PAIN & PALLIATIVE MEDICINE

ABOUT US

WHO defines Palliative care as, “an approach that improves the quality of life (QOL) of patients and their families facing the problems associated with life-threatening illnesses, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual.”

The department of Pain and Palliative medicine started as a pain clinic at Basavatarakam Indo-American Cancer Hospital and Research Institute and later expanded to provide palliative care to cancer patients in their terminal phase of life. We currently provide out-patient services, in-patient consultations, specialist palliative care services, and referrals for home-care services along with holistic and bereavement support for the family. 

Dr. Basanth Kumar Rayani

H.O.D Onco-Anaesthesiology, Pain & Palliative Medicine

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Dr. Praneeth Suvvari

Pain & Palliative Medicine

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Dr. K Praveen Kumar

Pain & Palliative Medicine

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Accreditations and Achievements

 

ESMO Accreditation

The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) recognizes cancer centers that focus not only on the curative treatment of a patient but also their smooth transition to End of Life Care by providing palliative care services throughout their treatment journey. We have been accredited as an ESMO Designated Centre for Integrated Oncology and Palliative Care for the period of 2023-2025. While there are only 16 ESMO designated centers in India, we are the only designated center in Telangana.

Dr. Praneeth Suvvari Receives Prestigious IDEA-PC Award at ASCO 2025

Dr. Praneeth Suvvari (Consultant, Incharge Department of Pain and Palliative Medicine, Basavatarakam Indo American Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, Hyderabad, Telangana), has been conferred the International Development and Education Award in Palliative Care (IDEA-PC) for the year 2025 by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). The award was presented at the 61^st ASCO Annual Meeting held in Chicago, USA, on Friday, 30^th May 2025.

This highly competitive and prestigious international recognition is awarded to only five individuals globally each year, and Dr. Suvvari is the only recipient from India for 2025. Acknowledging the honour, Dr. Suvvari shared a heartfelt message of gratitude: ” I am immensely grateful to my mentors, colleagues, and patients who have supported and guided me through this journey. Though this is an individual award, I see it as a testament to the collective effort of an entire community dedicated to improving care. This recognition strengthens my resolve to advocate more strongly for palliative care within oncology and to strive for improved resources, better education, and global collaboration. “

Additionally, Dr Suvvari serves as an Executive Committee Member of the Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPC), representing the South Region  and as the Scientific Chair of the 33^rd International Conference of IAPC (IAPCON 2026).

DNB in Palliative Medicine

We are proud to announce that the National Board of Examinations has granted us permission to start a formal degree in “DNB Palliative Medicine” from the year 2022 with 2 seats annually. We are one of the first 5 institutes in India that were given the opportunity to start this training course. Currently, we have Six residents who are pursuing DNB in Palliative Medicine.

CTC-4

CTC is a joint initiative started by Asia Pacific Hospice Network, Singapore and AIIMS, New Delhi with an aim to identify and train centers to dispense morphine, to provide optimal palliative care services and to form a team for the same. Two doctors and two nurses enrolled for this training program in January, 2020 and attended in person sessions and observations at AIIMS, Delhi and KMC, Manipal, respectively. The program also included case presentations, trouble shootings, internal review of services and external audits after which we received the certification in January, 2023.

NFPM

National Fellowship in Palliative Medicine (NFPM) is a fellowship program conducted by the Institute of Palliative Medicine in collaboration with Christian Medical Association of India and the World Health Organisation. We offer observation training for a period of 10 days for fellowship students in our department.

Multi-disciplinary Rotations

We offer a compulsory rotation program for DNB and Fellowship students of Surgical Oncology, Medical Oncology, Onco-anesthesia and Radiation Oncology for a period of 15 days as part of their training curriculum.

MDT meetings

We hold weekly multidisciplinary team meetings with physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, nutritionists, stoma therapists, psychologists and physicians offering Naturopathy services. The meetings include case discussions, case presentations, and informative and interactive sessions.

ELNEC

In 2021, Basavatarakam Indo American Cancer Hospital & Research Institute held End of Life Nurses Education Consortium (ELNEC) Speciality Training Centers in the country to promote palliative care nursing education and mentoring nurses in palliative care, to improve Quality of Life and to develop nurse training centers in India. The prestigious consortium is administered globally by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and Hospice and Palliative Care Nurses Association USA.

 

OUR VALUES

• To develop patient and family centered care.

• To improve the quality of life of the patient, not only at the end of life but also throughout the cancer journey.

• To educate and empower the patient and the family about the advantages of Early Palliative care.

• To provide grief and bereavement Support to the family members after the death of the patient.

OUR SERVICE

 We run a Cancer Pain Palliative Medicine clinic which runs 6 days a week and we receive more than 3000 new outpatients yearly. We also liaise with the lymphedema clinic, stoma clinic and physiotherapy department for continuity of care.

We are running 12 bedded dedicated palliative care ward and providing a variety of palliative services like management of acute pain crisis with patient-controlled infusion pumps, interventional pain management with various nerve blocks, management of acute breathlessness, sub-acute intestinal obstructions, end of life care, psychosocial, emotional and spiritual support and other services. 

We also provide round the clock inpatient services to patients who are admitted to various other wards on an on-call basis followed by a daily review. We liaise with various governments and non government Palliative and Hospice centres within the locality of the patient’s residence for the continuity of palliative care and assist them with home care needs. We organize celebrations on special occasions as part of the “Memory Making” program for our patients and their families. We also facilitate ‘Make a Wish’ Programs for Pediatric End of Life Care patients. 

As Palliative care health professionals, we believe that every person, irrespective of age, gender, community, and socio-economic background, has the right to lead a distress free life and to have a dignified death. We strive to raise awareness and educate the common public about palliative care and to make our services accessible to those in need.