Focus on striking a balance between volume-based growth and quality healthcare

In the last few years, healthcare sector in India has grown by leaps and bounds owing to a growing middle class, ageing population, increase in lifestyle diseases, rise in incomes, access to insurance, and growing emphasis on universal health coverage. All these factors have also contributed to growth of healthcare providers and institutions in India.

The Covid-19 pandemic has also transformed the way private players can collaborate with the central and state governments to bring reforms in the healthcare systems. There has been an increased focus on telemedicine services and harnessing digital technology to make healthcare accessible and affordable for all.

Balancing volume-based growth and quality healthcare
Although it is essential to fulfill volume-based expansion by serving as many patients as possible, we also need to focus on the necessity to maintain and strive for good clinical care standards that Manipal Health Enterprises has provided for decades. While patients previously had to travel long distances to receive high-quality care at Manipal Health, with the recent acquisitions, we are geared to give similar high-quality services to patients at their homes.

Prior to Covid, the Maldives, Bangladesh, North Africa, and the Middle-East accounted for 10 percent of our patients. International borders were shut down because of the pandemic, and medical tourism suffered as a result. As things get back to normal, it is critical to concentrate on restoring medical tourism to pre-pandemic levels and then expanding from there.

When it came to Covid, the pandemic pushed our resiliency and strength to the test. Unlike other industries, hospitals are unable to hire remote workers; nonetheless, time has taught us a lot, and our specialists and other personnel have adjusted to the new normal. The pandemic has allowed us to advance patient welfare and accessibility approaches by upgrading processes and adopting to new technology for our foreign consumers.

For patient safety, Manipal has implemented teleconsul­tation, which allows overseas patients to get immediate access. The use of social media and digital technology was critical in disseminating information and avoiding misunderstandings about the virus. More measures were developed to assure the best treatment, including e-ICUs, ambulances with remote monitoring systems, and mobile apps. We continue to use these services for our customers, ensuring that patients receive high-quality, cost-effective healthcare regardless of their location.

Expanding into underserved areas while deepening existing presence
As one of the largest healthcare providers in the country, we intend to grow into underdeveloped areas while continuing to provide Manipal Hospital’s high-quality clinical services and outcomes. With Manipal’s acquisition of Columbia Asia Hospitals and Vikram Hospital, we’re no longer looking at acquisitions in terms of timeframes, but rather opportunities. Future acquisitions would be contingent on new prospects.

Several patients from the country’s eastern areas are compelled to travel to other parts of the country in order to receive quality care. This opens up plenty of possibilities for us to fill that void. In addition, Kerala as well as cities, such as Hyderabad and other nearby markets, hold immense promise for Manipal Hospital.

Manipal is growing through greenfield projects to strengthen its footprint in the existing locations, in addition to acquisitions and mergers, as part of its expansion strategy. The limitation of hospital beds and medical facilities in several states and union territories cannot meet the needs of patients, resulting in an imbalance that has given a motive to institutions like Manipal to expand its services in the area.

The growth of Manipal into a pan-India hospital chain has already helped in areas of procurement of materials and services. While the acquisition is primarily about people and processes, it is crucial that going forward we continue to add value to the integrity of Manipal as a top-class healthcare service provider.