Apollo Hospitals and CISCO to bridge the Health Divide

ICT solutions to transform healthcare in suburban and rural areas

New Delhi – 7 May 2010: Apollo Hospitals, Asia’s largest Healthcare provider,
along with CISCO, the globally renowned networking and telecommunication
provider, today announced an alliance to help revolutionize healthcare through
Information and Communication Technology (ICT). This joint venture will drive
inclusive growth and accelerate access to affordable and high quality healthcare
via CISCO’s ‘Desktop Solution’ technology.

Speaking about the association, Ms Sangita Reddy, Executive Director –

Apollo Hospitals Group, said: “At Apollo Hospitals, we constantly endeavour
to introduce new models to help in making quality healthcare accessible to the
masses. The alliance with CISCO will revolutionize the delivery of healthcare in
India. The CISCO ‘Desktop Solution’ represents significant advances in
technology and telecommunication techniques, effectively delivering healthcare
24x7 remotely.”

Healthcare providers face many challenges in the delivery of healthcare

services, particularly to suburban and rural areas. During the last decade,
Apollo Telemedicine Networking Foundation – the largest and oldest multi-
specialty telemedicine network – has handled some of these issues in an
organized, cost-efficient manner. When integrated with Apollo Hospital’s
‘Medintegra’, for the first time CISCO’s ‘Desktop Solution’ will make available a
user-friendly, cost-effective telemedicine solution at a significantly reduced
initial investment at the remote end.

Telemedicine can now be universally available. Doctors with this technology do

not need to visit a telemedicine room to connect with patients and can now
interact with patients on a laptop supported with an Internet connection. A
detailed “clinical examination” and review of all investigations is possible in a
seamless manner with the option of recording the entire interaction. Apollo and
CISCO aim to collaboratively create smart connected healthcare communities
by using cutting-edge technology in healthcare.

As a first step, Apollo Hospitals Group and Apollo Telemedicine Foundation will
be deploying 60 such ‘Desktop Solutions’, thereby enabling a patient to access
any doctor, any time across the Apollo system.

Professor K. Ganapathy, President of Apollo Telemedicine Networking

Foundation and President-elect of the Telemedicine Society of India
observed that this solution would help telemedicine in India reach the critical
mass essential for a successful take-off. “We are looking beyond India in
deploying this technology. ‘Doctor anyone, anytime, anywhere’ will be our
slogan,” Prof. Ganapathy remarked.

Commenting on the relationship, Wim Elfrink, Chief Globalisation Officer

and Executive Vice President, Cisco Services, said: “We are excited to
collaborate closely with Apollo Hospitals to create and showcase various
healthcare solutions. Information and Communications Technologies play a vital
role in improving access to, and providing an affordable and quality healthcare
system especially to tier 1 and tier 2 communities. Backed by Apollo’s
expertise, I am confident we can transform how doctors practice medicine and
how patients experience care – no matter where they are.”

Vishal Gupta, Vice President, CISCO said: “We are certain that with Apollo’s
feedback, the product will be refined further to suit specific needs worldwide.”

CISCO Health Presence extended reach solution helps connect patients with
medical providers conveniently and efficiently, regardless of distance. Using the
network as a platform for telemedicine, it creates an environment similar to
what patients experience when they visit their medical provider. It combines
high-definition video and audio, end-to-end telemedicine workflow, and remote
medical diagnostics to create an affordable, innovative and scalable solution.

About Apollo Hospitals Group

Dr Prathap C Reddy, the architect of modern Indian healthcare, launched the

first corporate hospital in India in 1983. An integrated healthcare company, the
Apollo Hospitals Group has a network of more than 9,000 beds across 52
hospitals, almost 1100 pharmacies, diagnostic clinics, medical business process
outsourcing services, health insurance services, and clinical research divisions
with a focus on epidemiological studies, stem cell and genetic research. To
develop skilled human resource for the burgeoning need of superior healthcare
delivery, the Apollo Hospitals Group has 10 nursing colleges and two hospital
management colleges. In a rare honour, the Government of India released a
commemorative postage stamp on the Apollo Hospitals Group in recognition of
its contribution to Indian healthcare. For more than 26 years, Apollo Hospitals
has continuously excelled and maintained leadership in medical innovation,
world-class clinical services and cutting-edge research. Apollo Hospitals are
consistently ranked amongst the best hospitals globally for advanced medical
services and seven of its hospitals are accredited by Joint Commission
International (JCI). Apollo Telemedicine Networking Foundation, the largest and
oldest multi-speciality telemedicine network in South Asia, has played a major
role in evangelizing tele-health in India. Transforming healthcare with IT is the
group’s major goal for the ensuing decade.

For further information, please visit: www.apollohospitals.com

About CISCO

CISCO (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms

how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can
be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please visit:
http://newsroom.cisco.com. Cisco equipment in India is supplied by Cisco
Systems International BV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc.
CISCO, the Cisco logo, Cisco Systems, and Cisco TelePresence are registered
trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and
some other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the
property of their respective owners. The use of the word ‘partner’ does not
imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.

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