Vikram to enter in ambulatory centres
After gaining a strong foothold in the Indian otology sector, citybased Vikram ENT Hospitals is looking to enter a new line of healthcare delivery — the day-care surgery centres (ambulatory centres). Disclosing this to ET, Dr Aruna Visvanathan, one of the directors of the hospital said, “We are working on the (day-care surgery) concept and it could happen over the next 12 months. The ambulatory centre would be based in London”. Day-care surgery centres, known as ambulatory centres, are popular abroad, she said, where about 80% of the surgeries are done in such centres. They are across segments such as general, ENT etc.
Commenting on the advantages of such day-care centres, she said: “The patient’s hospital expense gets reduced as he/she will not be required to stay over at the hospital. It will also reduce the burden on hospitals, as they would not have to spend resources on minor illnesses. Big hospitals or tertiary healthcare centres will be able to focus on the complicated surgeries”. A referral centre in South East Asia, Vikram Hospitals is also engaged in education, targeted at doctors, patients and public. The hospital is involved in research activity that would touch the various aspects of otology such as developing indigenous cochlear implants and Soundbridge technology for those who want to get rid of their hearing aid and get 100% accurate hearing. One of the main research activities of the hospital is hair cell regeneration — the ability to restore hearing capabilities to the damaged hair cells of the inner ear. Considered the most promising area of research, hair cell regeneration uses stem cells to replace the destroyed tissue. Human stem cells would be most effective for this process, as they would have the greatest potential to produce normal hearing in humans.
