus impacting the overall performance of healthcare providers. Capable healthcare management professionals aid the feasibility of the industry by guaranteeing compliance with the various regulations and ensuing best practices for healthcare organisations. 

Healthcare management professionals must possess knowledge of basic accounting and financial principles and the means to apply them within their respective organisations. They must be familiar with software commonly used by healthcare organisations, including patient registration, the billing and payment system, generating reports and other duties.Being aware of the rules and regulations of the industry is essential in ensuring the healthcare organisation is compliant with all standard operating procedures.

Such individuals must be capable of making timely and effective decisions and possess excellent communication and organisation skills for healthcare management.

Healthcare management professionals may work in administrative, managerial, executive or other posts. It is through their efforts and capabilities that patients can be provided considerate treatment in state-of-the-art facilities and an overall positive healthcare experience. 

Individuals who elect to pursue a career in healthcare management are likely to have considerate and kind personalities, and the aspiration to help others. This desire, collectively with a natural predisposition towards leadership and the ability to apply organisational measures, helps achieve the finest results. Effective healthcare professionals remain well-informed of the various advancements in technology and progressive techniques in the dynamic industry of healthcare management. It is through their skills and awareness that both, employees and patients are provided with a positive environment.

Healthcare management professionals are also essential to the operation of the commercial aspect of the organisation. They are tasked with ensuring their organisation remains functional and prosperous by offering desirable services at competitive prices by leading medical personnel.

Healthcare managers must:
a. Ascertain the viability of the organisation’s medical, operational and monetary foundation to provide services to its patients and the community.
b. Collaborate with other medical personnel to provide the highest quality of care.
c. Educate the community and its leader regarding essential healthcare measures.
d. Provide precise and timely information where necessary.

Further Healthcare managers need to:
• Ensure that their facilities have a strong medical, operational, and financial foundation in order to serve the needs of patients and communities.
• Partner with all medical professionals to provide the best in quality care.
• Help by communicating the importance of health issues to community members and leaders.
• Ensure their organizations provide accurate and timely information about public threats in times of crisis in addition to regular emergency and on going care.

Hence healthcare managers need to be skilled communicators, be accountable in leading the organisation, and be capable of strategic planning, budgeting, marketing and other human resource related responsibilities.
Like any other organisation, healthcare is dependent upon its leaders to make solid business decisions to continue providing quality services whilst keeping the organisation competitive and profitable. Leaders must understand the requirements of providing quality health care, and the necessities in meeting financial targets and in remaining compliant with insurance and government policies, while ensuring the organisation’s future.

Dr. Rajiv Yeravdekar
Dean, Faculty of Health & Biomedical Sciences, Symbiosis International University (SIU)
Ex. Member, Board of Governors - Medical Council of India (MCI), Govt. of India
Member, Governing Council of Consultancy Development Centre, (CDC), Govt. of India
Member, Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC), Govt. of Maharashtra
Member, Maharashtra Nursing Council (MNC), Govt. of Maharashtra

Student Skit: Blood Donation camp : MBA Batch 2013-15

Every year on 31^st July on the occasion of our Founder Padma Bhushan Dr.S.B. Mujumdar’s  Birthday, SCHC in co-ordination with Symbiosis Institute of Health Sciences  organizes a Blood Donation Camp. The blood donation camp is organized every year at all the campuses of SYMBIOSIS INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY on this occasion. As a part of the tradition, this year the opportunity was given to us students of MBA- HHM batch 2013-2015 to participate and organize in this noble event to motivate the young men to donate blood.

After being briefed by the Symbiosis Centre of Health Care (SCHC), it was time for students to get started. Being the students of management, planning, organizing and coordinating were supposedly our driving values.  

So we began with sharing an excel sheet to our colleagues, so that they could mark their participation as per their interest in fields of skit, poster making and presentations. After compiling the inputs, a short list was made containing the names of students participating in the fields they are interested. Posters were designed for promotion campaign which were to be displayed at the various Symbiosis campus in Pune, to spread awareness about “Give blood save life”. The Skit Committee performed a skit titled ‘Rakth Dan Maha Dan’ at Vishwabhavan in front of esteemed guests and faculty,to motivate the young generation to donate blood and save lives. The skit was also performed at  all the seven  Symbiosis campuses.

Volunteers had the main function to guide the volunteers for blood donation regarding their eligibility criteria, filling up the forms, any kind of positive medical history and medication taken in the near past and their fasting status. A database was maintained of all the donors. After the registration, the volunteers were directed towards the screening measures which were done by Doctors Appointed by the Respective Blood Banks.

In order to acknowledge each donor for their contribution, donors were distributed certificates provided by the respective blood banks.  They were also provided with complimentary gifts.

Success:

Our batch managed to collect a record  2002 Blood Bags from all the campuses of Symbiosis University. The Dean himself sent an email by evening speaking of the success of Blood Donation Drive, and applauding all the members of Symbiosis fraternity in achieving this tally.

The feeling of being part of a noble cause, is always unbeatable. Blood Donation Drive was also a learning experience, as it answered many of our silly fears of being scared of the needle. It also helped us in clearing the various misconceptions involved in Blood Donation.

Many of our members also donated blood, and became part of the Elite Donor Club.

Dr. Vinayak Dave

MBA- HHM (2013-2015)

Choosing a Career in Healthcare Management

Choosing a career pathway that helps meet your professional aspirations besides giving you a job satisfaction can be a tedious affair. A major life decision no doubt, everyone has his or her own reasons for wanting to choose a particular career. Some do it for monetary reasons, some because they have been told they are good at a particular activity and some to be with friends.

If you are a graduate who is presently undecided on which path to choose you may want to consider pursuing an MBA in Hospital & Healthcare Management.  There are numerous practical reasons why this career is your best option. Besides giving you an opportunity to be successful in the recession proof healthcare industry the MBA-HHM will help build a solid foundation to give your career flight the boost it needs.

Not convinced? Well here are some reasons why you should consider an MBA in Hospital and Healthcare Management.

1.       Rapidly growing Healthcare Sector with rewarding growth opportunities:  According to industry estimates, the Indian health care industry, which was valued at $79 billion in 2012, is growing at around 15-17 per cent every year. Private equity (PE) investors are bullish on the largely under-penetrated health care industry, which offers high growth opportunities for investors, companies and therefore individuals associated with the sector.

2.       Multiple avenues across a variety of sub verticals:  A recent study by the Ernst & Young and KPMG states that in the next twenty years to come, India will have to add up at least 1 lakh beds each year in order to meet the needs of the healthcare industry. Further, it is estimated that every bed will account for about five direct and twenty five indirect job opportunities in the healthcare sector.  Not just hospitals and clinics but Healthcare management professionals can explore Insurance , IT, Pharma , Medical Devices, Public Health, Medical Tourism, and Consulting sub verticals  for multi-disciplinary growth prospects.

3.       Social Contribution: Depending on the sub vertical you select, a career in hospital / healthcare has the potential to put you in the decision making role affecting the lives of hundreds of patients. Your contributions could go a long way in promoting community health, occupational health thereby impacting not just the local social scene but also the potential to touch thousands of lives nationally and possibly internationally as well!

4.       Personal Satisfaction – Knowing for a fact that your professional contributions have positively impacted health and lives of so many individuals out there has its own joys of personal pride and satisfaction.

While monetary compensation is an important aspect of the story don’t make it the whole story. If you are not entirely satisfied with what you do every day, you will burn out sooner than later. Irrespective of what path you chose, ensure you spend some time mulling over your priorities in life, your personal sill inventory and then consider your options to make a decision with the best information that is available to you.

Dr. Neeta P. Bhatia,

Consultant

Symbiosis Institute of Health Sciences

Key ingredients for successful quality outcomes

 

Healthcare is a revolutionary field and so is the concept of quality in healthcare . Quality in health care is evolving rapidly in terms of perceptions and outcomes. Providing quality health care within the constraints is the challenge most of the hospitals are facing. Nevertheless in an environment of limited resources it is possible to deliver successful quality outcomes.

Quality assurance stands for meeting defined standards. It is attainment of goals set to achieve the best  and toil upwards reaching up to a benchmark standard. Hospital is the most complex structure as an organisation . Hospital desires quality in all aspects right from the care of patient in  the emergency department  to the supply of food to the patients .

Quality not only deals with the processes and protocols but also deals with the people and their attitudes . Establishing quality in a hospitals a great deal of challenge for a green field hospital as well as for the existing hospital. For a green field hospital challenges primarily are  – cost and experienced professional

For an existing hospital the biggest challenge in implementing quality improvement programs is  changing the attitude of people. The employees develop a distress of being under constant surveillance. They find that the quality control process as a tool to map the work processes .The messege should clearly percolate in the staff that  the aim of quality improvement programs  is to  bring out process inefficiency and not highlighting people inefficiency .

 

 

The key elements of a successful strategy can be organized into the following

categories:

 

1.    The right culture

2.    The right people

3.    The right Processes

4.    The right tools

 

 

The right culture

The right organisation culture is essential to achieve successful quality outcomes. The management should establish a clear quality-related mission, and performance measurement and targets consistent with the mission. Strong leadership is required from the Management side for regular reporting of the dashboard. A Clear communication and rules should  be developed that encourage physicians, nurses, and technicians  to report errors. This requires ensuring that those who report errors may remain anonymous and not be penalized.

The Right People

Identify the right people to form a Quality Assurance Team. The team should be multi disciplinary  to manage and coordinate patient care and to conduct Quality improvement  review and analysis  with the outcomes .These team should be efficient in retrieving  data from the HMIS ensure . Identify the team leaders and give them authority and accountability.

 

The Right Processes

The hospital should engage in a quality improvement process marked by constant  measuring, comparing, and problem solving and monitoring. This include developing and implementing an action plan (e.g., a plan to reduce variation and to change the practice patterns of physicians who are shown to be outliers in the data analysis) with timetables and goals. Continued monitoring to ensure the intervention was successful, and holding appropriate department chiefs or staff accountable for implementing the plan and improving outcomes.

 

The right tool

Hospital which strives for continuous quality improvement provide the right tools to their staff .This includes investments in and latest technology to facilitate the QI process. It also includes access to guidelines and protocols. Other tools involve external training, peer networking, attending workshops and conferences that provide guidance and feedback.

 

 

 

 

Ms. Neha Bhagatkar

 

Young, enthusiastic healthcare Professional, Working as Assistant Professor with Symbiosis Institute of health sciences .Holds a  Masters degree In Hospital administration (MHA) form TISS Mumbai . Possesses  experience in Hospital Operations and quality assurance  . Areas of interest are Hospital planning , Quality  Assurance  and accreditation .

 

 

 

 

Being a part of SIHS…..

 

I still vividly remember my first day in SIHS. I was so excited in meeting new people. College felt like a liberation for me since I was far away from my family. It was my first time to be separated from them.

It was a bit difficult at first to be with people I never knew. I didn't know how I should behave just to fit in. But eventually, everything went smoothly. I met wonderful friends whom are still my best buddies even until now. Every time we would meet up, we will never fail to recall how we were back in college; how we were moulded to what we are now. College is a dry run of the rest of our lives. It's a training ground on how to be successful and become good people.

Looking back at my BMT Program experience, there were so many valuable aspects from the program that encouraged my development both personally and professionally. I was exposed to new cultures and beliefs that challenged my own, but there was always a strong support system to help me navigate those challenges. The faculty members were always invested in my success as both a student and a person. Additionally, a diverse and well-rounded curriculum allowed me to explore my interests in the field of medical technology.  The program is structured in such a way that improves critical thinking and encourages practical application. The great strength of the program is to take students where they are and foster their growth as professionals into who they would like to be. The program also challenged me to think about my own identity and how and why I planned to enter this field which was essential to my own development.

My experience in the Symbiosis International University has been one of the most important journeys I've taken in my life. I am grateful for the time at Symbiosis International University and am proud to be a part of this community.

 

Mohammed Idress Omar

 Graduate of SIHS

B.Sc. Medical Technology (Cardiac Care Technology) (2010-2013)

Pursuing an MBA (Hospital & Healthcare Management) degree

Life @ SIHS

I was thinking to  blog some days back about ‘Life at SIHS’, I couldn’t think of any good thing. This lack of positivity may be blamed to the current period of internal assessment going on at SIHS, which is barring me from thinking any good of ‘life in general’. However, that’s no excuse, and that is definitely no barometer of measuring anything, I realize that.

Hence, I put on my thinking cap, and try to type down all my moments here in Symbiosis Institute Of Health Sciences ,the good, bad and ugly. (Pun intended.)

How do you explain your time spent with friends? Entertaining! How do you define the time spent in learning something new and being in absolute awe of it for weeks? Thrilling! How would you narrate your experience of learning something new about  a city that you as a kid, used to relate just in terms of National Defence Academy (Pardon my Army background connotations here)? Absolutely Fulfilling! And that exactly, has been my experience so far!

It’s here at SIHS, that I feel good about my decision of leaving the Capital Delhi, and coming to a lesser-known-but-equally-exciting city of Pune, or as localities call it Poona! It’s here that I realize the value of each Sunday that passes, each Sunday- a day that I count for myself. It’s here that I look forward in ‘being busy’!

One may criticize the way things work here, throw tantrums of not being able to think anything out of the institute, or probably in a more cooler way of saying things, ‘Not having a life’ ; but I beg to differ.

This place has given me different kinds of opportunities in terms of MBA as well. To remember my few Highs- The Warkarievent, the rice plantation day, the BDC street play, my ISIL session (Brand Modi),the trek to Symbi hill and so on and so forth. Had it not been for this Institute, I would have never been able to get into ground level and understand the importance of good communication skills and importance of management, or lack of it.

Life is how you make it. SIHS has probably given me friends for life, to say the least. I have found myself a bunch of retarded souls , who believe in balancing both good work and enjoyment. They are the kinds that parents would approve of, other kids would envy . They are the reason of my personal growth. I’m literally learning languages with them. A poor Mallu that I call myself, is now being made accustomed to both Marathi and Gujarati. The loyal Delhi-ite in me is now, also giving Mumbai a chance(Courtesy them). I’m learning about different cultures ,different customs, different lives altogether; With them, about them! Okay enough bragged about them. But like I said, bunch of retarded souls.

And I suppose, that is how life should be. You can’t quantify or qualify life. It’s just supposed to taken, with a pinch of salt. And the last 3 months in SIHS, feels like a lifetime in itself. I am glad, I came.

 

 

As submitted by Purnima S

Scope of Healthcare Management

 

The Indian healthcare system is in a phase of transformational change which is revolutionizing the entire scenario. Health care and its management is one of the fastest growing sectors both in India and globally. The journey of Indian health care has witnessed a paradigm shift from post independence till date. Specially in the last decade the industry has experienced astonishing changes .Earlier being consider as a stagnant industry health care is now among the most dynamic industries and is evolving continuously.

The growing healthcare awareness and increase in income and investment has led to corporatization of the healthcare. And this phenomenon has forced us to see beyond the traditional health care services. It has lead to the advent of concept like super specialty hospitals, surgery (Day care surgery), and far greater involvement of information  technology in the health care system. Owing to corporatization, along with the clinical and paramedical specialties the need of healthcare managers has emerged significantly.

Those days have departed when only clinicians were the face of the health care facility. Emerging trends in health care entails talent and expertise apart from the  clinical skills to ensure quality in healthcare services. The primary responsibility of health care managers is to foster an environment that can provide necessary and quality health care through optimum utilization of technology and resources .Their  profile not just restrict them to manage  a healthcare facility  but also involves planning and designing new healthcare models. They determine budgets, handle operational activities, motivate the staff and monitor and control all the processes. They keep up with relevant health care laws, technology and standards.

In collaboration with  WHO, Government  of India and State government various  programs focusing on public health have been launched . The objectives of these programs is to reach the unreached. These programs are targeted to millions of population to which health care was not accessible. These programs are face major challenges in terms of health care delivery. For  the efficient delivery of these programs  expertise is required to ensure ideal and precise utilization of the  available resources.

In recent times Information technology (IT) has proved its potential to improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of health care. Information technology allows health care provide to collect ,store retrieve and transform data through electronic media.

In consonance with the need of todays health care
Symbiosis institute of health sciences, a constituent of Symbiosis International University provides MBA program in health care management. The MBA program prepares students to take on managerial positions in the Hospitals ,National health programs, the NGO sector, healthcare consultancies, health insurance and IT in healthcare and community-based health programs by building capacities in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating.

While the comprehensive classroom teaching includes assignment , presentation as  but also undergo various community based activity which sensitizes them towards their social responsibilities .As an individual  these activities  add to the element of compassion in them as managers.

SIHS  brings together an outstanding pool of Academicians and professionals with diverse expertise contributing to the development of healthcare leaders .With such wide knowledge and expertise in healthcare SIHS has launched an official blog which will serve as platform for all to exchange and share their knowledge , learning and experiences. This will serve as a medium for  sharing innovations and recent advances in the healthcare.

 

 

 

 

 

Ms. Neha Bhagatkar

Asst. Professor

SIHS