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Over the course of two weeks,
Martin traveled from Delhi to Agra, Jaipur, Mumbai,
and Chennai. During the trip he gave a series
of lectures and spoke with hospital leadership,
medical students, physicians and other health
professionals. He witnessed the opening of a new
hospital, lectured on breakthroughs in neuroscience
to medical students and met with medical educators.
He also was able to see some of the most interesting
and impressive sights in India.
“This was an extremely
fascinating and personally gratifying adventure,”
said Martin. “India is a country of great
contrasts. It has to deal with complicated political,
economic and health care challenges with 3.5 times
the population of the U.S. in a country a third
of the size” he said.
In Mumbai, Martin witnessed the certification
of 40 new WHARF (Wockhardt-Harvard Medical International
AIDS Research and Education Foundation) faculty
for the HIV/AIDS primary care program train-the-trainer
program. Since their own initial training two
months before, these providers have already trained
200 additional health care professionals.
Martin heard firsthand how WHARF
trainee faculty felt about the joint HMI/Wockhardt
initiative. Representatives of the new faculty
talked about their achievements and challenges,
including ethical, social and legal issues. One
participant, Dr. Zulica Barretto, felt that one
of the most important issues “was not so
much the disease itself but the fear of the disease”—a
fear that had caused some doctors and hospitals
to turn away HIV/AIDS patients. Overall, the faculty
believed that the WHARF program had made them
recognize the potential scale of the AIDS epidemic
and had given them a new model of care that they
could both use and share with others to address
the HIV crisis.
However, during a later press
conference, Martin was able to see the lingering
sense of unreality concerning the enormous challenge
of HIV/AIDS when some members of the media questioned
why HMI and Wockhardt had initiated the program.
Despite three million known HIV positive countrymen,
much of the Indian public still seems to feels
that the epidemic will only affect sex workers
and truck drivers, he learned.
During Martin’s visit, Wockhardt Hospitals
Ltd. announced the opening of a new private multi-specialty
hospital located north of Mumbai. The HMI heath
systems team worked closely with Wockhardt to
develop a hospital design based on disease-focused
multi-disciplinary teams, continuous quality measurement,
and patient centered care. They also helped design
systems that integrate with community care programs.
The Dean was continually impressed
with the ability of the Indian health care leadership
to develop and implement innovative solutions
with modest resources. He also witnessed the ongoing
debate over public and private sector responsibilities
for Indian health care—whether the government
is doing enough to address the real needs of the
people, and whether the private sector is just
focusing on profitable areas.
Wockhardt has formed a foundation
to pay for free care and developed lower fees
than most private hospitals in India. Still, during
press briefings, reporters questioned the private
versus public spending and the responsibility
of both sectors. Dr. Robert Crone, president and
CEO of HMI, commented that HMI’s role was
to help its partners develop successful models
for health care delivery. These had to be financially
viable otherwise they would not be sustainable.
However, he said, the two sectors should be complementary.
He used the analogy of a new highway bypass being
built around Mumbai. “The road is costing
the government money and it will probably become
a toll road. But, at the same time, it will free
up the city center for those who can not afford
it,” he said.
In Mumbai, Martin also toured King Edward Memorial
Hospital (KEM), one of the oldest and most prestigious
academic medical centers in India. After a meeting
with the dean of KEM, Dr. Nilima Kshirsagar, Martin
gave a lecture on advances in neurosciences to
an auditorium packed with medical students.
At Sri Ramachandra Medical College
and Research Institute (SRMCRI) in Chennai, Martin
met with faculty and students as well as the school’s
chancellor, Dr. Shri V.R. Venkatachalam, toured
the hospital and gave a Convocation address for
700 graduates from the faculties of medicine,
dental surgery, nursing, pharmacy and allied health
sciences. Among the graduates were 90 physicians
who received a diploma in family medicine, a new
program set up by Dr. Krishna Sheshadri, assistant
professor of medicine at SRMCRI as part of an
effort to further the development of community
and primary care.
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| Dr.
Martin gives a talk on neuroscience for medical
students at King Edward Memorial Hospital
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In his address to an audience
of over 2,000, the dean congratulated the graduates
on their degrees and awards and he stressed the
importance of lifelong learning for all health
care professionals. Quoting Dr. Alan Gregg of
the Rockefeller Foundation, Martin said: “A
good education leaves much to be desired.”
He also congratulated the leadership and faculty
for the speed of the college’s development
and the range of its activities including scientific
and medical research, and an active scholarly
exchange program with Harvard Medical School.
At his last official engagement
in India, the dean presented the first Wockhardt
Medical Excellence Awards, organized by HMI, to
five of India’s leading medical professionals:
Dr. S. Padmavati (cardiology), Dr. Noshir Wadia
(neurology), Dr. Prafulla Desai (oncology), Dr.
N. Gopinath (cardiac surgery), and Dr. Sam G.
P. Moses (diabetology). All have been responsible
for researching and developing innovative technologies
to care for their patients in India, and for motivating,
training and developing countless numbers of Indian
specialists and healthcare professionals. Martin
said: “The achievements of these physicians
aptly reflect the mission of Harvard Medical School:
to create and nurture a community of the best
people committed to leadership in ending human
suffering caused by disease.”
For
more information visit:
http://hmiworld.org/hmi/past_issues/March_April_2003/feature_india.html |
Drawing
upon the resources of 
