The new normal virtual townhall

COVID-19 has changed our lives forever, it is a new world we are living. When we talk of re-entering the community or kick start normal functioning, we need to pause and understand what we have lost. Before setting goals and protocols to restart, we need to take a step back and reassess the loses that we have endured and understand the mistakes made, as without this, we will keep repeating mistakes.

ONE World- ONE problem has made us realize that this Pandemic can only be successfully overcome by global collective action.

COVID 19, a deadly mystery, getting unravelled every day is spredaing rapidly and spreading devastating, multi-organ impact on some patients, as it spreads silently affecting millions across the globe, to the point of being scary. The impact of COVID -19 makes it imperative to get answers from various specialties on how we all can learn from each other while exploring possible solutions.

With total session duration of 90 minutes, each specialty will address the audience for 10 minutes on an area of their specialty.

We take this opportunity to invite you as a leading expert to address the various concern, queries and challenges. It will be a privilege and honour, and we are sure the physicians across specialties, and people across various digital platform will gather on ET-Insights, to learn from your expertise during these times of the COVID Pandemic.

India’s leading and eminent Cardio-Metabolic Physician Dr. Hemant Thacker has graciously agreed to moderate the session. Various speciality experts will join him in the Virtual Townhall while they explain common concerns across specialties and explore challenges that we may face once we re-enter community life.Physicians and common population concerns are key topics to be addressed. This, the first Virtual COVID Townhall, brought to you by ET Edge – The Times of India Group – gathering experts from clinical specialties, discussing challenges, concerns, and the way forward in this – THE NEW NORMAL.

Join in from Comfort of your Home

Session Moderator

The Economic Times Virtual Townhall is being moderated by India’s leading and eminent Cardio-Metabolic Physician Dr. Hemant Thacker.

Dr. Hemant Thacker
MD (Bom), MRSH (Lond.), FACE (USA), FACP Consulting Physician, Bhatia Hospital, Breach Candy Hospital, Jaslok Hospital, Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital, Mumbai.

♦ He is the Chief Medical Advisor at Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd and Northern Marine Shipping Division.
♦ He is a Medical Consultant for Mondial Assistance, a Paris-based International Insurance and Health organisation.
♦ He is also the Consultant Editor for “Health” in The Times of India, Bombay Times and The Economic Times. 1999 onwards.
♦ Dr. Thacker is the Founder and Chairman of the South Bombay Physician’s Journal Club – a Medical Council of India accredited body involved in Postgraduate CME activities. 2003 onwards.
♦ In addition to general Medicine and Therapeutics he specialises in Cardio-Metabolic disorders.
♦ Dr. Thacker has been the Principal Investigator in more than 35 Multicentric, International and National studies.
♦ He has published several papers, and written textbook chapters and articles in reputed medical journals.
♦ He has a vast experience of more than 3 decades.

Speakers & Panelists

Dr. Arun Shah

MBBS, MD, DM (Neurology) Senior Consultant Neurologist

Dr. Banshi Saboo

MBBS, MD, MSc, Phd.D, FACE, FRCP, FICN, FICP, FIACM Chief Diabetologist & Chairman

Dr. BM Makkar

MBBS, MD, FRCP, FACP, FACE, FIMS, FICP, FRSSDI Director

Dr. Gourdas Choudhuri

MD, DM, FACG, FICP, FAMS, FRCPI Director & HOD Fortis Memorial Research Institute

Dr. Henri Colt

M.D., FCCP, FAWM Professor Emeritus Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine

Dr. Indraneil Mukherjee

MBBS, MD (Surgery) Associate Program Director Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine

Dr. Jagdish Chaturvedi

ENT Surgeon, Medical Device Innovator, Author and Stand-up Comedian

Dr. Kusum Punjabi

MD, MBA Emergency Physician and Assistant Professor

Dr. Mamta Jain

Managing Director

Dr. Neeru Vithalani

MBBS, MD (Paed), DCH Consultant Paediatrician

PadmaShree Dr. Ashwin B. Mehta

MD, FACC, FCCP, FISE, FICP Director of Cardiology

Dr. Parikshit Tank

MD DNB FCPS DGO DFP MNAMS MICOG FRCOG, Consultant Obstetrician, Gynecologist

Dr. Vihang Vahia

M.B.B.S., D.P.M., M.D., I.D.F.A.P.A Consultant Psychiatrist

Video on demand
MBBS, MD, DM (Neurology) Senior Consultant Neurologist, Breach Candy Hospital.

• He has participated in research projects involving therapy of Acute Stroke and role of platelet activation in subtypes of ischemic stroke.

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MBBS, MD, MSc, Phd.D, FACE, FRCP, FICN, FICP, FIACM Chief Diabetologist & Chairman-DiacareDiabetes Care Hormone Clinic, Ahmedabad

• Dr. Saboo is the President of RSSDI.
• He is the Founder President of Diabetes Care, India.
• He is the Elected Executive Committee Member: International Society for Paediatric & Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD)
• He is the Hon. Secretary: Diabetes in Asia Study Group (DASG)
• Executive Secretary: DiabetesIndia
• He is actively involved In Teaching of Undergraduate and Postgraduate Medical Students.

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MBBS, MD, FRCP, FACP, FACE, FIMS, FICP, FRSSDI Director, Dr. Makkar’s Diabetes and Obesity Centre.

• Dr. Makkar is a leading senior diabetologist & obesity specialist.
• Visiting Consultant Physician & Diabetologist at Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute.
• He is the Hony. Secretary of the Research Society For The Study Of Diabetes In India (RSSDI).
• Prof. KL Wig Oration from Asso of Physicians of India, Delhi Chapter.
• Founder member of Delhi Diabetic Forum (DDF).
• Dr. Makkar with his team has been aggressively working on is “REVERSAL OF DIABETES” – that means we can possibly help you stop all the diabetes medications at least for a few months to few years.

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MD, DM, FACG, FICP, FAMS, FRCPI Director & HOD Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram. Gastroenterology and Hepatology Sciences. Former Professor and Head, Department of Gastroenterology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow

• He is a gastroenterologist, medical educator, researcher of national eminence, as well as a columnist and philanthropist.
• Dr. Choudhuri was the first to start Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS) and Extra Corporeal Shockwave Biliary Lithotripsy in India (ESWL).
• Under his leadership, the department of Gastroenterology at Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, developed into one of the top five in the country.
• He has been the president of the Indian Society of Gastroenterology and is a revered teacher.
• He has over 200 scientific publications as well as several orations and awards to his credit. With over 30 years in the profession, Dr. Choudhuri brings vast experience and expertice in diagnosis and management of a wide range of liver and GI diseases.

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M.D., FCCP, FAWM Professor Emeritus Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of California Irvine.

• Award-winning physician educator, writer, and adventure traveler.
• Dr. Colt is the Founder of Bronchoscopy International.
• He is the Former Chairman of the World Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology.
• Dr. Henri Colt is an internationally recognized physician leader, award-winning medical educator, writer, and adventure traveler.
• His books include The Picture of Health: Medical Ethics and the Movies ( Oxford University Press), Flex-Rigid Pleuroscopy Step by Step (PMG Press), Manual of Pleural Diseases (Raven Press), The Essential Bronchoscopist Series (Rake Press), and Bronchoscopy and Central Airways Disorders: A Patient-Centered Approach (Elsevier Press).
• He has authored two collections of short stories and a monograph on the Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani (Amazon and Kindle).
• He has over 300 publications.

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MBBS, MD (Surgery) Associate Program Director Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine at Hofstra University. Minimally Invasive Foregut and HepatoPancreato-Biliary Surgeon at Northwell Health, Staten Island University Hospital, New York.

• Dr. Mukherjee is also the Assistant Professor, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell Health.
• He was also the Chief Resident at Staten Island University Hospital.
• He also serves as the Assistant Editor for the International Journal of Surgery
• He is also certified by the American Board of Surgery.
• He has also won awards at Medical Hackathon for Medical Device Development at MIT and Cleveland Clinics and is interested in medical innovation.

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ENT Surgeon, Medical Device Innovator, Author and Stand-up Comedian.

• Dr. Jagdish Chaturvedi is an ENT surgeon trained at St. John’s Medical College and Hospital, Bangalore (2009-2011), a StanfordIndia Biodesign (SIB) Fellow 2012, and holds an MBA degree in Entrepreneurship and Hospital Management (NIBM,2013).
• A Sinus Specialist at Fortis Hospital, Bangalore, he is as visiting consultant in ENT surgery.
• Founder-Director – HiiiH Innovations Pvt. Ltd
• He is recognized as one of the 35 innovators under 35 years by MIT Technology Review.
• He is a stand-up comedian, popularized by his YouTube channel “Jagdish Chaturvedi”.
• Author of the best selling book on medical device innovations called “Inventing Medical Devices – A perspective from India”, “The Benefits of Failing Successfully” and “One Year of Stand-up Comedy”.

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MD, MBA Emergency Physician and Assistant Professor at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

• Emergency Physician and Assistant Professor at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
• Instructor, Department of Emergency Medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
• Board of Advisors at Asia Initiatives.
• Board of Trustees, AAPI
• Women Physician Section AMA
• COVID Ventilator Allocation Task Force, New Jersey
• COVID Tent Management Task Force, New Jersey

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Managing Director. Medwiz Healthcare Communications Pvt Ltd. 2005 – Present (13 years)

Medwiz Healthcare Communications is a leading scientific communication company, in Mumbai involved in Medical writing, CME, Brand strategy, surgical skill enhancement programs, International and National CME.

Conceptualized and executed Patient awareness program with leading celebrities.

Coordinating with various Faculty and associations for CME, Symposia and certified programs across specialties.

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MBBS, MD (Paed), DCH Consultant Paediatrician Bhatia Hospital, Breach Candy Hospital, Saifee Hospital, Mumbai.

• She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Medicine and Surgery from Bombay University in 1973. She pursued a Diploma in Child Health and completed with a Doctorate in Paediatrics Medicine in 1979.
• A visiting lecturer at the Institute of Nursing Education, J.J. Group of Hospitals from 19811986, she is a Research Associate in Paediatric wing of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Grant Medical College and J.J. Hospital.
• She played a key role in setting up a 30 bedded paediatric department including a Level II NICU, IPCU at Bhatia Hospital.
• She regularly conducts Antenatal workshops for expectant mothers and education workshops for teens and adolescents. and is Member-Medical Advisory committee at Bhatia Hospital and Honorary Pediatric Consultant and Advisor for Adoption and Indoor admission, at Asha Sadan.
• She is practicing as a Consulting Pediatrician in Mumbai South for 37 years

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MD, FACC, FCCP, FISE, FICP Director of Cardiology- Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre Honorary Consultant Cardiologist at Lilavati Hospital, Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai.

• Dr. Mehta is the Pioneer in starting Cardiac catheterization and Angiography in newborn babies in India in 1973.
• He is the First one to start His Bundle Electrography in India in 1973.
• He has performed or supervised more than 10,000 Angioplasties & 50,000 Angiographies.
• He was the President of the International Conference of Coronary Artery Disease. 20002008.
• He has been the President, Cardiological Society of India. 1998-2000. & the Past President of World Congress of Coronary Heart Disease.
• He has more than 38 years of experience.

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MD DNB FCPS DGO DFP MNAMS MICOG FRCOG, Consultant Obstetrician, Gynecologist, Fertility Care Physician, Ashwini Maternity and Surgical Hospital, Center for Endoscopy and Assisted Reproduction, Mumbai Joint Treasurer- FOGSI

• He is also a Honorary Professor at Pacific Medical College, Udaipur and a Consultant for Assisted Reproduction at 16 IVF Centers.
• He is the recipient of Dr K Bhaskar Rao Gold Medal during DNB, Dr Kamini Rao Yuva FOGSI Orator,
• He has over 100 peer reviewed publications in Indexed journals, CME publications and textbooks.
• He has Co-authored 4 books in OBGyn and Is on the Editorial board of 4 indexed journals.
• He has 22 years of experience.

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M.B.B.S., D.P.M., M.D., I.D.F.A.P.A Consultant Psychiatrist- Lilavati Hospital, Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai.

• He is a Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the Cooper Medical College and HBT Medical College, Mumbai.
• He is the Founder HOD Department of Psychological Medicine, Dr. R. N. Cooper Hospital.
• He was the Former Professor of Psychiatry at Cooper Hospital and Seth G.S. Medical College, Mumbai.
• He has undergone overseas training at International Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.
• He has Several Publications to his name in indexed medical journals, chapters in text books and monograms .
• He has an overall experience of 40 years.

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