In the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare, the entrepreneurial spirit of individuals like Dr. Philip Augustine shines brightly, driving innovation and transformation. Dr. Augustine’s visionary approach to healthcare entrepreneurship has left an indelible mark on the industry, empowering institutions and revolutionizing patient care. Let’s delve into the remarkable journey of Dr. Philip Augustine and explore how his entrepreneurial spirit is reshaping the future of healthcare.

Since the scope of my clinical and research work outgrew the small town of Koothattukulam, in 1992 I moved into the city of Cochin with my team of Gastroenterologists and established the Digestive Diseases Centre at the newly formed PVS Memorial Hospital. The next 10 years saw the rapid growth of this unique centre of Gastroenterology where patients were referred from all across the State and from other States in India for major gastrointestinal problems. It was at PVS Memorial Hospital where I convincingly reported the existence of Crohn’s disease in India at the Indian Society of Gastroenterology national conference in 1995. This was an enlightening revelation to the entire Gastroenterology community in India and now it is an accepted fact that Crohn’s disease also has possibly the highest incidence in Kerala among the Indian States. Many national and international Gastroenterologists came for advanced training in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy to PVS Memorial Hospital as I had already established a pioneering position in various advanced therapeutic endoscopic procedures including ERCP and laser endoscopy. We could also start the DNB (Diplomate of the National Board) programme in Gastroenterology at PVS Memorial Hospital. Our infrastructure and confidence were good enough for me to organize the 43rd National Conference of the Indian Society of Gastroenterology in 2002 at Cochin. This was acclaimed by all as one of the best national conferences in the history of ISG.

To further the standard of referral tertiary care in Gastroenterology and other branches of medicine I took the initiative of establishing the now well known Lakeshore Hospital & Research Centre, Cochin, a 350-bed multispeciality hospital with 36 clinical departments, over 130 doctors and a total of over 1200 employees in the corporate sector in Kerala. I could attract the best professional medical talent in the state and organized a new business model making senior medical specialists as the nucleus of the venture making them stakeholders in the public limited company. This model is now being emulated by various groups of doctors across the country. As a medical institution excelling in patient care, education and research Lakeshore in its short history of 5 years has already become a brand name in healthcare in the country. This institution has also a leading role in attracting patients for high end medical and surgical treatments from several other countries thus promoting the concept of “Medical Tourism” in the country. Medical Tourism is expected to bring in major foreign currency earnings for the country in the coming years. In the capacity of Chairman Healthcare Subcommittee, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Kerala Council, I was also instrumental in spreading the concept of medical tourism in Kerala and organized the “Kerala Health Tourism Conferences 2006 and 2007” in association with the Government of Kerala through its Tourism Department and CII Kerala Council. I was the organizing Chairman of the KHT conferences, which were international conferences with exhibition.

Lakeshore Hospital is one of the few major hospitals in the country which has won the prestigious NABH (National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare providers) accreditation. We are recognized for DNB training in various departments including Family Medicine, Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Surgery and Anesthesiology. We also run job-oriented courses as part of our social commitment for skill development for the educated unemployed. These courses are run under the auspicious of agencies like the Bharat Sevak Samaj and the Christian Medical Association of India (CMAI). The first batch of students have already passed out in Endoscopic Technology, Dialysis Technology and Operation Theatre Technology.

I have also initiated a comprehensive health survey of the Karimaloor Panchayat in Ernakulam District. This is possibly the first such initiative in the private sector to assess the disease patterns and overall health status of a community. This was intended to be a comprehensive door-to-door survey which should generate hard data for future health care planning of the community.