Disaster in Asia

Disasters in Asia

1.  Between the years 1991 to 2000 Asia has accounted for 83 per cent of the population affected by disasters globally
2. . While the number of people affected in the rest of the world were 1,11,159, in Asia the number was 5,54,439.
3.  Within Asia, 24 per cent of deaths due to disasters occur in India, on account of its size, population and vulnerability.
4.  Floods and high winds account for 60 per cent of all disasters in India.

INDIA’S VULNERABILITY TO NATURAL DISASTERS
• Many parts of the Indian sub-continent are susceptible to different types of disasters owing to the unique topographic and climatic characteristics
.
• About 60% of the landmass is prone to earthquakes of various intensities; over 40 million hectares is prone to floods; about 8% of the total area is prone to cyclones and 68% of the area is susceptible to drought.

• The 5,700 km long coastline of the India is vulnerable to tropical cyclones arising in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea

• The decade 1990-2000, has been one of very high disaster losses within the country.

• Losses in the Orissa Cyclone in 1999, and later, the Gujarat Earthquake in 2001 alone amount to several thousand crore of Rupees, while the total expenditure on relief and reconstruction in Gujarat alone has been to the tune of Rs 11,500 crore.

Man made disastersIndia has also been witnessing an increasing incidence of manmade disasters.

•  India faced one of the worst manmade disasters on 3rd December 1984 when Bhopal Gas Tragedy occurs.
•  The list of manmade disasters like train accidents, aircraft crashes, fire in high rise buildings, mine disasters, industrial and chemical disasters are ever increasing for various reasons.
•  While substantial progress has been made in other sectors of human development, there is need to do more towards mitigating the effect of disasters.

Basic functions To Be Performed by Laundry Department

Laundry service is responsible for providing an adequate, clean and constant supply of linen to all users. The main purpose of this department is to provide clean material to the patients and ensure that hygienic conditions are maintained in the process.

Functions :

1. Collecting soiled linen from various places.

2. Sorting the linen and processing them

3. Inspecting and repairing or replacing damaged materials.

4. Disinfection of contaminated linen prior to washing

5. Distributing clean linen to the respective user departments.

6. Maintaining different types of registers.

Activities to be performed:

·         Collection of the linen should be done on a daily basis.

·          Dirty linen is segregated as soiled linen, unsoiled linen in the ward by the ward boy

·         Don’t mix the soiled or infected linen with the non infected linen.

·         A separate register should be maintained by the nurse in-charge in which the details of the number and type of linen handed over to the laundry boy for washing and received after cleaning is maintained

·         Disinfectant such as 1 % sodium hypochlorite solution should be used for disinfection of linen. A solution should be made in 1:10 ratio and infected linen should be dipped for about half an hour in the solution.

·         The persons handling the soiled/stained linen should use appropriate personal protective equipment like gloves, aprons etc. while handling infected linens.

·         Use the detergents in appropriate amount and do not reuse dirty water for rinsing.

·         Sterilise the linen set for OT or labour room.

·         Sun-dry the washed & rinsed linen and clip the linen while drying so that linen doesn’t fall down on ground and then store the clean linens in a clean area.

·         Linens should be regularly inspected for damage by the in-charge nurse and, if any linen is damaged beyond repair then discard those ones.

If clean and sterile  linen is provided to patients ie their bed sheet, body linen, then the satisfaction rate of patients will be high, which will provide a bench mark for the hospital in the service part.

The Major Challenges in Telemedicine system

Even if Telemedicine has both Qualitative & Quantitative improvements to developing countries but there are major Challenges behind.... which needs to be uprooted

1. Poor data communication infrastructure.
2. Large Population catered by govt hospitals
3. System features are not scalable
4. Cost of system should be scalable.
5. System features shoul;d be measured.

Providing Health service is an important issue..Which should be easily available to all class, irrespective of caste, demographic location, religion etc.

Telemedicine- Defination,Benefits,Role

Telemedicine  uses technology to deliver health care, often over great distance with the possibility of cost savings particularly in remote and rural areas.
The defination of Telemedicine adopted by International Consultation Group by the  WHO in theGeneva in Dec 1997 says:
Telemedicine is the delivery of health care services where distance is a critical factor, by health care professionals using information and communication technologies for the exchange of valid information for diagnosis,treatment & prevention of disease & injuries & for continuing education of healthcare providers as well as research and evaluation, basically all in the interst of advancing the health of individual & their communities.

Benefits of Telemedicine:

• Health Education of people and population
• Employment oppurtunities for technicians, paramedics at a peripheral level
• Diffusion of medical knowledge
• Availability of normal health treatments, in distant areas to prevent disease.
• Improvement of health indicators used by WHO & National Govt structures
• Telemedicine could help some countries to cut healthy cost.
• A study carried out in U.S at the end of the last century has estimated that a figure of between 35 & 40 billion dollars could be saved by the health structure by using telecommunication and tele medicine technologies more efficiently. 

In a developing country like India Telemedicine can be offering both Qualitative & Quantitative benefits Rural areas inevitably have short of high level infrastructure.
The Geological distribution of existing hospitals and health services is far from ideal places, usually limited to urban areas at district level.
Tele communication  Network have the potential to provide a solution to provide a solution to many of the problems,
Health services must be provided close to the people who need them and an integrated cost effective approach is necessary.

Souces of NABH

what were the NABH sources:

• ISQUA
• Thai A.S
• JCI
• Joint commission on accreditation of health care qrganisation
• Australian accreditation standards.
• Malaysian accreditation standards.
• Egyptian accreditation standards.
• U.K Health care Quality standards.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Many of us know the defination of NABH  but very few of us know the source ie how different standards from different countries united together to form  NABH.
   

Before NABH Started: The Indian Scenario was very different

• No Accreditation body was available before NABH.
• Hospitals were implementing ISO 9000 Quality system
• ISO9000 is based on industrial quality scenario,Standards were not specific to hospital sector.

We are going through so many quality issues but basically what is this word Accreditation:

Its basically a public recognition of the achivements of Accreditation standdards by a healthcare organisation,demonstrated through an independent  external peer assessment of that organisation's level of performance in relation to the standards.

 
                                                                  

Benefits Of National Accreditation

National Accreditation:

•   NABL  -National Accreditation Board For Testing and Calibration Laboratories

• NABH- National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Health Care Providers.

1. Less Expensive
2. Lower Credibility
3. Serve broader range of Organisation
4. Standards appropriate to local conditions.

Importance Of Quality Control in Hospitals.

Wat is the importance of "QUALITY"  in Hospital.?
Is it just a department a hospital should have?
    The answer is- Without a proper Quality department a Hospital can never set its Benchmark..
The meaning of Quality varies according to the industry needs. In case of Hospitals, the defination of Quality is -

• For Patients- Quality means being treated with Empathy, Care, Respect, & Concern.
• For Professionals: Quality means delivering the most advanced knowledge in& medical, scientific skills to save patients.
• For Medical Audit: Quality means having the best achievable outcome.

The Cycle of Quality in Health Care

•     Improvement in Quality.
• Increase in patient satisfaction----Word of Mouth----- More Patients---More Revenue earning
• Decrease in Error-------Decrease in Cost Rework-- More surplus generated
• Recruitment more quality manpower & purchase.

So Quality service delivered should be 100%---- QCI- Quality Council of India is responsible for the Quality Control in India

Medical Tourism

Medical Tourism can simply be defined as cost effective collaboration with tourism industry.Medical Tourism is the fastest growing Industry in Health Care.India is one of the major countries offering safe, high quality and economical health care.The Current aim is to offer highest level of care and quality expertise at an affordable price point.
The Benifits offered in India:

• High Quality World Class Medical Care
• 3 Affiliate Hospitals are JCI Acredited - The U.S Gold Standard for Tertiary care
• Economical and Affordable Pricing
• Use of World Class Implants and Consumables
• Zero Wait Times for Surgeries
• Fluent English Speaking hospital staff. 

• Affordability and Cost-effectiveness

  The low cost of medical procedures, is the number one reason why people come to India for medical treatments. The savings range between 30% and 80% of the cost that you would normally pay in the USA.
  
  Due to the low prices of medical procedures and surgery abroad, some people worry that medical tourism might be fraud or a scam. The main reason behind the low prices of medical treatments abroad is the low cost of labor in the popular medical tourism destinations.
  
  Although the treatments are cheap, in most cases surgical procedures are performed by well trained experts who are using top notch technology.
   
• High-Quality HealthcareMany of the doctors and surgeons that offer healthcare services to international patients are trained and certified in Western countries, such as United States and Great Britain.
  
  Medical centers all over the world have acquired accreditation from well known international organizations such as JCI, JCAHO and ISO , NABH to express their dedication to excellence.
  
  

  Immediate Service

  Another advantage of medical tourism is the immediate access to health care services. For those who have come from countries with public health care systems, medical tourism offers them the chance to be placed on the priority list. When dealing with matters of health, waiting is not always an option.

   
• Improved Flight and Communication ServicesMost procedures performed abroad can be scheduled via the internet or by phone. People have the flexibility to book flights and schedule surgery procedures from the comfort of their own home. This eliminates the inconvenience of going to the hospital or clinic for evaluations and assessments. The only time a person has to leave their house is on the day or week of the surgery, or procedure.
   
• Travel OpportunitiesEven though medical tourism is about obtaining medical care, a side benefit of medical tourism is having the opportunity to travel to another country. For some medical tourists, especially those seeking dental care, cosmetic care or wellness treatments, these can enjoy the opportunity to travel overseas in addition to receiving less expensive healthcare.
   
• The concept of medical tourism is appealing to anyone who is interested in high quality and affordable healthcare. The medical tourism phenomenon is gaining popularity and the number of people coming to India for treatment increases rapidly every year.
• For Hospital Administration Professionals its a great  scope to be a part of Medical Tourism as it gives a learning experience to co-ordinate the Smooth flow of treatment the foreigners are supposed to undergo and build liaison.Its a way of learning as well.