Date:22/12/2004 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/12/22/stories/2004122201481700.htm

Back MMM ties up with Sri Lankan hospital

M. Ramesh

Chennai , Dec. 21

THE Madras Medical Mission (MMM) has tied up with Navaloka hospital in Colombo.

Under the agreement, doctors from MMM will perform paediatric surgeries at Navaloka. The agreement was firmed up about a month ago and last week doctors from MMM performed six operations on babies in the six months to one-year age group, Dr Mullasari Ajit, Assistant Director and Head of Cardiology Department, told Business Line today. He reckons there would be at least 10 surgeries each month performed by MMM doctors.

A small revenue stream for the Rs 62-crore hospital, but MMM expects to replicate this model in several other countries. The next is most likely to be Tanzania, with which the hospital has close links. MMM prefers the `tie-up model' to setting up its own hospital abroad, which, according to Dr Ajit, has not been found to be successful.

The tie-ups with overseas hospitals are a bid to increase its export revenues. At present, MMM has an active traffic from abroad, mostly from African countries. In the last three years, the number of foreign patients coming to MMM for treatment has trebled to about 10 per cent of total in-patients handled by the hospital. The 200-bed hospital does about 2,000 open-heart surgeries and 3,000 catheterisation laboratory procedures (angios).The number is expected to increase.

Earlier this year, MMM signed a series of agreements with hospitals in many African countries, both for sending patients to MMM as well as for purchase of medicines and equipment.