Swine Flu outbreak- by Dr. A. K. Dash

According to WHO, 24 countries have officially reported 2371 cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection. The good news for us is that none has been reported in India. The health care workers are working overtime at all entry points like airports to detect flu like symptoms in people flying in from affected areas. The largest number of confirmed cases have been reported from Mexico where it all started. So far, there have been 42 deaths in Mexico and 2 in the United States as per WHO data. Some European countries have also reported confirmed cases, although no deaths have been reported.

Due to a large number of air travellers traveling from different countries, especially from affected places, there are chances of the flue spreading to India as well. However, efforts are on to screen air passengers with flu symptoms at various international airports within the country. Swine Flu is caused by H1N1 virus. It is called swine flue because swines are affected by these disease but the disease can spread through air as a result of sneezing and coughing by patients carrying the virus which can affect a healthy person inhaling standing right next to the infected person. Chances of getting this disease by eating affected pork meat is very less if it is cooked in 160 degree centigrade.

Sign & symptoms of the disease:
Important signs are fever, cough, sore throat. In some patients, it may start with diarrhea with vomiting, difficulty in respiration. Like common flu, the patient may have fever, headache, stuffy nose. Such patients should immediately report to the doctor. The virus will be present in the affected person's sputum & nasal discharge which can be detected by test of the specimen.

Prevention & treatment:
Most important preventive measure is to cover nose & mouth with a mask. One should clean his/her hands after touching the nose and mouth with soap and water. One should avoid crowded places. One should drink plenty of water eat eat healthy food. One should also remain stress free. After proper diagnosis, the disease can be treated with anti-viral antibiotic. In India, the available drug is Tamiflu. However, this drug should be used only on a doctors recommendation. THE RETAIL SALE OF TAMIFLU IS CURRENTLY NOT PERMITTED IN INDIA. THIS DRUG WILL ONLY BE DISTRIBUTED THROUGH PUBLIC HEALTH NETWORK FREE OF COST IN CASE THE NEED ARISES.

As per Ministry of health and family welfare, 172 doctors and 83 paramedics have been deployed to man 68 counters at the above airports. As of now, no case has been reported in India. The situation is being monitored. Please visit the above link for latest updates from the health ministry on Swine Flu in India. The 24x7 call centre under Integrated Diseases Surveillance Project [Toll free No. 1075] would be attending to calls from the public regarding reporting of Influenza Like Illness.

One should always stay informed. Some useful resources are:
1. http://mohfw.nic.in/SWINEFLU.htm
2. http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html
3. http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/

Role of meditation in preventing heart attacks - by Dr. A. K. Dash

It is an accepted fact that proper health, food & regular exercise can help a man to lead a healthy life. Similarly, meditation plays a definite role in preventing stress and hence preventing stress related diseases. It is clinicaly proven that meditation done in a proper way reduces stress level, lowers pain & reduces blood pressure. During 1980-90, some studies were done and the results showed that at least 23% people having high blood pressure and also incidents leading to death due to heart attack have been reduced.

It is very effective and is recomended as a no drug treatment. One just needs to find a noise free place, sit up straight, relax and let your mind slip into a deep trance. The Transcendental Meditation Program (TMP) in U.S.A. has helped more than 5 million Americans in reducing their stress level, blood pressure thereby reducing the incidennts of heart attack. This is why physicians around the world recomend meditation in some form along with medications.

What is the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique? It is a simple, natural, effortless procedure practiced 20 minutes twice each daywhile sitting comfortably with the eyes closed.It’s not a religion, philosophy, or lifestyle. It’sthe most widely practiced, most researched,and most effective method of self-development. Over 600 researches have been conducted on TM techniques and these studies have been published in various journals.

The Transcendental Meditation technique is based on the ancient Vedic tradition of enlightenment in India. Yoga and meditation may be quite helpful in reducing the risk of coronary events. Meditation only needs 15-20 minutes of your time in a day. This will go a long way in keeping you fit and healthy.

NIMHANS - Pioneers in mental health

National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience (NIMHANS) was formed as an autonomous body on 27th Dec, 1974. This autonomous hospital was formed by the amalgamation of Mental Hospital founded in 1925 in Mysore and All India Institute of Mental Health formed in 1954 by the Government of India. NIMHANS was declared a deemed university by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in 1994. Dr. D. Nagaraja, the Director of NIMHANS, specializes in both psychiatry and neurology. He has received many awards for his extensive work.

Today, NIMHANS attracts patients from all across the country. They offer diagnostic and therapeutic facilities to these patients. They are leaders in the field of Neuroscience and Behavioral Science. They have various departments like Biophysics, Biostatistics, Human Genetics, Mental Health education, Neuromicrobiology, Neuropathology, Neuro surgery, Psychiatric rehabilitation etc.

Mental illness is still ignored in India to a large extent. According to NIMHANS, 20 million Indians suffer from serious mental illnesses and around 50 million suffer from mild forms of mental illness. Hence, 70 million is a huge number but majority of people still lack access to mental health care. By 2010, mental illness is going to become one of the biggest health risks. People refuse to address the problem because of the taboo attached to it in the society. Problems like depression, anxiety disorders, panic attacks should not be ignored.

NIMHANS also has a Brain Bank which was started with the financial support of DST, DBT and ICMR as National Facility to promote research in Neurobiology using human neuron tissues. The brain tissue is collected with the consent of an individuals relatives within 4-24 hours of a patient's death. The tissues are then used for research in the areas of Biochemical and Molecular Biological studies to better understand neurological and psychiatric disorders.

A 30-bed Deaddiction Center helps patients with substance abuse problems with specialized programs on detoxification, techniques to prevent relapse using yoga therapy etc. NIMHANS also conducts conferences and workshops on mental health round the year. A list of all the forthcoming events is available on its site http://www.nimhans.kar.nic.in/default.asp. The NIMHANS website is a comprehensive site providing all the information you need. NIMHANS continues to provide significant contribution in the field of mental health and neuroscience.

Careers in Healthcare - Hospital administration

With the advent of new hospitals and clinics coming up in tier I and tier II cities, the demand for professionals in the field of hospital administration has risen sharply. Netscribes (India) Pvt. Ltd., a knowledge consulting solutions company, expects the Indian hospital market to grow to USD $32 billion by 2010. According to eHealth magazine, India faces a huge need gap in terms of availability of number of hospital beds per 1000 population. With a world average of 3.96 hospital beds per 1000 population India stands just a little over 0.7 hospital beds per 1000 population. It is estimated that each additional bed has the potential to create 5 direct jobs and 25 indirect jobs.

A hospital administrator's job is to effectively manage the management of health system and the effectiveness of health outcomes. For a person to be a hospital administrator does not require medical knowledge. The corporatization of hospitals has led to an increase in the demand for hospital administrators. Administrators have to make sure the hospital or clinic runs smoothly and that proper medical care is provided to the patients.

A number of institutes in India offer courses in Hospital Administration. Medical council of India is taking steps to standardize the syllabus of courses in Hospital Administration to cater to the needs of the current healthcare industry. The duration of courses vary from one to two years depending on the type of courses.

Institutes offering courses for medical students:

1) AIIMS, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi.
2) Kasturba Medical College, Manipal.
3) Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences, Panjagutta, Hyderabad.
4) Armed Forces Medical College, Solapur Road, Pune.
5) University of Delhi, Faculty of Management Studies, New Delhi.

6) Christian Medical College, Vellore-632 002, TN

7) The National Institute of Health and Family Welfare, New Mehrauli Road, Munrika, Delhi

Institutes offering courses for non-medical students:

1) Tata Institute of Social Science, Sion-Trombay Road, Deonar, Mumbai
2) Apollo Institute of Hospital Administration, Hyderabad.
3) Indian Institute of Health Management Research (IIHMR), Jaipur.
4) Sri Ramachandra Medical College & Research Institute (Deemed University), Porur, Chennai.

5) Administrative Staff College of India, Bella Vista, Khairatabad, Raj Bhavan Road, Hyderabad

6) Manipal Academy of Higher Education, University Building, Madhav Nagar, Manipal.

7) School of Medical Education, Gandhi Nagar, Kottayam

8) Birla Institute of Science and Technology, Pilani.

Private sector health insurance - Apollo DKV

Apollo DKV is one of the newer entrants in the Indian health care insurance sector. Apollo DKV was formed with the coming together of Apollo Hospitals Group and DKV, an 80 year old German Insurance giant. The company has already established its presence in all the major cities of India and additionally plans to mark its presence pan India with 100 offices at different locations. The products and services offered are valid on a “Cashless Basis” in over 4000 hospitals (including the 42 Apollo hospitals) across India and across all hospitals in India on ‘Reimbursement Basis’.

One can get all the information regarding health insurance policies from their website http://www.apollodkv.co.in/. We can even buy insurance policies online. An individual can get coverage ranging from 1 to 10 lakhs based on different plans. All plans for an individual cover in-patient treatment, pre-hospitalization and post-hospitalization expenses, and day care procedures. Some of the plans cover maternity expenses as well.

Corporate plans are also available. Once you are admitted to one of the network hospitals, you need to show the Apollo DKV Card to the treating doctor. The Network Hospital will then contact the responsible TPA (Third Part Administrator, mentioned on the card) and fill up the pre-authorisation form. This is then sent to the TPA for estimation of expenses. The TPA checks the policy conditions and sum-insured and approves the estimate.

A lot of private global health care insurers are now entering the Indian markets through partnerships. However, their reach is limited mostly to large cities and towns even though 50 to 60 percent of Indians stay in small towns and villages. For private health insurers to be successful in India, they have to have variety of offerings depending of various sections of the population. The Indian public on the other hand need to understand the importance of having health care insurance and its long term benefits.

Electronic health records

This concept is very new to India and will take a long time to catch up. Of late, the US administration has been pushing for creating electronic health records for the entire US population. An electronic health record (EHR) refers to an individual patient's medical record in digital format. Electronic health record systems co-ordinate the storage and retrieval of individual records with the aid of computers.

In his joint address to Congress in 2009, Obama stated that, "Our recovery plan will invest in electronic health records and new technology that will reduce errors, bring down cost, ensure privacy, and save lives." This suggests that the Obama administration is gearing up to spend considerable amount of money and resources to get this done. This is also important from a statistical point of view.

In India, the general public have to be made aware of the importance of health records. People in villages and small towns do not give emphasis to health records. Electronic health records provide access to unprecedented amounts of clinical data for research that can accelerate the level of knowledge of effective medical practices. The US government is encouraging and giving benefits to companies who promote online electronic health record storage. This has also turned out to be a good business opportunity.

Companies like Microsoft and Google have launched their online medical records storage services Microsoft Health Vault and Googlehealth.com respectively. These type of services will surely give improved access to health records. This type of upgradation needs to a lot of investment from an IT perspective. The Indian government has to act now considering the exploding population. Apart from improving health care facilities in villages, they also need to think about storing health records of all the people on a secure shared network. This will aid in the treatment of the individual.

Privacy of patient information is an important aspect. This has to be strictly maintained. A couple of companies have launched online health record storage services. The concept will take time to catch up. Hospitals do maintain records of their regular patients but they are not stored on a shared network for the use of physicians outside that hospital. New ideas need to be developed to facilitate the implementation of electronic health records.

Different systems of medicine: Part 5 - by Dr. Malaya Ray

Magnetotherapy:

Origin of Magnetotherapy can be traced back to Atharv Veda. There are some worthy notes about the use of magnetic healing powers. Egyptians used magnets to preserve mummies.
Basically it’s a non invasive method of treatment where it does not involve injections/ ingestion of drug substance. However the ingestion of magnetized water is the only exception to this.

The basic principle is, Magnets have the ability to stimulate cellular growth. The RBC (red blood corpuscles) contains hemoglobin and the hemoglobin contains iron. As we all know the magnets influence the iron in the blood through which it reaches every part of the body. So it can influence all parts of the body through the therapeutic value. Magnetotherapy is considered as very effective in alleviating pain and stiffness.

The practitioners believe, Magnets have the power to purify and ionize the blood. The flow of ionized blood takes place easily and there is no coagulation. If the blood flow is normal, there can be no ailments.

In magnetotherapy, two types of artificial magnets are used. They are electromagnets and permanent magnets. As we know, magnet has two poles; it has different therapeutic properties as well.

The general treatment involves five methods:
North Pole under right palm and South Pole under left palm
North Pole under right foot and South Pole under left foot
North pole under right palm and South Pole under left foot (tangent)
North Pole under right palm and South Pole under right foot
North Pole under left palm and South Pole under left foot

There are no known side effects as such. But precautionary measures include:
No thermal baths should be taken immediately after a Magnetotherapy session.
Magnets must be kept away from infants.
When not in use, magnets must be kept joined with a keeper in a wooden box.
Opposite poles of high power magnets must not be near each other face to face.
All bio-magnetic aids must be kept away from fire.

This is not an approved therapeutic system in India. As this is not so expensive, our Govt. should encourage some research programmes for this system of medicine.