Dr Shetty says he decided to become a heart surgeon while still in elementary school [Al Jazeera]
Indian Hospital

Dr Devi Shetty

The heart surgeon, and founder of Narayana Health, has made it his mission to provide affordable healthcare for all.

Dr Devi Shetty, 60, is an Indian heart surgeon, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the founder of Narayana Hrudayalaya, or Narayana Health – the hospital profiled in this series.

Born in the small, south Indian village of Kinnigoli, Dr Shetty says he decided to become a heart surgeon while still in elementary school.

He has made it his mission to provide affordable healthcare to all Indians, and believes that the only way to do it is by applying economies of scale – in other words, if he buys resources in greater quantities they will be cheaper for him.

Two years ago, after the broadcast of our original Indian Hospital series, Dr Shetty was awarded the Padma Bhushan – one of India’s highest civilian awards – for his role in making healthcare more affordable in India.

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