Doctors in the city, particularly specialists in different medical fields, are increasingly collaborating with each other to share their expertise and treat patients suffering from serious illnesses. Each of these doctors has his own flourishing practice but they have formed informal teams so that their patients get, with a single consultation, the benefit of a co-ordinated opinion of experts from different medical fields.

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A 12-year-old boy, Harsh Kumar, has been able to recover from blood cancer mainly because of such cooperation between his doctor, Dr Deepa Trivedi, and several other city-based specialists "Harsh came down with high fever and it would not go away," said Harsh's father, Ramesh Kumar. "Soon after, his blood tests revealed that he had blood cancer. Our family physician asked us to consult cancer specialists."

Harsh's parents consulted Dr Deepa Trivedi, a specialist in cancer among children. "As Dr Trivedi works as part of a team of doctors, we could get the opinion of 8 experts who co-ordinated their expertise to arrive at an accurate diagnosis," said Ramesh Kumar.

"We did not have to run from one doctor to another for a second or a third opinion."

While he was still being treated for cancer, Harsh suffered a brain haemorrhage which caused paralysis. But Dr Trivedi's team roped in four neuro-physicians and 20 other doctors to decide the correct line of treatment.

Harsh is now out of danger. The haemorrhage, too, has been treated successfully and 70% of the paralysis is gone. "This miracle happened due to the teamwork of experts ," says Ramesh Kumar.

The growing trend of doctors from different medical fields working together has, not only saved lives, but has also made it unnecessary for patients and their families to run from one doctor to another for the correct diagnosis.

A cancer survivor, 59-year-old Ushakant Shah, said he was treated by the oncologist Dr Shailesh Talati, and his 8-member team. "I was on chemotherapy for 10 months," Shah said. "Due to the team work of my doctors, I had access to medical assistance round the clock."

Ushakant Shah said the only thing missing during his treatment was lack of psychological support to make it easier to bear the long and harsh therapy for cancer. "After I recovered, I discussed this with Dr Talati and his team," he said. "They invited me to join them and help patients." Shah now works with the team to give mental, emotional and psychological support to cancer patients. Dr Talati, who is part of an 8-member team of cancer experts, said this new trend of collaborating and cooperating with other medical experts is common in western countries. Cancer treatment is the not the only area in which city doctors are sharing their expertise. Specialists in heart and kidney ailments are also coming together to deal with the most complicated cases . Dr Milan Chug, a cardiologist, is among the first doctors in the city to form a team with other specialists. "We are a team of 15 cardiologists and cardiac surgeons, and 6 physicians," Chug said. "Working as a unit helps us deal better with cardiac emergencies. With a single consultation, the patient gets a co-ordinated opinion of a team of 22 experts. That's the main advantage of working as a team."