Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Global Aspirations
Indian Hospital Companies Go Global
Today's Economic Times carries reports about two of India's largest healthcare companies, Apollo and Manipal. Both reports talk about the expansion plans of these groups, but the interesting thing is that these plans include hospital projects outside India. Of course, the Apollo Hospitals Group ventured outside India long back, and already has hospitals in Dubai, Bangladesh and Oman. Now it is eyeing acquistions in the UK, and says it has received proposals from the Caribbean and Latin America. On the other hand, Manipal Health Systems is just venturing out with its first overseas project in Malaysia.
This is interesting stuff, and reminds me of something I wrote sometime back. Riding on an increasing demand for world class services from a domestic consumer base that has the willingness and ability to pay for world class services, these is an explosive growth in the number of high end specialty hospitals. But these hospitals are not content to just treat the well heeled Indian Patient, and are increasingly reaching out to a global audience. And many are doing this by going closer to these patient populations.
Historically, India has always played a significant role in the global healthcare industry, though its contributions were mostly by way of providing a large number of physicians and nurses to hospitals, both in the developed and developing countries. Strangely, that opportunity looms even larger today as the population in the developed countries grows older, and needs not only physicians and nurses, but a large number of other trained care givers as well.
In the last decade, India has built up quite a reputation for itself as the preferred outsourcing destination for the world. Whether it is Disease Management or Tele Radiology, Clinical Data Management or Claims Processing, India does it all. It is a happy coincidence that Information Technology is such an essential ingredient in delivering cost effective healthcare services to a global population. If combined well with its ability to produce top Medical talent, India has a chance to become a preferred provider of healthcare services to the World. An opportunity it must grab with both hands.
Today's Economic Times carries reports about two of India's largest healthcare companies, Apollo and Manipal. Both reports talk about the expansion plans of these groups, but the interesting thing is that these plans include hospital projects outside India. Of course, the Apollo Hospitals Group ventured outside India long back, and already has hospitals in Dubai, Bangladesh and Oman. Now it is eyeing acquistions in the UK, and says it has received proposals from the Caribbean and Latin America. On the other hand, Manipal Health Systems is just venturing out with its first overseas project in Malaysia.
This is interesting stuff, and reminds me of something I wrote sometime back. Riding on an increasing demand for world class services from a domestic consumer base that has the willingness and ability to pay for world class services, these is an explosive growth in the number of high end specialty hospitals. But these hospitals are not content to just treat the well heeled Indian Patient, and are increasingly reaching out to a global audience. And many are doing this by going closer to these patient populations.
Historically, India has always played a significant role in the global healthcare industry, though its contributions were mostly by way of providing a large number of physicians and nurses to hospitals, both in the developed and developing countries. Strangely, that opportunity looms even larger today as the population in the developed countries grows older, and needs not only physicians and nurses, but a large number of other trained care givers as well.
In the last decade, India has built up quite a reputation for itself as the preferred outsourcing destination for the world. Whether it is Disease Management or Tele Radiology, Clinical Data Management or Claims Processing, India does it all. It is a happy coincidence that Information Technology is such an essential ingredient in delivering cost effective healthcare services to a global population. If combined well with its ability to produce top Medical talent, India has a chance to become a preferred provider of healthcare services to the World. An opportunity it must grab with both hands.
# posted by Srivathsan @ 10:31 AM 
