Health and Tech: ISRO, super-specialty hospitals collaborate

To implement Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) meant to launch rockets, in hospital settings

Hyderabad: The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is known for its meticulous planning and practices in executing successful rocket launches with pinpoint precision that are flawless and have zero-errors. Can such proven practices of ISRO be implemented in healthcare settings to save precious lives?

To explore such possibilities, ISRO is collaborating with several super-specialty hospitals in India, including a few in Hyderabad, to implement its Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that are meant to launch rockets, in hospital settings, especially in emergency and critical care departments that have high mortality rates.

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Aptly titled as Health QUEST (Quality Upgradation Enabled by Space Technology), the stress is on having zero-errors and implement methods to reduce errors by care givers in highly stressful emergency and critical care wings of hospitals.

Taken forward by former ISRO Chairman, AS Kiran Kumar, the initiative was launched in multiple cities including the Emergency and Critical Care departments of Apollo and Continental Hospitals in Hyderabad in collaboration with AHPI and Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organisations (CAHO).

The main objectives of Health QUEST is to recommend a zero-error ER (emergency room) design, patient flow for input-throughput-output, easily adaptable measures in certain areas of ER process in any emergency department in India for improving outcomes (without excessive logistics or manpower or cost implications), monitor compliance and report deviances for corrective actions.

Zero-Errors:

Traditionally, emergency and intensive care departments have high mortality rates in all hospitals. The care givers in emergency and critical care wings are under intense stress and strain, as they race against time to save patients who are in critical condition. To reduce the mortality rates in such departments, there was a need to bring human and equipment errors to near zero levels.

As part of the Health QUEST, three domains including quality in design, conformance and performance of ISRO were applied to the Emergency and Intensive Care departments of hospitals. It also involved full-fledged redesign of emergency department including patient waiting area, triage or bed side triage and resuscitation area.

The QUEST also recommended the exact amount of space required for Emergency department to function ideally. It also defined the emergency department patient flow i.e., input-throughput and outpatient flow based on the volume and space available in the healthcare institution and recommended specific ER flow patterns aimed at seamless flow of healthcare facilities.