Hyderabad: Every year, thousands of patients are treated in India, including in Hyderabad’s private hospitals, generating vast amounts of clinical data. Yet, when it comes to translating that experience into scientific research, a govt medical college far outpaces the corporate healthcare sector, according to a recent study published in the BMJ Journal of Medical Evidence.
The study, authored by surgeons Dr Samiran Nundy and Dr Parmanand Tiwari, found that Hyderabad’s Osmania Medical College (OMC) publishes an average of 402 medical research papers annually, more than three times the combined output of Telangana’s five leading private hospital groups, which together produce 116 papers a year.
AIIMS Bibinagar, the state’s other govt teaching institution, publishes an average of 77 research papers annually. Together with OMC, the two govt institutions produce 479 papers a year.
The researchers analysed publications between 2021 and 2025 using Scopus, PubMed and Google Scholar. The study assessed research output based on publication volume and did not evaluate the quality, impact or clinical significance of individual papers.
Among the five major private hospitals, Apollo Health City led with 61 publications annually, followed by CARE Hospitals (16), Yashoda Hospitals (15), Sunshine Hospitals (14) and Medicover Hospitals (10).
OMC’s research spans several major public health challenges. During the Covid-19 pandemic, its faculty published studies on RT-PCR diagnosis, disease monitoring and Covid-19-associated mucormycosis, identifying diabetes and steroid use as significant risk factors. Researchers also produced important work on dengue, including studies on platelet counts, serological markers and dengue-Covid co-infections.
The authors said the findings highlight a missed opportunity for private hospitals, which treat large numbers of patients but contribute comparatively little to medical literature.
“In the private sector, research is generally thought to be a waste of time and money,” said Dr Nundy, also the president of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh, and a gastrointestinal surgeon who was awarded the Padma Shri in 1985. Dr Tiwari said that research often takes a back seat to clinical work and revenue generation.
The study found that India’s top 10 hospitals with medical colleges publish an average of 740 research papers a year. In comparison, the top 10 institutions produce an average of 2,701 papers annually in the UK, 2,898 in the US, and 3,220 in China.
Doctors attributed this the gap to limited incentives for doctors, the absence of protected research time, inadequate electronic medical record systems and a lack of structured academic programmes in many private hospitals.
Experts argued that India’s healthcare system is failing to utilise the wealth of clinical data generated every day. “There is a neglect of the enormous data that can be accessed from Indian patients,” said Dr Tiwari.
Dr Kiran Madhala, secretary general, Telangana Teaching Govt Doctors Association (TTGDA), said that faculty in medical colleges are governed by National Medical Commission (NMC) regulations, where research publications are mandatory for promotions, with around four publications typically required to become a professor.
“In contrast, consultants in most private hospitals, governed by National Board of Examinations (NBE) norms, generally do not require research publications for career progression. Beyond promotion criteria, there are few meaningful incentives for research in either the govt or private sector,” he added.
To improve research output, the study recommends that medium and large private hospitals establish academic programmes, strengthen collaborations with universities, adopt comprehensive electronic medical records and introduce incentives for clinicians to undertake research.
