HCL Avitas, the healthcare delivery arm of HCL Corporation, is in talks with hospital chains such as Medanta, Fortis, Apollo and Max, to expand their patient care.
Avitas, which provides only out-patient services, plans to engage in clinical partnerships with these hospitals to refer patients who could require hospitalisation.
Harish Natarajan, Chief Executive Officer of HCL Avitas, said these hospitals had been chosen for the standard of healthcare they are known for.
“It’s a win-win situation,” Natarajan said. “From our point of view, we are providing a continuum of care which is so important to us and they (partner hospitals) will get referrals and patients that otherwise they wouldn’t see.”
However, HCL Avitas will not restrict itself to high-end corporate hospitals, but also venture into tie-ups with other big regional hospitals in different geographies. “The intent is not to lock onto one or two hospitals, but provide choices to our patients,” he said.
HCL Avitas, which was launched in February this year following the acquisition of two clinics run by Bharat Family Clinics in Noida and Guragaon, has started another clinic in Noida near Delhi. Currently, it has three clinics, including the Bharat Family Clinics.
The company has some aggressive expansion plans. By July-end, Delhi-NCR would have eight Avitas multi-specialty clinics, Natarajan said, adding by the end of this year, this number would rise to 10.
Plans 250 clinics“Next year is going to be a big one for us and we will see a lot of expansion,” he said.
Avitas, which is a subsidiary of HCL Healthcare, plans to set up 250 clinics in the next five years, of which at least 50 would be in the National Capital Region.