Private doctors can now do angioplasty in TN govt hosps
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Pushpa Narayan
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Chennai:
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Private sector cardiologists
can soon do life-saving stenting and angioplasty in Tamil Nadu
government hospitals.
As of now, cath labs in government hospitals
are open only between 8am and 3pm, but by inviting private doctors to
its facilities when there is no government doctor for emergencies, the
state will be able to offer round-the-clock care.
As a part of its cardiac care policy, aimed at reducing the incidence of deaths due to heart diseases, the state plans to add at least 11cath labs, where non-surgical cardiac procedures such as angiogram and angioplasty are done. Presently, five cath labs are operational in Stanley Medical College Hospital and Government mulch-speciality Hospitals in Chennai, Rajaji Government General Hospital in Madurai and Salem Government General Hospital.
The state now plans to pay government doctors to do these procedures beyond duty hours and empanel private doctors to work in its facilities. Labs like the ones in Chen nai can do at least 10 angioplasties and another six angiograms a day if we put them to optimum use. But we don't have adequate doctors working round the clock, the utilisation comes down. In smaller cities, there may not be adequate doctors sometimes even through the day.Our intension is to scale this up,“ said Tamil Nadu Medical Service Corporation managing director P Umanath.
The state plans to pay government doctors to do these procedures beyond duty hours and empanel private doctors to work in its facilities. They will be paid either through health insurance or by the health department. “The amount may not equal what private hospitals offer, but with volume, we will be able to match the pay at least in long term.“
It is hoped that the number of patients being taken to private hospitals can be reduced through state health insurance even for elective surgeries. The state has already been using gynaecologists and anaesthetists for emergency C-sections in rural PHCs when government doctors are not available.
State health insurance data shows only 7% of the total procedures were for treatment of heart diseases but accounted for a quarter of the money spent. Additional Public Health director Dr T S Selvavinayagam said `270 crore was spent for stenting and angioplasty procedures, 95% in private hospitals.
After a pilot study , the state decided on a hub and spoke model of care for heart diseases.
Spokes, or small hospitals, use standardised ECG to diagnose ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), where a clot in a heart vessel slowsstops blood flow. Test results are shared with doctors at hubs, or hospitals with cath lab, for confirmation. A patient testing positive is given blood thinners and lipid-lowering medication followed by another drug to dissolve the clot. In 324 hours, the patient is sent to a speciality hospital and wheeled in for angioplasty stenting, said state health secretary J Radhakrishnan.
As a part of its cardiac care policy, aimed at reducing the incidence of deaths due to heart diseases, the state plans to add at least 11cath labs, where non-surgical cardiac procedures such as angiogram and angioplasty are done. Presently, five cath labs are operational in Stanley Medical College Hospital and Government mulch-speciality Hospitals in Chennai, Rajaji Government General Hospital in Madurai and Salem Government General Hospital.
The state now plans to pay government doctors to do these procedures beyond duty hours and empanel private doctors to work in its facilities. Labs like the ones in Chen nai can do at least 10 angioplasties and another six angiograms a day if we put them to optimum use. But we don't have adequate doctors working round the clock, the utilisation comes down. In smaller cities, there may not be adequate doctors sometimes even through the day.Our intension is to scale this up,“ said Tamil Nadu Medical Service Corporation managing director P Umanath.
The state plans to pay government doctors to do these procedures beyond duty hours and empanel private doctors to work in its facilities. They will be paid either through health insurance or by the health department. “The amount may not equal what private hospitals offer, but with volume, we will be able to match the pay at least in long term.“
It is hoped that the number of patients being taken to private hospitals can be reduced through state health insurance even for elective surgeries. The state has already been using gynaecologists and anaesthetists for emergency C-sections in rural PHCs when government doctors are not available.
State health insurance data shows only 7% of the total procedures were for treatment of heart diseases but accounted for a quarter of the money spent. Additional Public Health director Dr T S Selvavinayagam said `270 crore was spent for stenting and angioplasty procedures, 95% in private hospitals.
After a pilot study , the state decided on a hub and spoke model of care for heart diseases.
Spokes, or small hospitals, use standardised ECG to diagnose ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), where a clot in a heart vessel slowsstops blood flow. Test results are shared with doctors at hubs, or hospitals with cath lab, for confirmation. A patient testing positive is given blood thinners and lipid-lowering medication followed by another drug to dissolve the clot. In 324 hours, the patient is sent to a speciality hospital and wheeled in for angioplasty stenting, said state health secretary J Radhakrishnan.
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