GE Healthcare and Cancer Treatment Services International (CTSI) have announced a strategic partnership to develop 25 centres across India to improve access to cancer care. The network will be built at an investment of $120 million (Rs 720 crores) over a period of five years.
The partnership underscores four critical points to elevate the access, affordability and standard of cancer care in India. First, modern management of oncology patients requires a multidisciplinary approach, meaning that delivering cancer care according to top world standards demands interplay between a team of personnel from a wide range of medical specialties. Second, offering world-class cancer care requires adherence to well-defined, evidence-based medical protocols derived from the world’s latest medical research. Third, providing the latest therapeutic options for cancer requires expert use of cutting-edge imaging, treatment and digital record-keeping technologies. Finally, reducing patient effort and spend through a comprehensive and transparent approach in a local, patient friendly environment.
GE and CTSI will configure the network in a hub-and-spoke fashion, with all centres linked by a IT network to a hub. The hub will be a centre of excellence with full diagnostic imaging and treatment capabilities while the spoke will have the ability to deliver a range of screening, staging and treatment options. The first hub centre, American Oncology Institute, CTSI’s international brand, is already operational in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. The first spoke or remote centre is being set up in Andhra Pradesh.
The partners will provide a comprehensive oncology service line to interested healthcare providers in small and large cities to accelerate and expand the network across India. They will take steps to improve awareness and employ screening programmes through all spoke centres to enable early detection of cancer.
EH News Bureau