Billion Hearts Beating, a 360-degree national communication campaign of the Apollo Hospitals Group and The Times of India, won the Global Award for Brand Excellence as the Campaign of The Year Award at the recently concluded World Brand Congress 2010, at Mumbai. In its eighteenth year now, the World Brand Congress is an annual showcase event & is an interface for top executives from brands and marketing organisations worldwide. The agenda of the year was to address the current critical business challenges and also to recognise and reward the best communication campaigns, across various categories. Like every year, an independent jury selected the best campaigns, professionals and organizations of 2010 to be awarded at the “”Global Awards for Brand Excellence”” for excellence in brand building. With nearly 300 entries from around the world across various categories, the jury had a challenging task to shortlist and choose the best ideas that made a difference in communicating the message effectively. Apollo Hospitals’ Billion Hearts Beating was one of the twenty seven ‘Campaigns of The Year’ that were submitted to the jury and after deliberations, made the cut, along with three other campaigns, to be awarded the best marketing Campaign of The Year 2010. Through its Billion Hearts Beating campaign, the Apollo Hospitals Group has been able to make a positive difference to the fight against heart disease in India, by engaging with nearly 100,000 individuals so far and motivating them to make lifestyle changes towards a healthy life. The campaign continues to gather momentum with celebrities, opinion makers and heads of states, all lending their charisma to help the cause of a healthy heart. About Billion Hearts Beating Campaign : Studies over the last 60 years show an alarmingly high rate of coronary heart disease and premature heart disease among Indians. It is estimated that Indians are nearly four times more susceptible to heart attacks than Caucasians, with 25% of attacks happening to people under the age of 40 – unheard of in other populations. While the problem has its roots in lack of regular physical activity, poor blood cholesterol levels, poor eating habits and stress, there is one more reason; a genetic predisposition. Scientific research reveals that Indians are genetically more prone to heart disease, prompting research efforts to identify this mutant gene and neutralize it. Current research has identified 7 risk factors. These 7 together also present the solution, for if these risk factors are addressed, heart disease can be significantly reduced. Communication, it was felt, was the key to addressing these risk factors and increasing general awareness about how heart disease could be countered. Accordingly, Apollo Hospitals Group took the lead in launching a 360-degree campaign, articulated as ‘Billion Hearts Beating’, in partnership with The Times of India, in April 2010. The creative output included press and electronic media and on-ground activation. The campaign achieved the critical mass in terms of engaging people to visit the website to take a pledge for a healthy heart. Contemporary messaging, easy-on-the-eye visuals and simplicity were the defining points in making the campaign effective and memorable.

Cricketer Wasim Akram launched the Sugar Clinic at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Delhi, which offers an integrated solution to manage Diabetes. Sharing his own experience, Akram said, “”I am a diabetic since the age of 29. I have played a lot of cricket after being diagnosed with diabetes. I am 44 now, and all these years what I have learnt is how to manage life to stay fit.”” Dr. Preetha Reddy, Managing Director of Apollo Hospitals Group, spoke on the necessity of tackling the trend of non- communicable diseases, including diabetes. The Sugar clinic is a new development in the treatment process of diabetes that will be offering integrated solution to manage the disease.

Apollo Hospitals Hyderabad launched a state-of-the-art cardiac facility ‘Centre for Advanced Cardiac Care’ (CACC). Announcing this at a press conference Ms Sangita Reddy, Executive Director, Apollo Hospitals Group, said that CACC was specially set up to address the ever expanding pandemic of heart disease in Andhra Pradesh. CACC will cater to the needs of the patients from the twin cities and Telangana districts. According to her, the CACC has a dedicated, highly qualified and experienced cardiology and cardiothoracic teams, skilled technologists and support staff ably backed by a modern multi-specialty medical facility. The Center is equipped with state of the art modern flat panel cardiac catheterization laboratory. To provide care on par with the best cardiac facilities in the country, the Center has acquired latest technology including Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) and Intra vascular ultrasound (IVUS).

Apollo Hospitals is geared to venture into the mobile health space with plans to tie up with telecom operators Aircel and Idea to deliver m-health solutions. The m-health rollout is likely to start in early January 2011, in Tamil Nadu and the North East sector before being expanded to other key cities. The service will be commenced with a core of 100 staffer and tele-centres in Chennai and Kolkata. The expansion of the service will involve opening tele-centres in Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Delhi. We have an initial target of reaching out to an estimated 1.50 million users through the m-health platform.

With the world’s attention continuously focused on the Indian healthcare sector, and this market more dynamic than ever, it is essential for the industry to have an annual platform to recognize the exemplary work done by organizations and individuals for their significant contributions and achievements. Taking this initiative forward, Frost & Sullivan organized its second annual 2010 India Excellence in Healthcare Awards at JW Marriott Hotel, Mumbai. The stalwart honored with the special award Lifetime Achievement Award was Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Executive Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group. Dr. Reddy is the visionary whose vision and efforts resulted in India gaining prominence on the global healthcare map. His path breaking initiatives have brought about a paradigm shift and have made global healthcare companies look at India as an emerging and attractive opportunity; his initiatives have also helped domestic healthcare companies grow and address local needs. His great contribution to the Indian healthcare industry has led to a positive shift in perception of Indian healthcare services at a global level. Apollo Pharmacy was presented with the Healthcare Retail Company of the Year Award, 2010. The panel of judges represented the who’s who from the Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, Medical Technologies, Healthcare Delivery, Healthcare IT and Private Equity Sector.

“Apollo Hospitals and British Medical Journal Group – the media arm of British Medical Association announced a tie-up involving mobile health applications for patients and continuous medical education for doctors and other professionals. According to Dr Prathap C Reddy, chairman of the Apollo Group, the first phase the partnership would provide “”Indianised”” contents from the huge data base of BMJ to doctors through different delivery mechanisms, including the mobile platform, by January next year. “”We are yet to work out the revenue sharing formula with BMJ. For the users, like doctors, it will primarily be on a subscription basis,”” he told mediapersons. Apollo group’s role in the partnership would be to “”Indianise”” the contents from BMJ’s data base and disseminate it through different delivery mechanisms, including some of the hospital group’s in-house platforms. The information, which will also be translated into other Indian languages, will be available to patients through the mobile phone and other mechanisms, including web access and patient leaflets. “

Doctors at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi performed a successful Auditory Brain Implant on a four-year-old girl from Iraq. Fatima Ali came to the hospital on August 25 and was diagnosed with bilateral sensory-neural hearing loss with underdeveloped cochlea. She was unable to hear since birth. On evaluation and pre-assessment it was found that the cochlea of the child was very small and the auditory nerve was also very poorly developed so a cochlea implant was not possible. Dr. Ameet Kishore, ENT and Cochlea Implant Surgeon decided that the only option available was an auditory brain implant. Fatima underwent a nine-hour surgery on August 26 where an electrode array was inserted into the brain stem with the help of Neurosurgeon Dr. Pranav Kumar. The surgery was performed independently by two Indian surgeons and monitored live by a doctor in Melbourne, Australia. A scan done post-surgery confirmed that the implant was in position and all was fine. The child was discharged on September 4 and her implant will be switched on in four weeks, followed by mapping (programming of the implant along with hearing and speech therapy), which will help Fatima hear sounds which she was unaware of before.

Apollo Transplant Programme performs the highest number of organ transplants in India – 534 transplants in less than eight months. Apollo Hospitals performs 537 liver, kidney and heart transplants in 238 days making us the second busiest transplant program in the world. 26th August, 2010 First standalone dialysis centre launched The Apollo Hospitals Group launched the first standalone dialysis centre in Public Private Partnership with Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS). The Apollo Hospitals Group launched the first standalone Dialysis Centre in Public Private Partnership with Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS). At present, of the 1.5 lakh new patients who suffer from end-stage renal failure annually, only 3,500 get kidney transplants and 6,000 undergo dialysis. After realising the demand for this service which is only going to rise in future, CGHS has decided to step into the standalone model for dialysis as a pilot. Present on the occasion were Secretary (Health) Govt. of India, Director General Health Services, Govt. Of India and Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group. The “CGHS Apollo Dialysis Centre” is a pilot project in collaboration with Alliance Medicorp (India) Limited (AML), Chennai, a Joint Venture company of Apollo Health and Lifestyle Ltd. (AHLL) which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited (AHEL).

Apollo Transplant Programme performs the highest number of organ transplants in India – 534 transplants in less than eight months. Apollo Hospitals performs 537 liver, kidney and heart transplants in 238 days making us the second busiest transplant program in the world. 26th August, 2010 Asia’s largest and the most trusted healthcare provider, Apollo Hospitals has performed 534 organ transplants across the nation in less than 8 months in the year 2010. Chairman of the Apollo Hospitals Group, Dr. Prathap C Reddy, today made the formal announcement about this significant achievement. The statistics portray an alarming need for organ transplant in India. According to the estimated statistics, every 3 minutes a patient is added to the list of patients needing a transplant. More than 200,000 Indians require organ transplantation annually, an estimated 20,000 liver transplants are required per year in India. Apollo Hospitals conducted the first successful Kidney Transplant in June 1984 in Chennai, and the first successful bone marrow transplant in July 1995 and the first successful Liver transplant in India in November 1998. From then till now we have conducted a total of 6587 transplants (liver, kidney, heart, liver + kidney, bone marrow). Apollo Transplant Program: Apollo Liver Transplant Centers- Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Kolkata. Bangalore and Hyderabad to be launched in the next 12 months. Apollo Kidney Transplant Centers- Ahemdabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Madurai, Mysore, Vizag, Dhaka, Pune, Ranchi Bilaspur and Ludhiana to be launched in the next 12 months. Figures for 2010: Liver Transplants : 134 Kidney Transplants :398 Heart Transplants :02 Bone Marrow :51 “We have always worked towards the cause of spreading awareness about organ donation so that the patients in need would benefit from it. Driven by patients’ needs and expectations Apollo Hospitals started the Apollo centers of transplant in 1984. In a span of 242 days in 2010, 534 organ transplants have been performed averaging more than two transplants a day” said Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group. By the end of the year Apollo transplant programme will be the busiest transplants programme in the world. “Apollo Hospitals has 12 centers for kidney transplant across the country and four centers for liver transplant in Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Kolkatta. Apollo is planning to establish more kidney and liver centers in the next 12 months. Having established the first successful liver transplant in India we believe we have enough experience to establish liver transplant centers in other locations. This year we have already performed 134 liver transplants” said Dr Anupam Sibal, Group Medical Director Apollo Group and Senior Pediatric Gastroenterologist. Also present at the event were Mr. Ranbir Singh, the 500th case of transplant surgery at Apollo Hospitals and baby Sroy Kim, a 19 month Cambodian child who has successfully undergone a liver transplant at Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi. Sroy is the first child in Cambodia to undergo a liver transplant at Apollo Hospitals after his initial surgery at Singapore. “The doctors at the Apollo Hospital were extremely helpful. I feel much better now and this is all because of the efforts of the Apollo Team.” said Mr. Ranbir Singh. The Apollo transplant programme is privileged to have some of the best clinicians in the country. Dr Subash Gupta, Senior Consultant Liver Transplant Surgery, Dr S. N. Mehta, Senior Consultant Kidney Transplant Surgery, Dr. Vijaya Rajkumari, Senior Consultant Kidney Transplant Surgery to name a few have given a new lease of life to those suffering with organ failure. The need of the hour is a proactive attitude towards organ donation. Apollo Hospitals promises to work towards the cause of encouraging organ donation.

Apollo Institute of Hospital Management & Allied Sciences in affiliation with Tamilnadu Dr.M.G.R. Medical University launches 7 new Allied Sciences Courses – A pioneering initiative in Paramedical Education. Marking a first-of-its-kind initiative in Paramedical Education through an innovative Public Private Partnership, Apollo Institute of Hospital Management & Allied Sciences(AIHMAS) in affiliation with Tamilnadu Dr.M.G.R. Medical University launches 7 new Allied Sciences Courses. Marking a first-of-its-kind initiative in Paramedical Education through an innovative Public Private Partnership, Apollo Institute of Hospital Management & Allied Sciences(AIHMAS) in affiliation with Tamilnadu Dr.M.G.R. Medical University launches 7 new Allied Sciences Courses. The Healthcare industry has emerged as a growth engine for the Indian economy contributing substantially to the increase in the GDP. However, against a world average of around 4 hospital beds per person population India lags behind with ratio of 0.7 indicating insufficient healthcare infrastructure in India. The Healthcare manpower to population ratio in India is also very low as compared to the global norms. Dr. Preetha Reddy, Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group, said, “”There is a new wave in healthcare. The industry has been growing at the rate of about 16 percent per annum reaffirming that a future in healthcare in truly healthy. The health sector presently employs 4 Million individuals, making it one of the largest service sectors in the economy. Yet despite these fascinating numbers, the industry is starved for health manpower. In the immediate present, the country needs to double the number of doctors, triple the number of nurses and quadruple the number of paramedics. Consequently, this new partnership forged between AIHMAS and Tamil Dr.M.G.R. Medical University for Paramedical education is a groundbreaking move, encouraging many more such partnerships for the betterment of our nation. Recently the Government of India had taken up significant steps to address the issues of health manpower by its proposal to establish new institutions for Allied Healthcare professionals with an outlay of Rs.1, 156,43 crores. As a first mover, in a path breaking move to address the immense need gap for the health manpower, Tamil Nadu Dr.M.G.R. Medical University took on a pioneering initiative to fulfill the requirements for paramedical professionals by inviting select health care providers to promote programs in Allied Science courses. A preferred partner is AIHMAS, an Apollo Hospitals Group endeavour with close to two decade of experience in health education. Soon the partnership will witness the introduction of 7 new diploma, graduate and postgraduate programs in Allied Sciences which include the following programs: M.Sc: Health Informatics & Telemedicine B.Sc: Physician Assistant, Critical Care Technology, Accident and Emergency Care Technology, Operation Theatre and & Anaesthesia Technology Diploma: Scope Support Technology and Dental Assistance The uniqueness of the combined curriculum is that the partnership will give greater impetus to paramedical education. The courses offered by AIHMAS, an endeavour of Asia’s foremost integrated healthcare provider, Apollo Hospitals and certified by the renowned Tamil Nadu Dr.M.G.R. Medical University will be very valued as it would produce skilled manpower, thereby upgrading the standards of medical service and patient care. The curriculum has been designed to produce industry-ready manpower and will also provide its students with global employment opportunities. AIHMAS was started in the year 1992 with a primary program in Hospital Management to meet the internal requirement of the organization. The institute introduced Allied Science courses in the year 1999 to train technicians in different discipline. Presently AIHMAS runs the courses in the following streams: MBA in Health Service Management PG Diploma – Allied Science Courses Radiology & Imaging Technology Radiotherapy Technology Cardiac Non-Invasive Technology Medical Laboratory Technology Dialysis Technology Perfusion Technology Intensive Care Technology Medical Records Technology Operation Theatre Technique (For Tech) The Backward class Welfare Department of the Tamil Nadu Government is also funding the institute with grants to offer free courses for the backward community. The institute also offers need based short term certificate courses for colleges.

Apollo Hospitals set up stem cell facility Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd., is focusing on stem cell therapy. The company, tied up with US based StemCyte today and would together invest $15 million to set up a stem cell facility besides conducting research development activities at its Hyderabad centre. Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd., is focusing on stem cell therapy. The company, tied up with US based StemCyte today and would together invest $15 million to set up a stem cell facility besides conducting research development activities at its Hyderabad centre. Stem cells can be sourced from umbilical cord blood and bone marrow and are used in medical therapies. They can be grown and transformed into specialized cells for future therapies. “The idea is to undertake intensive research and provide personalised medicine in future for patients. It’s a 50:50 joint venture and will carry out research in several areas including chronic stroke, spinal cord injury and muscular dystrophy,” said Dr Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group. The upcoming facility, which will focus on stem cell culturing, trials and research, will be the fourth such unit for StemCyte. It currently has three facilities, one each in the US, Hong Kong and South Korea. Apollo also said it has also tied up with Quintiles to start clinical trials unit at Apollo Health City in Hyderabad. It had earlier announced $10 million investment in this venture. The company is waiting for regulatory approvals to conduct first in human (FIH) studies.

INFECTION CONTROL AT APOLLO -EXCELLENCE IN EVERY STEP. Read the Apollo Infection Control Programme that follows the highest Standards of Excellence in Infection Control Protcols and Best Practices. INFECTION CONTROL AT APOLLO -EXCELLENCE IN EVERY STEP. Apollo Hospitals has had a robust infection control program for many years because we recognize that the control and prevention of infection in our patients and the staff who care for them , is an absolute moral commitment and responsibility. Therefore, each hospital in the Apollo Group has a comprehensive infection prevention and control program. The Infection Control program covers policies on hand hygiene, occupational health, isolation, infectious diseases notification, clinical sample collection, environmental hygiene, antibiotic usage and infection prevention in practice settings and visitor areas. It also focuses on prevention of nosocomial infections especially ventilator associated infection, surgical site infections, UTI and Intravascular device related infections and also on control of communicable diseases by policies on patient care related activities. The policies and guidelines laid down are evidence based on current scientific knowledge and recommendations from National and International societies and organizations. The Infection Control program is supported by information management in relation to microbial surveillance and notifiable diseases. Guidelines for periodic audits are also provided so that evaluation and quality control is undertaken. The overall aim of the Program is to guide doctors and health care workers on minimizing patients- infection risk and ensuring safety.   The salient features of the program are:   Standard or Universal Precautions to ensure safety of healthcare workers Practice of Universal and Standard Precautions, are stringently followed. Orientation and teaching/training programs are carried out at the time of induction and on a regular basis for all employees on Standard Precautions and also on key Infection control norms such as Hand Hygiene practices . Our Staff health policy ensures that all staff is vaccinated or has immunity to Hepatitis B and Varicella. Screening and appropriate vaccination of food handlers is also done. Hand Hygiene Initiative Safe water supply in all patient care areas for hand washing and alcohol based hand rubs at all patient beds are ensured and vigilant observational audits are performed periodically to ensure high compliance to hand hygiene at patient care areas. Use of Clinical practice guidelines and protocols Guidelines are followed for usage and care of intravascular devices , catheters and in the usage of other such invasive devices. Care of equipment, linen disinfection, air conditioning for operating rooms and CCUs as well as management of blood spills and needle stick injuries is done according to International protocols. We also have an established waste management policy and lab safety program Management of antibiotic resistance in microorganisms —the antibiotic stewardship program With advent of newer antibiotics there has been a progressive rise in the incidence of antibiotic resistance. While antibiotic resistance is a worldwide phenomenon, the nature of antibiotic resistance varies widely from country to country. Even though this is an undesirable and inevitable trend, recognizing, curtailing and managing this is an important aspect of the Infection control program at Apollo Hospitals. We have been following an Antibiotic Stewardship program wherein antibiotic prescription, dosage and appropriateness are strictly monitored and rationalized and resistant organisms identified , tracked and followed up meticulously. We also have stringent guidelines on antibiotic use and procedures on monitoring antibiotic use, as well as protocols for isolation of those affected with such organisms. Isolation protocols Communicable disease identification and prevention of spread is outlined, and so are isolation protocols and procedures and barrier nursing. Environmental sampling Environmental monitoring of Operating rooms , Critical care units and other patient care areas is done through air sampling .Additionally , disinfection and sterilization processes are monitored, drinking water and dialysis water analysis is done and food safety standards and guidelines are laid down and followed. Visitor Control We have a visitation protocol and all visitors are alerted on infection control practices through guidelines written on visitor passes. Tracking Infection control data Each of the hospitals in the Apollo group tracks infection control parameters month after month and these are benchmarked with standards and variations and values are thoroughly analyzed. Periodically clinical studies on infection control, pathogens and other related areas are also carried out .All infection control parameters are tracked as part of the ACE 25 CLINICAL EXCELLENCE initiative of Apollo hospitals where key Quality parameters of each hospital in the Apollo group are entered on an Online Dashboard, scored and reviewed by the highest Leadership of the group each month. The Team The responsibility of Infection Control at the Apollo Hospitals falls into the hands of a Hospital Infection Control Committee (HICC), whose primary duty is formulating and implementing policies to effectively manage infection control issues and outbreaks of infection. The HICC comprises of senior leaders, physicians and administrators in the organization thereby emphasizing the highest importance that the organization places on Infection Control. Every Apollo location also has an Infection control Team headed by the Senior consultant in Infectious diseases. The team consists of Infection control nurses and other key staff from various departments who play a pivotal role in implementing all aspects of the hospitals Infection Control program, drive all the Infection control initiatives , motivate and create awareness among the hospital staff by campaigns and special programs and sustain compliance. Infection control is a critical and key initiative in every Apollo hospital and it not only helps us in meeting international norms in Infection control but also assures excellent world class clinical outcomes and exceptional patient safety and satisfaction.  Policies and Guidelines that are part of the Apollo Infection Control Program Patient Safety policy Antimicrobial policy guidelines Provision of resources for hand hygiene and practices and protocols related to it. Staff health and safety guidelines Disinfection and sterilization policy Surveillance activity for Catheter Related Blood Stream Infections(CR-BSI), Hospital associated pneumonia including Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP) and indwelling catheter related Urinary Tract Infections (CR-UTI) and for Surgical Site Infections(SSI) Guidelines for monitoring of Disinfectants Protocol for Sterile Supply and CSSD including Bacteriological monitoring of Autoclaves, Ethylene Oxide etc. Protocol for Management of needle-stick injury, accidental inoculation and percutaneous mucus membrane exposure to blood and body fluid substances Screening guidelines for food handlers Bacteriological analysis of Drinking water Bacteriological analysis of Dialysis water Policy for the restricted antimicrobials and their usage Environmental Cleaning and disinfection guidelines Endoscopes and bronchoscopes- usage and care Indwelling medical device usage and care Management of spills of body fluids, blood and Microbiology cultures Guidelines Protocols for Linen and Laundry Dialysis protocols All relevant engineering processes including mechanical, HVAC of OT, ICU and other critical areas and patient and staff areas Food and Beverages’ processes and hygienic kitchen management Protocols for Care of patients with communicable diseases Protocols for Care of bleeding patients Isolation policy and procedures and Barrier Nursing with special reference to multi drug resistant organisms and highly virulent organisms Management of Emerging community based communicable diseases and specific recommendation for cases of epidemics and disasters in the community Guidelines for Protection of immuno-suppressed and Immunocompromised patients Protocols for Provision and appropriate usage of personal protective equipment including gloves, gowns, masks, goggles/visors etc. in prevention and control of infections Guidelines for antimicrobial prophylaxis Waste management policy and procedures on discarding and disposal of hospital waste including sharps and needles Mortuary management guidelines and handling of cadavers Visitor’s and attendant’s protocols