Kauvery Hospital launched an integrated Regional Epilepsy Centre (K-REC) on Wednesday to create a coordinated epilepsy care network across its three hospitals in Chennai.Krish Sridhar, group mentor, neurosciences and director, Institute of Brain and Spine, Kauvery Hospital, Radial Road, said approximately 1% of the Indian population had epilepsy, and in around 20%-30% of patients, medications did not adequately control it.Under K-REC, centres headed by neurologists have been opened at all the three branches of the hospital. They will be supported by a multidisciplinary team comprising neurologists, neuroradiologists, electrophysiologists, clinical psychologists, rehabilitation specialists, and neurosurgeons, a press release said.The teams will meet once every fortnight to discuss patients in detail and assess the complexity of their conditions. Seizures that are not adequately controlled with medication will be referred to the epilepsy centre at Kauvery Hospital on Radial Road for further evaluation.Dr. Sridhar said the multidisciplinary team would take decisions on who needs surgery for epilepsy based on protocols and evidence.Speaking at the launch, Aravindan Selvaraj, co-founder and executive director, Kauvery Hospital, said this concept was similar to the tumour board meetings convened by oncologists to discuss cases.He added that the social stigma associated with epilepsy was very high, particularly in a country like India, and called for an increase in awareness among people.Shubha Subramanian, senior consultant neurologist, Kauvery Hospital, Vadapalani, said the initiative would assess medical and surgical treatment of epilepsy in children and adults. The aim is to bridge the gap between patients requiring surgery for epilepsy and the actual number of surgeries performed, she added.Arul Mozhi T., senior consultant neurologist, Kauvery Hospital, Radial Road, also spoke. Published - August 20, 2026 12:06 am IST