Medanta, a private healthcare provider group in India, has introduced a 24/7 remote and virtual service for patients in the ICU.

It has partnered with GE HealthCare to launch the Medanta e-ICU Command Centre which will provide 24/7 advanced consultation, care, and near-real-time monitoring of critically ill patients "without having to physically transfer them to a super-specialty hospital." The command centre is supported by Medanta's specialised critical care team. 

WHY IT MATTERS

At present, India is facing a shortage of qualified intensivist staff who are available around the clock, which has caused delays in making appropriate clinical decisions and in turn, contributed to increased morbidity, mortality, and financial burnout. 

Medanta is working around this issue by leveraging technology. Its e-ICU Command Centre integrates hospital systems into devices to "enable increased efficiency, greater collaboration, enhanced patient care, and a reduction in [the] cost of care, [thus] improving the overall experience for patients and clinical teams."

With technology, the ICU service is enhancing clinicians' decision-making ability and the accuracy of diagnoses, as well as enabling early patient interventions. 

THE LARGER TREND

GE HealthCare has been supporting healthcare providers across Asia-Pacific in deploying digital technologies to enhance clinical outcomes and processes. In Thailand, it worked with Srisawan Hospital to deliver a digital solution for improving asset and workforce resources management.

The Seoul National University Bundang Hospital recently engaged GE HealthCare to adopt the Edison Digital Health platform, an AI-powered application-hosting and data aggregation platform that enables rapid design, development, and deployment of applications and algorithms.

GE HealthCare has also collaborated with National Cancer Centre Singapore to develop new AI solutions for data analytics and clinical workflows that support cancer care.

ON THE RECORD

"Over a period, the medical world acknowledged the importance of its diversified approach which incorporates the potential of superior diagnosis establishment, intelligent monitoring, and timely therapeutic decisions. To match the above standards, Medanta created a dedicated tele-ICU team to cater [for] these digital critical care services. The team will work round the clock in the Command Centre, with specific expertise in diagnostic critical care medicine and ICU infections," Dr Dilip Dubey, director of Digital Critical Care Services at Medanta, said about the launch of their e-ICU service. 

GE HealthCare South Asia President and CEO Chaitanya Sarawate also commented: "With this association, we are combining our proven precision technology with expert clinical knowledge from Medanta to help break the barriers of access and cost; and contribute to better patient care and improved outcomes across all of India."