India is suffering from a grave shortage of ICU specialists. It is estimated that 3 lakh ICU beds have less than 5,000 specialists serving them, and a majority of these specialists are located in large hospitals in metro cities. As a result of the shortage, small and medium sized hospitals and hospitals in tier 2 and tier 3 cities do not have 24/7 access to ICU specialists. Established in April 2017, Cloudphysician Healthcare is a tele ICU solution where they remotely connect to hospitals and provide critical care expertise. Set up by two ICU specialists, Dr. Dhruv Joshi and Dr. Dileep Raman, the duo trained at the Cleveland Clinic, USA and hold extensive experience when it comes to using several technology platforms used for tele ICU services across the world. In view of the different and heterogenous resource settings in India, India requires a distinctive solution that would enable access, quality and cost effectiveness suited for Indian hospitals.

“ICU patients are the sickest patients in the hospital. They require specialized care and close monitoring due to the severity of

their illness. At Cloud physician we aim to provide international quality of care and expertise to such patients in India. In doing so, Cloud physician has its own indigenously devised platform which encompasses video monitoring, realtime 24/7 tele presence, data upload and transfer capabilities, device and platform integration and clinical decision support. Our solution augments the capability of our highly trained and experienced clinical team to provide patients with world class care. We install the hardware at hospital ICUs that connect it to our command centre which is staffed by our multidisciplinary ICU team 24/7 that is monitoring and assisting the hospital bedside staff manage their ICU patients in line with standard of care guidelines,” says Dhruv Joshi, Director, Cloudphysician Healthcare.

A tech team led by Dhruv Sud, who has nearly 10 years of experience in the healthcare technology domain in the US, ensures that the hardware and software platform installed in the hospital ICUs provide realtime access to the patient’s data, along with a high definition video feed of the patient including all the waveforms across the spectrum of devices that the patient is hooked on to. This allows Cloudphysician Healthcare’s highly trained clinical team to anticipate, prevent and respond to any emergencies that might arise during the patients stay in the ICU. “We do NOT replace any of the staff at the bedside required to manage these patients. They are imperative to delivery of our services in the last mile. We augmentthe bedside teams’ capabilities, and provide them with real time 24/7 level of expertise

that they do not have, thereby improving the quality of care that their patients receive. We provide an extra layer of safety for the sickest patients in the hospital,” adds Dhruv Joshi.

With its HIPAA compliant systems, Cloud physician Healthcare maintains strict auditing processes to ensure protected health information remains secure. While doing so, the firm also helps its clients to move towards more robust patient data storing practices and patient consent practices. Dileep Raman,Director, Cloud physician Healthcare states that, “We are keenly following the progression of the draft DISHA Act and draft Data Protection Bill through the Parliament, as these will lay the groundwork for storage and usage of data in India. Irrespective of the prevailing regulatory framework,we strive toensure that our workflows and monitoring practices ensure the dignity and privacy of our patients, their families and healthcare provider partners at the bedside.” Being an ICU service provider, Cloud physician Healthcare gets a 360-degree view of its patients, right from their bedside monitor details, ventilator data, lab, medication and radiology data as well as clinical assessment data. This has allowed the firm to work on smart decision support systems that will help it further advance the quality of care and improve the efficiency of its physicians, allowing them to take care of a larger number of patients. In the near future, Cloud physician Healthcare is looking to expand its footprint by tying up with channel partners who will help identify the right clients across the country.