Pacific Specialists Healthcare recently introduced Pill Cams or Capsule Endoscopy, prompting the hospital to place additional orders to ensure uninterrupted services. Parvish Kumar, the director and CEO of PSH, indicated that the pill cam has become a highly sought-after service since its announcement.
“We have already ordered more units that we expect to arrive within a week,” Kumar stated, emphasizing their commitment to maintaining stock levels for at least three months to prevent shortages. “We are very conscious of supply chain logistics and are exploring ways to minimize disruptions.”
Kumar noted that while they anticipated high interest in this new diagnostic technology for the digestive tract, the actual demand exceeded their expectations. “Our forecast was about 4 to 5 percent more than traditional methods, based on data from neighboring countries,” he explained.
He advocates for regular screening, especially for individuals over 65, noting the importance of the procedure in detecting bowel cancer. “We were quite surprised by the number of patients seeking this procedure,” he added.
The capsule endoscopy is a small, ingestible device that allows doctors to visualize the entire small bowel, crucial for digestion and metabolic functions. The process is non-invasive: patients swallow a capsule similar in size to a large vitamin. “Capsule Endoscopy enables our doctors to view the small bowel, which is difficult to access with traditional endoscopy,” said Kumar, highlighting the capsule’s tiny camera that captures images as it moves through the digestive system.
In addition to the Pill Cam service, PSH Nadi has experienced an uptick in both tourists and locals seeking medical consultations and treatments. Kumar noted that the facility had to stabilize some tourists who fell ill before they could return to their home countries through medical evacuation arrangements. The increased patient volume is also attributed to PSH’s 24-hour operational status and availability of expert medical practitioners.
Kumar expressed plans to introduce more advanced technologies to enhance healthcare services in Fiji. “My vision is to offer world-class medical procedures and treatments for both Fiji and the Pacific Islands,” he stated. “We are preparing for open-heart surgeries, among other intensive healthcare services.”
His goal is to make these medical procedures affordable for local and Pacific Islander patients, emphasizing the need for accessible healthcare financing and promoting universal health coverage. “As a local, I understand our patients and the healthcare landscape, and I am dedicated to finding ways to improve affordability in our healthcare system.”