When people hear the word Bangalore, what comes to mind are visions of cool showers, beautiful gardens, age-old trees, and serene lakes. Since it is located about 3,000 feet above sea level, Bangalore draws more people to it.
Aside from being such a serene place, the city also offers its amazing healthcare system to the world. If you are looking for the best cancer hospital in Bangalore, you will surely find one.
Though there are plenty of facilities to choose from, you need to know what to look for when you are in the process of choosing. Here are a few of the things you should check.
Credentials
According to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), physician’s competency is measured according to system-based practice, professionalism, interpersonal communication skills, practice-based learning, clinical knowledge, and patient care.
When a hospital or a physician is accorded with certifications, this means that his qualifications are verified to make sure that their competence is up-to-date before they are granted certain privileges.
These privileges come in the form of licenses to provide certain services, certifications to prove relevant medical experience and training, or verifications of the education they received.
For cancer hospitals, it is important to look for credentials issued by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Cancer, College of Radiology, College of Surgeons, and Commission on Cancer. With these credentials, you know that you are dealing with specialists in the disease.
Quality Ratings
Private and government organizations utilize the data provided by Medicare to compute a certain cancer hospital’s quality ratings for a wide array of treatments like cancer.
If you are looking for the best cancer hospital in Bangalore, it is ideal for you to look for a 5-star rated cancer center. Suppose you want to check the ratings of a certain cancer hospital.
In that case, you can check out the website of Medicare and look for the result of the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAPS) national survey among cancer patients. Their experiences are the bases of such ratings.
Technology
Cancer used to be a disease that is difficult to manage. Fortunately, because of the advances in science and technology and current breakthroughs in radiation therapy, specialists are now able to provide more focused and higher radiation doses.
Because of this technology, the tissues found near the tumor suffer lesser damage than before. This also significantly lessened the number of treatments cancer patients need to go through.
Aside from this, newer technologies in the form of Stereotactic Radiotherapy System (SRS) help shape the beam precisely on the patient’s tumor through 3D images. This treatment is best for lung and brain tumors.
When looking for a cancer hospital, you should also review if such a hospital carries these kinds of technologies.
Experience and Expertise
A hospital with doctors that have longer and more focused experience in cancer treatment is the ideal cancer treatment facility. So, before you admit yourself or a loved one to a cancer facility, ask how many cancer types they have handled in the past.
In medicine, there is a widely accepted principle that states that the more frequent a hospital delivers a treatment, the better are its results when administered to their patients.
One-Stop-Shop
Another factor you should consider is the proximity and availability of a treatment center, pharmacy, and specialists in a single location. Cancer and its treatment are exhausting.
So, it would be more convenient for the patient if your treatment elements like pharmacy, consulting specialists, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy are in close proximity to each other. With this, you can spare yourself, the patient, and carer from driving or walking within a vast campus to get to where you have to be.
Participates In Clinical Trials
Some patients do not respond positively to traditional cancer treatments. Because of this, some medical centers also join in clinical trials to offer alternative treatment opportunities for their cancer patients.
Since this feature is not available to all cancer treatment facilities, it would be to your advantage if you admit yourself or your patient to such a center. Apart from all this, it would also be best if your cancer treatment facility is located near your home.
As mentioned above, cancer treatment, and the disease itself, is already pretty exhausting. It will do the patient more good if he is in a familiar environment more often. Coming home after a hostile day at the center is the most rewarding feeling to any cancer patient.
So, the next time you look for a cancer facility, go over this list, and make your patient feel better.
Author’s bio: Ester Adams is a farmer of words in the field of creativity. She is an experienced independent content writer with a demonstrated history of working in the writing and editing industry. She is a multi-niche content chef who loves cooking new things.