Rahman Medical Institute (RMI)

[Toramana]

RMI Documentary.avi - YouTube

[Toramana]

Well, RMI started with a hospital. It now has expanded into an institute, a teaching hospital, a medical college, a school of nursing, a school of allied medical sciences, and a paramedic institute. And it is setting up another another hospital of 300 beds.

This is huge expansion in a short time.

It shows one thing---public demand for educational and health services---and the expansion of services sector.

It is good that Pashtuns are now learning setting up of institutions (sophistication). This is what Pashtuns should focus on.

Dr. Rahman was a top heart surgeon (now retired) in Pakistan---He worked in Karachi but desired to set up a modern hospital in his home province KPK. He is a Daudzai from Bhudanai near Peshawar. A man with a strong determination.

[BarakzaiAbdali]

Toramana, from what I saw when i was there, and I may be wrong - the situation was: you have to pay to play. I may be wrong about that. One doctor was also yelling at a patient for speaking dari - and another doctor - a Khattak chewed him out.

I agree the man set up something that is very good - in fact Cleveland Clinic and other heart hospitals were built on this same model.

However, compare this with heart surgeon Shetti's accomplishment which combines a new business model with a cutting edge hospital to actually challenge the American healthcare system's own costs of healthcare model:

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/indianhospital/

And his hospital is actually serving all of the Indian classes of peoples from fabulously wealthy to the poor destitute and still making a profit that is a cut above that which the best American institutions make (resulting in Harvard Business School and the Economist writing about and recognizing his novel design).

Perhaps if Rehman adopts something of this model and utilizes his hospital to serve the healthcare needs of all the surroundings areas and Afghans across the border as a sort of tertiary healthcare center - he too can ride alongside Shetti in terms of accomplishments.

[Toramana]

Toramana, from what I saw when i was there, and I may be wrong - the situation was: you have to pay to play. I may be wrong about that. One doctor was also yelling at a patient for speaking dari - and another doctor - a Khattak chewed him out.

I agree the man set up something that is very good - in fact Cleveland Clinic and other heart hospitals were built on this same model.

However, compare this with heart surgeon Shetti's accomplishment which combines a new business model with a cutting edge hospital to actually challenge the American healthcare system's own costs of healthcare model:

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/indianhospital/

And his hospital is actually serving all of the Indian classes of peoples from fabulously wealthy to the poor destitute and still making a profit that is a cut above that which the best American institutions make (resulting in Harvard Business School and the Economist writing about and recognizing his novel design).

Perhaps if Rehman adopts something of this model and utilizes his hospital to serve the healthcare needs of all the surroundings areas and Afghans across the border as a sort of tertiary healthcare center - he too can ride alongside Shetti in terms of accomplishments.

Although, I have not looked at from the inside but my friends are telling me, it is good---Rest I think it is catering to the needs of the middle classes willing to pay no matter how high the cost ---and will head to Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, etc. paying even more---

As for I know cardiac surgiary in RMI has almost the same cost as in Shetti hospital (roughly 2000 dollars at most 2500 dollars). Imagine Pashtun had to travel to Karachi for such surgiary ---

[Admin Khan]

Toramana, from what I saw when i was there, and I may be wrong - the situation was: you have to pay to play. I may be wrong about that. One doctor was also yelling at a patient for speaking dari - and another doctor - a Khattak chewed him out.

I agree the man set up something that is very good - in fact Cleveland Clinic and other heart hospitals were built on this same model.

However, compare this with heart surgeon Shetti's accomplishment which combines a new business model with a cutting edge hospital to actually challenge the American healthcare system's own costs of healthcare model:

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/indianhospital/

And his hospital is actually serving all of the Indian classes of peoples from fabulously wealthy to the poor destitute and still making a profit that is a cut above that which the best American institutions make (resulting in Harvard Business School and the Economist writing about and recognizing his novel design).

Perhaps if Rehman adopts something of this model and utilizes his hospital to serve the healthcare needs of all the surroundings areas and Afghans across the border as a sort of tertiary healthcare center - he too can ride alongside Shetti in terms of accomplishments.

Do you honestly think we Pashtuns can ever set up a MassGen or ClevClinic? The future seems bleak.

[Saifullah]

Its a business rather than something that we should be proud of. It doesn't help the poor much and 90% of its patients are Afghans who think that RMI has some miracles. They would go for simple things and end up leaving with a debt. I dont want to expose some things about RMI and go personal on some individuals. But yes I agree hygiene wise its a good hospital, but is it making a change to the society?? Not really

[Saifullah]

A lot of the Dr's are just do unnecessary tests whether RMI or North west and its just a place for the money hungry doctors (not all) to earn some money after they retire from government jobs or for people coming from abroad to earn more money than they would abroad...lol

[BarakzaiAbdali]

Its a business rather than something that we should be proud of. It doesn't help the poor much and 90% of its patients are Afghans who think that RMI has some miracles. They would go for simple things and end up leaving with a debt. I dont want to expose some things about RMI and go personal on some individuals. But yes I agree hygiene wise its a good hospital, but is it making a change to the society?? Not really

yeah wrorre, this is what I meant. I also dont want to demean Dr. Rahman and I dont think he as a person may be motivating such things - but as I said I personally saw a doctor there yelling at a patient for speaking in a persianized accent/ some dari words here and there. My blood boiled but it was nice because another visiting professor who was a local stood up, took this aquaintance aside and told him how unprofessional it was for him to behave that way toward a patient.

Thats sorta what I meant with Toramana - the operation costs maybe similar in the 2 hospitals (Indian hospital/RMI) but the difference is that Shetty has set up an excellent scheme to subsidize such essential life saving procedures for a large measure of the local poor - and that is a difference that cannot be ignored!

[BarakzaiAbdali]

Do you honestly think we Pashtuns can ever set up a MassGen or ClevClinic? The future seems bleak.

Brother anything is possible! keep hope - but we have to expand our mind and think about how to peacefully support complete autonomy for so many subjugated regions. Only an autonomous people with sovereignty can innovate and control their own destiny. And patience is an essential tool. Why does it have to be in our lifetime? Did Washington try to build Mass General right away or were foundations laid for such advancements in due time?

[Toramana]

Brother anything is possible! keep hope - but we have to expand our mind and think about how to peacefully support complete autonomy for so many subjugated regions. Only an autonomous people with sovereignty can innovate and control their own destiny. And patience is an essential tool. Why does it have to be in our lifetime? Did Washington try to build Mass General right away or were foundations laid for such advancements in due time?

One vice that I have noticed in people of the East is impatience and desperation. One virtue that I have seen in the people of the West is patience and consistency. We people of the East cannot realize that Western societies built the robust societies and systems that they now have in centuries after almost countless attempts, failures, debacles, and experimentation (not to mention wars, destruction, etc.).

We want to bridge the evolutionary gap of centuries within no time despite the fact that we are just getting out of medieval backwardness and a state of lethargy spanning few centuries.

We must realize/accept that nothing starts from perfection. Things start from pretty clumsy attempts and then progress towards perfection (more appropriately improvement) and efficiency. We have to follow the iterative pattern that marks the evolution of many societies both historical and contemporary.

[faye]

what you classify lethargy, could be a time of contentment, where societies felt no need for change because they were happy with their own systems.
materially, the capitalist controlled countries are changing constantly due to the money men, wanting to sell more products to consumers. even their wars are profitable.
they are also recolonising the developing countries, that they are again, able to profit from.

the scientific/industrialised countries, had no pressure on them to 'evolve'. the poor countries today, are under stress from bullying and western influence, to conform to the west.

some easterners tend to wear rose coloured glasses, when they look only at the facade of the west and only see the negatives of their own societies.

[badmash_khel]

I think the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan need to realize that they need to pay tax if they want improved quality of life. The problem is that people don't trust governments so rather than paying tax they buy things like healthcare and education with their own money which has insured that the private sector is very strong. First we need good accountable government then people need to pay taxes so the lives of all citizens can improve. Otherwise its an endless cycle.

[Admin Khan]

I think the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan need to realize that they need to pay tax if they want improved quality of life. The problem is that people don't trust governments so rather than paying tax they buy things like healthcare and education with their own money which has insured that the private sector is very strong. First we need good accountable government then people need to pay taxes so the lives of all citizens can improve. Otherwise its an endless cycle.

I disagree. The people do pay taxes to 'units', its just the government which is incapable of collecting it. In Karachi, the Pashtuns and Muhajirs each have their areas, where every single shop-owner needs to dish out X amount per month since they provide them with 'security'.

[badmash_khel]

I disagree. The people do pay taxes to 'units', its just the government which is incapable of collecting it. In Karachi, the Pashtuns and Muhajirs each have their areas, where every single shop-owner needs to dish out X amount per month since they provide them with 'security'.

I was talking more about what I saw in peshawar when I went there. The people would close their shops and businesses when they heard the the taxman was coming to collect the tax. As you said the government is corrupt and incapable to collect tax and people in general don't trust the government with their hard earned money. Until there is transparancy, end of corruption and accountability, the situation will stay the same.

The situation you described in Karachi seems more like what the mafia do, provide "security" for businesses. Reminds me of "Sopranos" :D

[Badlun]

Brother anything is possible! keep hope - but we have to expand our mind and think about how to peacefully support complete autonomy for so many subjugated regions. Only an autonomous people with sovereignty can innovate and control their own destiny. And patience is an essential tool. Why does it have to be in our lifetime? Did Washington try to build Mass General right away or were foundations laid for such advancements in due time?

I do not understand the paradox that Afghanistan is proud of a region which was never occupied by any one , always defeated the invaders from Alexandar the Great till today and that it is the graveyard of empires but at the same time we complain of subjugation by others and blame others for our problems. Problem lies with us not with others. We are at fault not others. If they colonize us why we cant do the same.

Afghans/Pashtuns should come out teh shell of this false sense of grandeur, the paranoia and focus on their pitfalls for development and having a great life what we see in the developed West.

RMI is an island of excellence in the quagmire of ugly healthcare facilities Pashtuns have. Let us multiply it by having many many RMIs in Paksitan and Afghanistan.