Hyderabad, July 22nd 2019: HealthNet Global Limited (HNG) – a company owned by Apollo Hospitals Group – has signed an MOU with the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) to deliver virtual second opinion consultations. HNG is owned by Apollo Hospital Group and provides Remote Healthcare to people across the country.
As part of the collaboration, AAPI members will deliver free virtual consultations to the underserved rural population of Indian states like Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and other states where HNG has a presence. The collaboration would also enable patients to seek second opinions from distinguished doctors based in the United States of America for complicated clinical problems and procedures.
Founded in 1982, AAPI represents a conglomeration of more than 80,000 practicing physicians of Indian origin in the USA. AAPI also serves as a platform for more than 40,000 medical students, residents and fellows of Indian origin in the USA.
Speaking about the association, Dr. Prathap C. Reddy, Chairman and Founder, Apollo Hospitals Group, and President of Global Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (GAPIO), said, “This collaboration will provide people across the country access to the best specialists of Indian origin residing in the United States. This collaboration is another example of our continuous endeavour to provide affordable and best healthcare services to people across India.”
Dr. Suresh Reddy, President, AAPI, added, “We are very happy with this collaboration with Apollo Hospitals. It is a great opportunity for all the Indian-origin physicians living in the US to serve the country of their birth. The signing of this MoU is an historic moment for AAPI, Apollo and India. We have been working on this for several years with Apollo Hospitals. This is part of Telemedicine and have gone into a structured program. AAPI represents over a lakh Indian Physicians in US. Every sixth patient in US is seen by an Indian physician, we are proud of it, but with this we will also be helping patients in India. This is a way for us to pay back to our own country. Through this tie up we can extend world class healthcare to the poorest of the poor in the rural parts of India. It has been possible due to advent of the advanced technology in the recent years.”
HNG provides integrated solutions and services for connected health and continuum of care through remote healthcare services.
“As part of our collaboration, HNG will connect AAPI members with the underserved rural population through Medeintegra – our flagship telemedicine platform. People across the country will also be able to access the profiles of all the AAPI physicians through our App to seek consultations and second opinions and make informed decisions about their healthcare needs. Our collaboration is another initiative to use latest technology to meet the healthcare needs of the people of India,” said Dr. Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group. She said, the Doctors of Indian origin have been contributing their bit to aid the poor in India, on individual basis during their visit to the country. The AAPI's willingness and the advanced technology at Apollo, have made it possible. Any physician of AAPI can join the platform and through it can give consultation. Earlier it was only during their visits to home country, but now as and when they have free time and willingness to give consultation, we will slot them for second opinion services. In this there are two options, the first one is through the Apollo Telemedicine Networking Foundation, where the AAPI doctors' consultation is offered free. Through this Foundation we are already offering such services to many governments for BPL patients and the same will be availed for extending free consultation of AAPI doctors. The other is for the patients who come on the 'Ask Apollo' platform, on this platform Doctors who are interested will be listed, the patients can fix an appointment with the Doctor for tele-consult and seek a second opinion. We crossed a significant milestone last month, we completed 10 mn tele-consults. This is the largest telemedicine network in the world. The number includes what we are doing pro-bono for patients, paid services as part of government initiatives, the Central Government through the CSCs (Common Service Centers) and those on the Ask Apollo platform and are happy to extend it to AAPI. We will convert the MoU with AAPI into a formal agreement within the next 90 days and will offer the services in 90 days time.
Dr. Sanku Rao, Past President AAPI and Past President GAPIO commented, “This collaboration will connect AAPI doctors to reach out to patients thousands of miles away using the boon of technology overcoming geographical barrier.”
“According to latest data available, the patient to doctor ratio is 1:1,600 and virtual consultations would be a boon to the Indian society at large. Tele health has revolutionized healthcare delivery and in today’s time, it is nor more an option rather a necessity,” said Dr.Ravi Jahagirdar, Past President AAPI.
“This collaboration is poised to pave the way for several other collaborations to meet the growing healthcare demands of the people if India,” added Dr. Anupam Sibal, Group Medical Director, Apollo Hospitals Group.
About Apollo Hospitals:
It was in 1983, that Dr.Prathap C Reddy made a pioneering endeavor by launching India’s first corporate hospital - Apollo Hospitals in Chennai.
Now, as Asia’s foremost trusted integrated healthcare group, its presence includes over 12,000 beds across 71 Hospitals, 3300 Pharmacies, over 90 Primary Care clinics and 150 Diagnostic centers, 110 plus Telemedicine Centres, over 15 medical education centres and a Research Foundation with a focus on global Clinical Trials, epidemiological studies, stem cell & genetic research, Apollo Hospitals has been at the forefront of new medical advancements with the most recent investment being the commissioning of South East Asia’s very first Proton Therapy Centre in Chennai.
Every four days, the Apollo Hospitals Group touches a million lives, in its mission to bring healthcare of international standards within the reach of every individual. In a rare honour, the Government of India had issued a commemorative stamp in recognition of Apollo's contribution, the first for a healthcare organization. Apollo Hospitals Chairman, Dr.Prathap C Reddy, was conferred with the prestigious Padma Vibhushan in 2010.
For 35 years, the Apollo Hospitals Group has continuously excelled and maintained leadership in medical innovation, world-class clinical services and cutting-edge technology. Its hospitals are consistently ranked amongst the best hospitals in the country for advanced medical services.
