Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Chairman
Apollo Hospitals Group

Dr Prathap C Reddy, M.D, MBBS, FCCP, FICA, FRCS (Hony) is a Cardiologist and an entrepreneur who founded the first corporate chain of hospitals in India – the Apollo Hospitals Group. He revolutionized the healthcare scenario of India and inspired others to follow suit. Today, India has over 750 corporate hospitals all over the country.

Dr Reddy received his medical degree from the Stanley Medical College in Chennai and later trained as a Cardiologist in the UK and USA. He did his Fellowship from the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston and went on to head several research programs at the Missouri State Chest Hospital, USA where he worked for several years before returning to India.

The dream of making world-class medical facilities in India spurred him to setup the Apollo Hospitals in Chennai in 1983 at a time when private healthcare institutions were virtually unknown in our country. The new Hospital attracted the best medical talent, including eminent non-resident Indian doctors from hospitals in the US and UK to return to India: this was the first major reversal in the pattern of brain drain.

Starting from a 300-bedded Hospital in 1983, the Group has, over the past 28 years, continuously excelled and maintained leadership in medical innovation, world-class clinical services and cutting edge research. With a network of over 8,500 beds across 54 hospitals at culturally diverse locations in India and overseas, over 4000 top class clinicians and an employee strength of more than 65,000 professionals, the Apollo Hospitals Group is one of the largest hospital groups in the world, being consistently ranked amongst the best hospitals for advanced medical services. These hospitals have served over 19 million patients from 55 countries, with seven of them having the prestigious JCI accreditation.

Dr Reddy has undertaken pioneering work in bringing about institutional changes in the private healthcare infrastructure by, inter alia, establishing Apollo Institutes for post graduate Medical and Nursing Education, Hospital Administration, Physiotherapy, Clinical Research and a large number of Paramedical Programs. With the setting up of the Apollo Telemedicine Networking Foundation, Health Super Hiway, Apollo DKV Insurance Co and the Apollo Reach Hospitals, the Apollo Group (primarily identified as a healthcare provider) is today a leading provider of healthcare solutions, inclusive of next generation healthcare IT solutions and services. These have helped establish a modern healthcare network through both in house and outreach services, reaching out to millions of people.

Dr Reddy was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1991 for his contribution to the emergence of the private healthcare sector and his role in bringing about several regulatory changes relating to licensing, import restrictions, organ transplantation, etc. He received a number of esteemed awards and recognitions such as Mother St Teresa’s ‘Citizen of the Year Award’, recognition in a Harvard School publication for pioneering efforts in healthcare, ‘Life Time Achievement Award’ by Hospimedica International, the ‘Asia Pacific Bio Business Leadership Award’ by the University of Southern California, Modern Medicare Excellence Award by the ICICI Group for outstanding achievements in the healthcare industry and several others.

As Chairman of the CII National Healthcare Committee since 2006, Dr Reddy constituted sub-committees for drawing up standards for accreditation of Indian Hospitals for the first time in the country; did some commendable work in the areas of medical value travel and medical code of ethics. One of the areas of impact has been the area of budget recommendations to the Government and health insurance.

In November 2009, The Government of India honoured the pioneering spirit of the Apollo Hospitals Group with the release of a postage stamp.

Dr Prathap C Reddy was conferred with second highest civilian award, the “Padma Vibhushan” in March 2010. This unequalled commendation from the Government of India is an acknowledgement of his untiring pursuit for excellence in healthcare as Apollo strives towards touching a billion lives.

Under Dr Reddy’s leadership, the Apollo Group has undertaken philanthropic work through ‘Save a Child’s Heart Foundation’ (SACH), the CURE Foundation for cancer care, the Indian Head Injury Foundation (IHIF), ‘Distance Healthcare Advancement’ (DISHA), and many others that have touched the lives of several hundred thousand children, differently-abled people, cancer and brain trauma patients.