Indian Health Summit

The first panel discussion on the challenges and oppurtunities in Indian healthcare

The Indian Health Summit, organised by Cosmos Forums, a global knowledge company, was held at the JW Marriott, Mumbai on March 14, 2013. The Summit comprised four panel discussions and three of them were moderated by Karthikeyan, Director, PE Insights. The first panel was on ’Indian Healthcare Industry: Challenges and opportunities’ and had experienced practitioner Brig Joe Curian, CEO, Seven Hills Hospitals; VC-backed entrepreneur Vikram Vuppala, Founder & CEO, Nephroplus and Vikram Mahajan, Director, Dolphi Techno Consultants.

Brig Curian gave a detailed presentation on the challenges and opportunities for healthcare companies and entrepreneurs. He also shared his experience with examples on what works in the Indian healthcare market. Vuppala then shared his entrepreneurial journey of having started Nephroplus after returning from the US and his thoughts on single speciality vs multi-speciality opportunities. He also argued that hospital chains are better off by outsourcing their dialysis function to focused chains like Nephroplus rather than managing it themselves. Mahajan brought in his perspectives from his experience of working in other emerging healthcare markets like the Middle East and Africa.

The challenges discussed included financing, lack of talent, risk of technology obsolesce, regulatory challenges etc. Brig Curian stressed on the importance of financial planning and ensuring that business decisions are made on the basis of financial prudence rather than emotions. He also highlighted the importance of having the right metrics to measure costs and effectiveness of a hospital while stressing on the importance of technology systems to capture and analyse information for better managerial decisions. Vuppala highlighted the importance of transparency especially with relation to pricing to build trust and connect with consumers. Mahajan emphasised the need for detailed planning at the drawing board level before the start of the project to minimise risk of cost and time overruns at the execution stage. Regulatory risks, bureaucracy and delayed approvals remain a significant cause of concern for the panelists, as it greatly hampers the growth and development of this sector. All the panel members were in consensus of the fact that the healthcare sector offers tremendous opportunities for healthcare entrepreneurs and companies to create economic and social value.

The second panel discussion on building a successful healthcare business

The second panel discussion focussed on ‘Building a successful healthcare business’ and the panelists were Dr Velumani, CEO, Thyrocare; Sanjeev Vashishta, CEO, SRL Diagnostics and Vishal Gandhi, Founder, Gandhi & Associates, a law firm. Dr Velumani shared his entrepreneurial journey of building a company focused on thyroid care and how this focus has helped him build a sustainable pan-India organisation. He highlighted the importance of strategic focus to build successful organisations. He also emphasised the need for employee retention and development to ensure long-term organisational growth. Vashishta offered his insights on following an inorganic strategy for growth. He also shared his views on the differences between the approach and growth strategy of SRL as compared to Thyrocare. Gandhi stressed on the importance of proper documentation and processes from an initial stage of the company’s life so as to enable a smooth transition to faster growth. This becomes even more important when the company is looking for an external investor at a later stage. Dr Velumani also shared his experiences of building a differentiated brand positioning for his company and how this helped him raise PE funding for his new ventures. The panel was of the opinion that the chances of success for a healthcare entrepreneur have increased significantly over the past decade and things will improve as we move ahead.

The post-lunch panel was on ‘Technology in healthcare- The way forward’ and dealt with the increasing utilisation of technology in the Indian healthcare sector and how technology investments will help organisations to scale-up and become successful in the longer run. The panel comprised Madhubala Radhakrishnan, Founder & MD, Mcura Inc; Arvind Kumar, Founder & CEO, Attune Technologies and Dr BK Murali, MD, Hope hospitals. Radhakrishnan gave a presentation on how Mcura is transforming the healthcare delivery space. She gave a detailed overview of the product and how it has helped doctors to record crucial information about patients over the treatment period thereby enabling them to review progress and recommend the right treatment for their patients. She was followed by Dr Murali of Hope Hospitals who discussed his views as a doctor on the relevance of technology systems. He also gave an overview of the SAAS technology product that they had developed internally. He shared his experiences of transitioning his hospital to a technology platform and the common challenges which the hospital owners face during this transition. Kumar talked about SAAS and cloud being the game changers for the price conscious Indian market. He also highlighted the need for proper technology systems with the increasing role played by medical insurance in the industry. To conclude, the panelists agreed that technology adoption is no longer a choice but a necessity for healthcare companies that are looking to grow in the Indian marketplace.

The third panel discussion on technology and its importance in Indian healthcare

The last panel witnessed focused on ‘Capital raising for healthcare companies – working with PE/VC funds’. The panel was moderated by Vishal Gandhi, MD, BioRx Venture Advisors and the speakers included Ameera Shah, MD & CEO, Metropolis Healthcare; PE/VC fund managers Ritesh Banglani, VP, Helion VC and Ashish Mohapatra, VP, Matrix Partners; and Dr Milind Antani who heads the Healthcare practice for the law firm Nishith Desai & Associates.

Shah discussed her experiences of working with PE funds and her decision to go in for an external investor to accelerate organisational growth. Banglani and Mohapatra discussed their views as fund managers of the interesting opportunities in the healthcare space and the key parameters that they look for before funding a company. Dr Antani gave his perspectives as a lawyer working with various healthcare companies and how promoters should approach PE/VC funding from a legal perspective. To conclude, the panelists agreed that PE/VC capital is an excellent option for promoters looking at rapid growth but one should understand the long term implications of bringing in a financial partner.

The Indian Health Summit offered a good platform for CXOs and promoters from the healthcare industry to participate, network and learn from each other.