| Dr Ratnam here shares his views and experiences with us in an exclusive interview
with www.khojhyderabad.com.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q. Could you please tell us about
your background?
A. I have graduated from Andhra Medical College in 1962, went to USA, and took
training from Albany medical center, Albany in New York for 10 years. I then started my
own practice in Cardiac Surgery, near Chicago. I came back to India in 1995, worked for
two years in NIMS hospital, as a consultant Cardiac Surgeon on voluntary basis. Then, I
went back to USA. My daughter died at a young age of 18 while trying to save a dog from a
speeding train. It is in her fond memories, that we have started Usha Mullapudi Cardiac
Center, which is a completely non-profit hospital.
Q. What is the objective of this
hospital and what have you achieved through this hospital?
A. The number of cardiac patients in India is ever increasing with at least
10-15% each year. And this includes not only the rich people but also the middle and
lower-middle income group people. The main reasons for the cardiac troubles are the
pollution, vitamin deficiency and lack of awareness on health. This hospital is meant for
the middle and lower income group people. We give quality treatment at an affordable
price.
Besides this, we also give a healthy
competition for the other hospitals, thus leading to a reduction in the prices and
improvement in the quality of the treatment and overall care.
Q. What has been the contribution
of your hospital to the society?
A. It is the education - the awareness in the public. And also the significant
reduction in the prices. Several hospitals are reducing their prices and improving the
quality of the service as a result of competition from us.
Q. Being a person, who studied and
worked abroad for 3 decades and came back to serve the mother land, do you have anything
to convey to the young doctors who are flying offshore?
A. The young people must go abroad for a better training. Besides the quality of
training, exposure and technology that one can have abroad, one will also be able to focus
better, due to the absence of distraction with friends and family. It is this increased
focus that enables an individual to concentrate better on the mission on hand. In abroad,
the relationship between the doctor and the patient is better. You become more polite. You
are more focussed to your profession and deal with the educated people. So, there is a lot
more scope for self-education and maturity.
Q. Besides the reduced prices and
world class quality, how different is your hospital UMCC from the rest?
A. We employ full time doctors, who are paid fixed salaries. We will not pay them
any thing extra for advising the patients to undergo unnecessary check-ups and for doing
any additional procedures. That will discourage the doctors from overburdening the
patients by unnecessary advises and check-ups.
Q. What is the message that you
want to give to the society?
A. Before selecting a hospital, you must always know the aim of the hospital and it's
history besides the facilities and the kind of doctors. Unless the situation is an
emergency, always take a second opinion, and try to investigate and know more about the
hospital and the procedure of treatment or diagnosis.
Q. Before concluding, if anyone is
in a desperate need of a treatment from your hospital, which he cannot afford, are you
ready to treat him free of cost?
A. If the case is so bad and the patient has already been admitted, yes, we would
treat free of cost.
Balaji Adivishnu |
