Month: December 2021

We walk into Buddhi Clinic one balmy Chennai afternoon, only to recognise immediately that it is unique in concept and has few parallels. Our meeting is with the founder Dr. Ennapadam S Krishnamoorthy, the current President of the International Neuropsychiatric Association and a renowned international expert on the brain and mind. His office is unlike that of any clinic or hospital. There is the lingering aroma of energising camphor; and an array of objects that reveal his diverse passions: books, artefacts, classic furniture apart from an impressive wall of awards and certificates. Seated before an arresting oil on canvas Buddha painting, the good doctor engaged Team Culturama in conversation about his uniquely successful concept chain of clinics in Chennai – Buddhi!

What does Buddhi Clinic do?
We are the pioneers and innovators of integrated care for the brain and mind. Apart from diagnosis and drug treatments, a standard in most medical settings, we provide a unique 360 degrees evaluation of body, brain and mind; and a range of therapeutic solutions that bring together, seamlessly, modern science and the wisdom of ancient health care traditions. Our patients have brain mapping and Ayurveda consultations; psychological assessments and Naturopathy consultations; physical therapy, sleep analysis and neuromodulation care, all under one roof, all on one day, if they so please. Buddhi Clinic offers 14 treatment modalities in permutations and combinations curated by us through empirical research. Our primary focus is neurology and mental health rehabilitation and therapy, although our care paradigms address a range of pain, mental health, lifestyle and disablement conditions.

How do modern medicine and ancient traditions blend together?
In one line – Seamlessly through our carefully curated, process driven programmes! While our diagnostic approach and internal treatments are allopathic (drawn from modern medical science), we employ 14 non-pharmacological treatments that blend modern science with ancient wisdom – Neuromodulation, Ayurveda, Acupuncture, Acupressure, Reflexology and Yoga; Naturopathy – water, mud, magnet, aroma treatments; Rehabilitation therapies – speech, neurodevelopmental, physiotherapy and a range of specialised psychological therapies. We have developed treatment programmes for each condition across the lifespan – child, adult and elderly.

How successful are your treatments?
Across the lifespan, be it autism or ADHD in a child; head injury, epilepsy, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders or migraine in an adult; stroke, dementia or Parkinsonism in the elderly, we have had the most exemplary results, many people even getting off wheelchairs. What we promise our patients and their caregivers is better activities of daily living and a better quality of life. And this we have delivered consistently to the vast majority of over 10,000 patients who have walked through our portals in 10 years, receiving in total an excess of 1,00,000 interventions. Indeed, our success stories are documented in ‘Buddhi Books’ – detailed case studies that have enriched our collective learning.

What do you believe is your USP?
At the Buddhi Clinic, our patients straddle the human lifespan, from cradle to nirvana. Everyone has a brain and mind; and sometimes during the course of our lives, our brain and mind malfunction, needing deconstruction and sorting out. That indeed is the raison d’être of Buddhi Clinic. Rather than rely on single solutions, drug treatments, procedures or therapy, we have created a smorgasbord of interventions, modern and ancient. We have thus enabled both opportunity for healing and as importantly, patient choice. Besides, chronic disorders are not always curable; but as the adage goes, ‘we cure sometimes, control often, but comfort always!’ Our treatments are designed to help people make unique ‘recovery journeys’; from illness to wellness, care that goes beyond cure. Finally, at Buddhi Clinic, we think different. Not just about illness or disablement; but about ability and enablement.

Our treatments are designed to help people make unique “recovery journeys”; from illness to wellness, care that goes beyond cure

Is Buddhi Clinic a private enterprise or a charity? If you are private, then why receive donations and deliver Buddhi Seva?
People don’t choose their diseases and conditions; indeed, it’s quite the opposite, with conditions choosing to visit individuals, many of whom are ill prepared for such a visitation. Besides, a very large proportion of neurological and mental health disorders and disability, tend to be chronic and long standing, needing continuous and comprehensive care. In this domain, therefore, we believe that ‘there can be no healthcare without service.’ We are a private limited company but work closely and ethically with a foundation committed to helping people with disorders of brain and mind. Rather than compromise on quantum or quality of treatment, this approach helps us deliver, on average, 10% to 30% more treatment to each paying client who deserves such help, apart from serving the disadvantaged at low cost or free of cost. We would therefore describe ourselves as a responsible organisation aiming to deliver world class care with quality and social impact.

What is your vision for Buddhi Clinic?
I firmly believe that most people will need a Buddhi Clinic during their lives, both because of human longevity and sociological change (nuclear families, migration across cities and cultures, etc.). Today, we are a five-centre Chennai chain and our primary goal for 2020 is to demonstrate our capability to serve other populations beyond Chennai. We are therefore closely examining opportunities to partner with doctors across relevant disciplines in a range of locations. We see ourselves as pioneers and leaders in integrated care with a brain and mind focus. Having innovated a strong model of care and a robust platform for its delivery, having hit the 10 year – 10,000 plus patients – 1,00,000 plus interventions milestones, we are seeking to be national over the next five years and eventually global. For which we are actively seeking partners, both in medicine and in management.