The Hindu Business Line : Private hospitals join hands to reach out to patients

ELEVEN private hospitals and healthcare institutes, operating in city, have come together in their search for more patients — domestic and overseas. The hospitals have created a platform called Association of Hospitals of Eastern India (AHEI).

Mr Sajal Dutta, President of AHEI and the Managing Director of Ruby General Hospital, told Business Line here on Monday that these hospitals have proved themselves to be commercially sustainable.

"The total investment by the private sector in hospital/healthcare infrastructure in Kolkata alone is of over a healthy figure of Rs 1,000 crore in the last few years. The average capacity utilisation in our member hospitals is around 75 per cent," Mr Dutta said.

Dr Satadal Saha, Managing Director of Westbank Hospital, informed that private hospitals currently fetch a return on investment (RoI) of around 10 to 15 per cent. "This is much higher than the average RoI in the US or Europe. There the RoI normally do not cross 7 to 8 per cent," Dr Saha said.

He said in the ultimate analysis, healthcare business is a volume game. "The turnover matters when the investments are high. As the utilisation of the infrastructure increases, the cost goes down, making room for margin. It makes business sense in reaching out," he added.

Mr Dutta said AHEI has geared up to reach out, raise the benchmark of standards of services, improve self-regulation and attempt an image makeover.

While, some of the city-based private hospitals are in negotiation with the state governments in the region for taking over healthcare facilities located at different places and running it through a viable commercial arrangement, others are going in for international accreditation for attracting medical BPO businesses including patient transference.

Westbank Hospital is poised to takeover a few medical facilities from the West Bengal Government shortly, Dr Saha informed. The operational cost of running outpatient departments of a healthcare facility being 61 per cent, the AHEI is initially focusing on services in the area.

"However, eastern hospitals hinterland being vast — stretching between the north-eastern States and neighbouring countries and eastern states — the opportunities are many fold. The size of population in question is 37 crore (including that of neighbouring countries it is around 50 crore) that needs quality healthcare. To tap this potential in full, different business models are required to be tried out," AHEI member pointed out. Some of the hospitals are also in the process of attracting overseas patients through global health insurers.

It is expected that the gradual expansion of health insurance will also direct patients to the private sector outfits. According to estimates, the insurer-directed patients constitute around 30 per cent in Mumbai and seven per cent in Kolkata.

Dr Rupali Basu, General Manager of Wockhardt Hospital & Kidney Institute, admitted that apart from regular monitoring of quality service benchmarking, the association is also looking for developing a system by which documentation protocols for diagnosis, tests, medication & treatment steps would be made transparent. "The issue of compassion and counselling as also guidance to relatives of patients are being stressed for an image makeover."

The association is aware of the "abysmally low" public perception about the health care systems leading to systemic efflux of patients from the East to the South and West, the AHEI is in the process of installing a system of enhancing responsiveness amongst its members. "The idea is to put forward a consistent and reliable service network," Mr Dutta commented.

Diagnostic tests at subsidised rate

THE AHEI has offered around 100 diagnostics tests to patients of the West Bengal government hospitals at subsidised rates. Mr Sajal Dutta, President of AHEI, announcing this said the subsidy will vary between 40 per cent and 70 per cent depending on the nature of the test.

The hospitals/medical centres that are offering these tests are Apollo Gleneagles, Wockhardt, B M Birla Heart Research Centre, Advanced Medical Research Institute, Calcutta Medical Research Institute, Westbank, Peerless, Ruby General, Woodlands, Belle Vue and Kothari Medical Centre.

A patient can avail himself of the testing facility of any of the outfits of choice. An arrangement with West Bengal Government has been worked out, Mr Dutta said.

AHEI is also talking to the State Government for expanding private-public partnership in other healthcare areas. It is interacting with pollution control board in streamlining the procedures for hospital waste management and control.

Mr Dutta said the State Government, in a proactive mode, has already brought down number of licenses under the amended Clinical Establishment Act to around 10 from 40. A few more procedural reforms and cooperative steps are in the offing.

To showcase the healthcare industry of the east, AHEI will organise a three-day exhibition in city from February 13.

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