Five Easy Ways to Protect Yourself from Air Pollution

Air pollution, a silent killer, can have both short term and long term effects on health, but these can be curtailed through some easy steps

New Delhi: “My father, a former heart surgery survivor and someone who has been living with the cardiac problem for the last 20 years, always led a very different and productive life. Heart patients run on reduced heart capacity, and he was surviving and working for 14-15 hours everyday on 60 per cent of his heart. In 2018, around Diwali, my father fainted and since he had a cardiac history, he was taken to the hospital. Doctors there wanted to quickly do a cardiac intervention and operate on him but he was too frail. Further tests confirmed Dr Ashok Seth’s hunch, it was a severe lung infection and lungs needed attention, not the heart”, recalls Nutan Manmohan while speaking to NDTV. ....read more

CMAAO condemns criminal provisions in medical practice

International Press Release:The confederation of Medical Associations of Asia and Oceania strongly condemn the amendments to Poisons Act 1952 in Malaysia and support the Malaysian Medical Associations (MMA) concern in this respect.

CMAAO urges the Malaysia Government to withdraw the proposed Poisons Act 1952 Amendments Bill, which may have been drawn up without meaningful consultations with medical professionals.

The new amendment proposes possible jail term for private medical doctors, dental surgeons and veterinarians who do not comply with requests for prescriptions by patients. Such severe and harsh penalties should only be for offences that result in severe consequences. ....read more

Green Asia Harvard study links short-term exposure to PM2.5 with risks of hospital admissions

In an NIH funded study, the study results showed that hospitalizations for septicemia, fluid and electrolyte imbalance, kidney failure, urinary tract infections, and skin & tissue infections are linked for the first time with short-term exposure to fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5). This new study was led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health published in BMJ.

Fine particulate air pollution are tiny solids and liquids floating in the air and emanated from motor vehicles, coal-fired power plants, and wildfires. When inhaled, the particles can enter deep into the lungs and cause serious health problems. ....read more

Healthcare News Monitor

Central drugs regulator asks states, UTs to stop online sale of medicines

The Economic Times

Countrys drugs regulator has asked all states and Union Territories to prohibit sale of drugs by online pharmacies as per the Delhi High Court order, a senior health ministry official said on Wednesday. The court while hearing a PIL by Zaheer Ahmed in December 2018 had ordered the ban on sale of illegal or unlicensed online sale of medicines till the government drafts rules to regulate e-pharmacies. The order by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), issued last week, asked all drug regulators in states and Union Territories to take "necessary action" to enforce the court order. Currently, online pharmacies are operating in the country without a drug licence as there are no rules framed for the sector. In September, the government, in an affidavit submitted to Delhi High Court, said it is in the process of finalising the draft rules for regulating e-pharmacies after going through representations of all stakeholders. Ahmed, in his PIL, had said that the online illegal sale of medicines would lead to a drug epidemic, drug abuse and misuse of habit forming and addictive drugs. He also moved a contempt plea in April, contending that the e-pharmacies continue to "blatantly" violate the high court direction and the central government was not doing anything to stop it following which the court issued notices to the Centre and some e – pharmacies.

Aster DM Healthcare eyes diagnostic services, clinics; to expand bed-count

Business Standard - Sohini Das

Dubai-headquartered Aster DM Healthcare which runs 13 hospitals in India and is in the process of adding another 1500 beds, is now eyeing the diagnostic services space apart from pharmacies and clinics. Moreover, the company is bringing in its Access brand to India for low income group patients. Access hospitals would also cater to Ayushman Bharat medical insurance covered patients. With an aim to become a comprehensive healthcare provider, the Rs 7,900 crore BSE listed company has drawn up plans to start a central laboratory for its diagnostics business at Bangalore within the next three months. Following this, the company would be establishing satellite laboratories in the state starting its diagnostic business from Karnataka and eventually spreading to the other southern states, informed Aster DMs chief financial officer Sreenath Reddy. He elaborated that the plan is to acquire a diagnostic services provider in the southern states that would enable Aster DM to expand. "We would start with our own laboratories and then look for a suitable acquisition. We have not set any target price for the same. It would enable us to gain scale in the business," he said. Investment for setting up the central laboratory would be around Rs 40 crore which the company would fund from internal accruals. The rationale behind getting into the diagnostics business is that it enables them to reach out to potential patients directly in their house, who can then opt for treatment at the Aster DM clinics and hospitals.

AIIMS resident doctors association warns against fee hike

ET Healthworld- IANS

The Resident Doctors Association (RDA) of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Wednesday warned the institutes administration against hiking the tuition fee and raising user charges for patients. Speaking with IANS, Amarinder Singh Malhi, president of the RDA, said that the association opposes the proposed hikes because providing quality education and healthcare is the first and foremost responsibility of any country. He also said that the RDA will not allow anyone to compromise on these two issues. "Quality education and healthcare are the building blocks of our nation and we will not allow any person, organisation or government to compromise on that in any aspect." He added that if the administration accepts the proposed hikes, the association will stage protests against the decision. "Right now, we are waiting for a clearer picture regarding the issue which will take another four to five days. If the administration accepts the proposal for raising the tuition fee and users charges then we will certainly protest against the administration."

Swedish queen stops by at dementia centre at AIIMS

ET Healthworld – TNN

NEW DELHI: Queen Silvia of Sweden visited AIIMS on Tuesday and interacted with the doctors to understand the treatment practices and care provided by the premier health institute to patients with dementia. The queen, who is visiting India with Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf, along with her delegates, also participated in a discussion on the “quality of life for people with dementia” organised by All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Dementia is a condition in which there is deterioration in memory, thinking, behaviour and the ability to perform everyday activities. Although it mainly affects older people, it is not a normal part of ageing. According to an AIIMS official, the Sweden Embassy contacted AIIMS through the health ministry and had sought to understand the care-giving system and rehabilitation programmes for such patients. This is Sweden-India Year of Health and both the countries are celebrating 10 years of cooperation on healthcare, an official said. “We are grateful to the Queen of Sweden for visiting AIIMS. Dementia is close to her heart as she has seen her mother suffering from it. During interaction with her, we learned about her deep involvement in the care of the elderly and her longstanding commitment to healthy ageing, her participation in training nurses, and other healthcare providers in dementia management through her foundation Silviahemmet,” said Randeep Guleria, the director of AIIMS