“The 10 Most Advanced Healthcare Solution Providers”, we have not only come up with the top-notch healthcare solution providers (hospitals etc.), but also have enlisted those companies that provide technological solutions to meet the ongoing demand of the healthcare industry. On the cover, we have enlisted Aptsource Software. It is a company having decades of experience in healthcare informatics. Aptsource helps its customers and partners with products and solutions for wide range application areas in healthcare.
4. ndia is among one of the fastest developing nations in the world. In fact
Iif we closely look into the Asia-pacific region, India’s GDP growth rose
to 7.2% in December quarter last year, surpassing even the growth rate of
neighboring economic powerhouse, China. But is the same positive impact
resonating in the healthcare sector? The answer is NO. Despite being known
for producing some of the best doctors in the world, situation of Indian
healthcare has not even close to that impression. A recent survey on the
Healthcare Access and Quality Index reflects the sorry state of Indian
healthcare system; India has been ranked as low as 154 worldwide, making it
among the biggest underachievers in Asia. Negligence of rural healthcare, less
expenditure on overall public healthcare, shortage of medical personnel and
lack of superior medical research are some of the prime reasons behind the
tragic state of Indian healthcare system.
Approximately 60 percent of clinics and 80 percent of doctors are situated in
cities that are serving only 28 percent of the Indian population. Out of the 7
Lakh beds only 11% are available in rural areas. The much bitter truth is the
rich spend 2% of their income on healthcare and the poor spend as much as
12% of their income on it.
The public expenditure on health at about 1.2% of the GDP is amongst the
lowest in the world while many countries are spending many folds as
compared to India.
According to WHO standards, any country should have a doctor patient ratio
of at least 1:1000. In a country of 1.2 billion, we have only 740,000 active
doctors that makes a doctor patient ratio of 1:1,674. It is a crisis and India
needs more 500,000 allopathic doctors to serve its citizens better as far as
citizen’s medical needs are concerned.
There are many other reasons behind the challenging state of Indian
healthcare. But what is the solution. Can we provide our citizens decent
medical facilities at an affordable rate that can lead us to maintain a healthier
and happier society? The answer is YES!! We can do it; we can transform and
overhaul the healthcare system, but to do so, we need some action on the
ground. We need to make a balance between urban and rural healthcare. First,
we need to provide accessible quality and affordable healthcare to our rural
masses. Second, we need to allocate more funds as compared to our GDP for
building and maintaining medical infrastructure. Third, we need to open up
more number of medical colleges that can fill the shortage of doctors all
across the country. If India focuses on these areas then we can truly become a
nation where deaths due to encephalitis in Gorakhpur or the incident like of
Dana Manjhi will never occur in future. We hope that future will be bright of
Indian healthcare system as far as patient’s plights are concerned.
Editorial
The State
of Indian
Healthcare
System
Ashwini Deshmukh
6. COVER STORY
Expert's Viewpoint
New Age Technologies:
A New Wave in the Revolution
of Indian Healthcare Ecosystem
26
Aptsource Software:
Redening Healthcare with
Leading-edge Technologies
Insiders Opinion
Technology and Innovation
Result in Healthcare Revolution
20
Leader's Insights
Accelerating IT Adoption in
Indian Healthcare Background
40
08
7. ARTH:
Making Personalized
Health-Tech Accessible
to All
Doctto Online
Healthcare
Innovation:
Redening Indian
Healthcare System
Sevamob:
Transforming
Healthcare through
Innovation and
Dedication
AcneDr:
A Platform Which
Offers Acne Treatment
INTERVIEW WITH
INSIGHTS SUCCESS
INSPIRING STORY
Kovai Medical Center
and Hospital:
Pioneer in Delivering Qualitative and
Advanced Healthcare Facilities
A Changed Life after
a Knee Surgery
TECH-TREND
Augmented Reality:
The Next Big Blessing for
the Healthcare Industry
CHALK-TALK
Organized Marketing
of Hospitals
and its Future Trends
ARTICLES
22
34
16
30
24
32
38
46
Healthcare
Consulting Services:
Management Expert of
Healthcare that can turn
Negative Cash Flow into
a Positive one
44
8. f a customer can book a hotel room or a fight ticket just by clicking on the mobile phone then why can’t the
Isame customer confirm an appointment with doctors? Definitely this is possible. There are many IT-healthcare
solution providers that provide cutting-edge services to address these present time healthcare needs. Therefore,
in this issue of “The 10 Most Advanced Healthcare Solution Providers”, we have not only come up with the
top-notch healthcare solution providers (hospitals etc.), but also have enlisted those companies that provide
technological solutions to meet the ongoing demand of the healthcare industry.
On the cover, we have enlisted Aptsource Software. It is a company having decades of experience in healthcare
informatics. Aptsource helps its customers and partners with products and solutions for wide range application
areas in healthcare.
ARTH instantly delivers cutting-edge personalized healthcare solutions to wide range of healthcare providers.
AcneDr Healthtech is a digital platform exclusively focused on Acne & make dermatologists & cosmetologists
accessible to everyone. Doctto Online Healthcare Innovation is a dynamic online healthcare service provider
company which provides wide range of qualitative healthcare services to the users with low cost.
Healthcare Consulting Services is a healthcare advisory and consulting firm committed towards professional
efficiency and best management practices to run hospitals. Sevamob provides artificial intelligence enabled
healthcare platform to organizations in India, Southern Africa and the US.
Apollo Hospitals, Neotia Healthcare Initiative Limited, Birlamedisoft Pvt. Ltd, Mediklik are other prominent firms
of the healthcare industry.
To enrich our reader’s wisdom, Nipun Goyal, Co-founder and Director of Curofy; Brahma Acharya, Director of
Kare4U Healthcare Solutions; and Kumar Subramaniam, Founder & CEO of Kaaspro Enterprises have written
captivating articles related to healthcare industry.
Dr. Nalla G Palaniswami, Chairman of Kovai Medical Center and Hospital have given us an insightful interview
which also we have enlisted in our magazine. One inspiring story of K. Bhuvaneshwari whose life got changed
after a knee surgery performed by a team of orthopedic surgeons at Parvathy Hospital also something which our
reader find interesting.
Our in-house editors have written some masterly articles on latest trends which you’ll find fascinating.
So, do flip pages and enjoy reading!!
Carriers that are Taking Care of
Indian Healthcare Needs
MOST ADVANCED
HEALTHCARESOLUTION PROVIDERS
THE
9.
10. he global healthcare industry is expected
Tto witness a stable growth during the
current financial year and will cross $1.85
trillion mark in terms of manufactures’ revenues.
Digital health investments had crossed $6.5
billion in 2017, up by 109% from its previous
year. The growth curve is expected to continue
into the next year as demand for technologies and
platform solutions that promote innovation
around quality of care, clinical outcomes, and
chronic disease management continue to rise. The
desire to cater changing needs with utmost
efficiency and precision is driving medical
institutions towards organizations that can fulfill
their Heath-tech needs.
Kolkata based Aptsource Software is one such
organization that has gained prominence with
their cutting-edge IT-healthcare solutions. This
ISO27001 certified organization has built a good
repute in the industry for their expertise in health
informatics. Through technology and architecture
innovations, Aptsource has so far been quite
successful in bringing state-of-the-art HIT
applications within the affordable budget of
healthcare providers in the emerging economies
as well as certain under-served segments in
developed countries.
Aptcare is their comprehensive and configurable
practice management solution that has been built
while keeping the international standards in mind.
The organization provides derivative web based
solutions based on Aptcare for ambulatory care,
rehabilitation, and community health settings. The
derivatives address needs of healthcare providers
ranging across chronic ailments, smoking,
alcohol, drug cessation management, mother &
child care, and more.
Recent and Upcoming Releases
Aptsource has recently launched AptcareP, an
advanced version of Aptcare. It is a cloud based
practice management platform meant to make
ambulatory care services in India more patients
centric. It is primarily meant for clinics, hospital
OPDs and solo practitioners.
The company is also ready to release its new app
PatientConnect which will connect all registered
patients on the AptcareP platform to doctor’s
Aptsource
Software:
12. offices for appointment scheduling, online payment,
sharing of clinical data and documents which is
generally required for continuity of care.
Recently, Aptsource has launched its new app-
Vaxialert, a utility app that reminds parents in
advance about the schedule of next vaccination for
their wards.
In addition to its product offerings, Aptsource takes
pride in its solution consulting services that
encompasses Enterprise IT Strategy, Health care
Informatics, Maturity Planning & Execution and
algorithms related to population health risk
assessment and disease prevention.
Leading Lights of Aptsource
Manisha Chowdhury and Sreekumar Banerjee are
the driving forces of Aptsource Software. Manisha,
an electronics and communication engineer is the
Co-Founder and CEO of Aptsource. She has a vast
experience of over 25 years in the IT industry and has
far-reaching exposure to various healthcare solutions
across various technologies. Prior, she used to lead
the analytic solutions and services practice area for
healthcare in Siemens.
Sreekumar Banerjee, a M.Sc. (Master of Science) in
Physics is the Co-Founder and CTO of Aptsource.
He also has a robust corporate experience of over 27
years and has successfully served as solution head
along with various business leadership positions
across global IT multinationals that include Siemens,
IBM and others.
While working in the R&D departments of renowned
multinationals, both Manisha and Sreekumar
developed their passion for healthcare informatics.
They came together to develop, acquire, and integrate
HIT capabilities for quick turnaround of software
solutions for efficient service delivery and better
decision support. The prime motivating factor behind
Aptsource’s inception is to make a difference in
people’s lives through usage of right tools and
technology that could help to improve patient
experience and overall clinical outcome. Aptsource
was founded by the duo with intent to freely pursue
such ideas and deliver appropriate solutions that
could make the health care delivery process more
agile and affordable.
Golden Words for the Budding Entrepreneurs
“It is great to have ideas but one should always allow
one’s very own ideas to evolve and change through
careful listening and a process of constant learning.
It is extremely important to acknowledge your own
shortcomings and build a team to complement the
same. It is never a good idea to believe that you can
do it all by yourself” asserts Manisha.
Strategy to Stay Competent
The organization gives special emphasis on creating a
dynamic learning environment that promotes
knowledge sharing. They take initiative to identify
employees who are eager to learn and have capability
to grasp concept at good pace. The company
constantly motivates such employees to obtain,
assimilate and apply that knowledge which ultimately
assists diligent employees to emerge as SME in
various fields of HIT. While some build expertise in
EMR and EHR, others concentrate on FHIR to
constantly learn and adapt to the evolving regulatory
landscape of healthcare across the globe.
Aptsource’s Widely Acclaimed Product
One of their flagship product, AptcareHMS has been
highly appreciated in the industry. This product
We are face-lifting
healthcare industry
with the power of IT
13. provides the power of computing in the hands of healthcare providers
instead of software engineers. AptcareHMS has the capability to
accommodate diverse range of physicians and healthcare providers across
geographies by customizing data structures, screens, processes and more.
Its easy-to-implement customization using scripts rather than changing
codebase has contributed towards its vast acceptance.
Businesses Grow on Trust Factor and Understanding the Client
Needs
Based on the ‘trust factor’ a relationship can last long. This hypothesis has
been proved right by Aptsource. Trust comes from the confidence that the
team is there for the customer any hour they need them. While looking for
newer opportunities they take utmost care to support their existing
customers.
For the version of Aptcare (rehab) that they had rolled out for multiple
clinics of Allen Carr in the UK, their customer initially did express
concerns about the fact that the company does not have any branch office
in the UK. Nevertheless today after years of association they do not feel
that physical distance or time zones could ever become any criteria for
selecting a vendor. It is their excellent customer service that paid in the
end.
MOST ADVANCED
HEALTHCARESOLUTION PROVIDERS
THE
Trust among
clients is
what driving
us towards
the pinnacle
of success
14. “We promote dynamic learning
environment to stay competent”
The company always focused into understanding the
client requirements to better develop solutions that
closely matched with clients’ needs and expectations.
Networking and partnering with companies that offer
complementary solutions is also something that
Aptsource believes are important facets of business
management.
The Finest part of Aptsource
The best part of Aptsource is the atmosphere of trust
and happiness among employees and customers.
They are not only blessed with a motivated
workforce but also with plenty of satisfied customers
whose trust and confidence often make them
oblivious of the boundaries between customer and
vendor organizations.
Aptsource’s adept workforce is their real strength and
often when things do not proceed as per expectation,
they provide enormous flexibility to their personnel
to take new role in the interest of the company. Such
collective efforts have greatly helped them in
overcoming their challenges; turn around and acquire
new contracts. Their customers have also acted like
partners by introducing Aptsource to other solid
prospects. Customer recommendations and references
have helped Aptsource in many ways to acquire new
business and build lasting relationships. All these are
the results of client satisfaction which is assisting the
company to reach greater heights in business.
Future Endeavour and Benefits to Customers
In the coming times, Aptsource is aspiring to
transform into a pure product based company through
steady acceleration of growth through the software as
service business in entire India. They expect a
significant number of healthcare providers will join
their multi-tenancy practice management platform,
AptcareP.
Their platform will empower healthcare providers
with a web based practice management system at an
affordable cost in order to offer best services to their
patients. This will boost the visibility of registered
clinics through an online presence. More number of
patients would be able to discover and connect with
medical practitioners. And this will ultimately assist
healthcare providers in continuity of care through
patient retention, easy follow up and referral
mechanisms based on simple and intuitive workflow
implementation.
15.
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™
17. ManagementCompany Name
AcneDr HealthTech
acnedr.in
MohitKochar, Co-Founder
Shailesh Javkar, Co-Founder
Ashish Maurya, Director
AcneDr is a digital platform exclusively focused on Acne &
make dermatologists & cosmetologists accessible to everyone.
Apollo Hospitals /
HealthNet Global Ltd
apollohospitals.com
Dr. Pallavi Singh
Sr. Manager
Apollo Hospitals is an Indian hospital chain based in
Chennai, India. The hopspital provides wide range of
healthcare services to patients and is among the trusted names
of healthcare industry.
Aptsource Software
aptsourcesoftware.com
Manisha Chowdhury
Founder and CEO
Sreekumar Banerjee
Founder and CTO
ARTH
arth.tech
Jainam Shah
Co-founder
Naitik Vyas
Co-founder
ARTH instantly delivers cutting-edge personalized
healthcare solutions to wide range of healthcare providers.
Doctto Online HealthCare
docttocare.com
Sugandha Agarwal
Managing Director
& Founder
Doctto Online HealthCare is a dynamic online healthcare
service provider company which provides wide range of
qualitative healthcare services to the users with low cost.
Healthacare Consulting
services
healthcareconsultingservices.in
Amit Sontakke
Managing Partner
Healthcare Consulting Services is a healthcare advisory and
consulting firm committed towards professional efficiency and best
management practices to run hospitals.
MediKlik
mediklik.com
Vikram Aditya Tirthani
Founder
MediKlik is a leading consumer-centric health portal, where
users can do multiple health related activity within seconds.
Neotia Healthcare
Initiative Limited
neotiahealthcare.com
Suprokash Ghosh
Group Brand Manager
Sevamob
sevamob.com
Shelley Saxena
Founder and CEO
Sevamob provides artificial intelligence enabled
healthcare platform to organizations in India, Southern
Africa and the US.
Aptsource Software is a company having decades of
experience in healthcare informatics. Aptsource helps its
customers and partners with products and solutions for wide
range application areas in healthcare.
Neotia Healthcare Initiative Ltd. create healthcare institutions,
catering to divergent health related needs of people efficiently &
ethically, focusing on quality and the willingness to serve.
Birlamedisoft Pvt. Ltd
birlamedisoft.com
Neeraj Sharma
Business Associate
Pune-based Birlamedisoft is a pioneer in developing
cutting-edge software for the healthcare industry.
Brief
MOST ADVANCED
HEALTHCARESOLUTION PROVIDERS
THE
18. There are many healthcare providers in the nation
that offer wide range of medical services but only
few meet the expectation that patients generally
have. Kovai Medical Center and Hospital (KMCH) is
one such trusted name in the healthcare sector that has
gained prominence with its qualitative and affordable
healthcare facilities. KMCH is one of the most reliable
multispecialty hospitals in the southern Indian city of
Coimbatore. Relentless service of KMCH in the last 26
years has taken health care to the most modern levels in the
region catering to urban and rural population.
In an interview with Insights Success, Dr. Nalla G
Palaniswami, Chairman, KMCH gave some insightful
views highlighting the various aspects he has witnessed in
running a successful healthcare facility.
1. Tell us about your Hospital in Brief? What kind of
solutions is offered by Kovai Medical Center at par with
the current healthcare standards?
KMCH was started as 200-bed Multi Speciality hospital and
has grown as tall as a 1000 bed facility over 27 years. We
have main center located at Coimbatore with four satellite
centers established in the nearby districts.As a group, we
have 1300 beds and we are in the process of constructing
additional 750 beds in the main center campus to cater to
the growing demand of this region. Our basic mantras
“Patient First” and “Quality Service to Everyone” made us
easy to get NABH accreditation. We follow and concentrate
ethical and evidence-based practice. Our technical expertise
and latest infrastructure upgradation has enabled our team
to perform many rare and difficult procedures to save many
lives. Many of them are first in the City/State/Region.The
path we travelled was not filled with rose petals but with
hurdles and challenges like any other successful
organization. But we could able to overcome all those
challenges with the committed team who dedicated their life
for the development of the hospital. We are blessed with
such a wonderful team.
2. Can you please brief us about the Chairman of
KMCH, and why he chooses to build a career in this
field?
Dr. Nalla G Palaniswami, Chairman, KMCH is hailing from
an agricultural family who is the first graduate in his
village. After post-graduation in India, he went abroad for
specialization. The best practices in Medicine have evolved
to a great extent over the period since his education in
1960s. The clinical expertise which he has gained during his
stay in the United States of America and Indian healthcare
environment prevailed then, have both deeply kindled his
desire to establish a similar system of quality and affordable
care for the people of India. The thought process was
initiated in early 1980s and attained final structure in 1990.
There were series of long hour and overnight talks and
meetings with like-minded fellow men and investors across
the globe to materialize the concept. He has sacrificed his
luxurious life at USA and moved to India for making his
dream true.
3. What are your views on today’s healthcare industry;
and according to you, how are you contributing to
making it better for clients, patients, and doctors?
Healthcare delivery system is a fast-growing, dynamic and
volatile field, where one has to constantly upgrade the
technical infrastructure and efficient operational techniques
to be successful in the industry. Upgrading technology
requires heavy investment, whose return on investment is
Interview with Insights Success
Dr. Nalla G Palaniswami
Chairman
April 201816 |
™
19. not encouraging. As the patients are better informed, their
expectations are high and hence demanding. The margins
are very thin and sustainability is assured, only if the
volume is obtained. Due to this, many of the small
healthcare players are facing challenges in continuing
business. Our transparency and ethical practice bring more
and more patients through word of mouth through satisfied
patients. We believe that technology can help doctors in
precision delivery. Most of new techniques and
technological advancements were introduced by us to this
region. As the doctors have latest equipment and freedom of
taking medical decisions, they feel comfortable.
4. During your journey towards growth, list out the
challenges you had faced and lessons that you have learned
from them.
Challenges
a. Getting trained manpower and retaining them.
b. Increased operational cost but reducing profit margin.
c. Increased expectations of the patients.
d. Shift of loyalty to newer hospitals by employees and
doctors.
e. Frequent revision in the minimum wages by Govt. for
KOVAI MEDICAL
CENTER AND HOSPITAL:
Pioneer in Delivering Qualitative and
Advanced Healthcare Facilities
April 201817 |
™
20. various categories.
f. Obsolescence of medical technology.
g. Essential investments in equipment and technology, in
spite of poor return.
h. Change of tax/duty structure by policy makers.
i. Misconception among public that private hospitals charge
more.
Lessons
a. Having a training cell and allocating separate budget for
training.
b. Improving the operational efficiency and cutting cost
wherever possible without affecting the service level.
c. Making the hospital patient centric and patient friendly.
Being non-technical patients measure more tangibles in
services and take decision about a hospital.
d. It is inevitable. Mentally prepare to lose at least 30% of
man power every year. As a backup, working out a
strategy to developing 2nd and 3rd level in each
department to meet the crisis. Developing multi-tasking
team to meet any crisis. Having more than one doctor in a
specialty will always help.
e. In a joint forum it needs to be represented to the policy
makers the increasing cost to the hospital and seek help
the industry to do something.
f. Innovations in this field are very fast and hence could not
be avoided.
g. To make the hospital competitive, investment in
technology is unavoidable.
h. Joint representation to policy makers can help the
industry.
i. Need to change the mindset of the public on this.
5. What benefits your Patients/clients are getting from
Kovai Medical Center?
First and foremost is the availability of all specialties under
one roof. Second most important is the very clean and green
environment. The friendly approach and patient centric
approach feel the patients comfortable at home.The
transparency and ethical approach makes to realize that they
are in the right place for treatment. Our investment in
technology and clinical expertise makes the patient to
blindly approach us for their treatment. Unaffordable
patients can also get treatment through charitable trust.
Various other facilities like bank,ATMs, variety of food
courts, SPA, Preventive health checks, shopping plazas
makes the patients and attenders feel away from sickness.
With various CSR activities the patients and society are
benefitted.
6. Which strategies do you follow to stay competent?
How are you shaping yourself to become unique?
We strongly believe in technological investments and we
are the healthcare leader in this region. With such
investments, we are the first in many complicated and
advanced procedures in this region. In spite of advanced
technologies, we are at par with the market in terms of
charges to the patients. Our awareness programs for the
public are very useful for various preventive measures.
Various research programs by our team are very educative
and useful for the society. With one main center of 1000
beds at Coimbatore, we have six peripheral centers in and
around the region so that we can serve everywhere.We are
in the process of entering to medical educative program
thereby we will be a major medical player in the southern
India.
7. What would you attribute your success to?
Our quality service, patient friendly approach, latest
technology, affordable cost, transparency in billing, ethical
practices, clean and green environment are the major
attributes to our success.Above all these aspects, a
dedicated and sacrificing team of doctors, paramedics,
administrators, health workers steered by an able leadership
makes this journey successful.
8. What is the best part of your Kovai Medical Center,
and how are you going to utilize it in the future?
We have state of the art infrastructure, latest technological
equipment and best of talent pool that can do anything the
world can do, successfully. We have already established
ourselves and earned reputation and confidence among the
population. We will try to achieve much more heights and
make our hospital as the premier destination for healthcare
needs.
April 201818 |
™
21.
22. About the Author
Mr. Kumar Subramaniam, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Kaaspro Enterprises,
played a major role in guiding Kaaspro Enterprises to reach great heights. He has not only been
instrumental in the massive success of the company but also in leading it from the front with
reputation and goodwill. Also Mr. Kumar Subramaniam is the co-founder of Kumaran System and
has been heading the Internet Products and Services, shouldering responsibilities since the inception
of the company. Having amassed an industry experience of nearly three decades, he has ensured that
the organization achieved outstanding business performance.
To make Kaaspro Enterprises the global leader in Electronic Health Records Software Service is his
vision and this is being worked on effectively. He has gained expertise about the nuances of
Information Technology and an understanding of the EHR platform from his rich domain
experience. It is his high leadership capability that has enabled his team to accomplish great success.
It is because of the insights he has passed on regarding management that the company has been
facilitated to align all its processes and projects in line with its business strategy. Achieving a perfect
synergy between management and technology is Mr. Kumar Subramaniam’s endeavor. He strives for
this and Kaaspro Enterprises is the manifestation of the endeavor.
75Health is a modern health information technology services company that has come up with state-
of-the-art applications such as 75Health Electronic Medical Record Software and 75Health Medical
Practice Management System. The specialty of these modern medical information technologies is
providing simple design and easy implementation while being able to enable efficient performance of
medical practices and clinicians.
Technology
and
Innovation
Result in
Healthcare
Revolution Kumar Subramaniam
Founder & Chief Executive Ofcer
April 201820 |
™
23. Healthcare industry, among others, proves
to be one of the significantly evolved
ones – thanks to the impact brought upon
by innovations and new technologies during the
recent past. More number of digital devices as well
as technologies are seen to drive the healthcare
industry in the contemporary world. This has led to
improvement in healthcare provider and patient
communication, enhanced clinical treatments,
optimization of diagnoses, reduction in threats
related to public health, and optimization of global
health services.
The Connection between Technological
Advances and the Future of Healthcare
The traditional healthcare setting as we know is
continuing to change by the influence of new
technologies. Impacting this niche from diverse
perspectives, innovations play a key role in the
evolution of health care and the way it is being
delivered. While enabling medical services and
clinicians to achieve information accuracy and the
capability to provide optimal medical service to
patients, these have an impact on the services
provided by the health care industry, in the form of
new ways of diagnosis, treatment methods, and
delicate decision making process.
It is well-known that health care providers will be
relying more on technology for improving their
services to patients. New technologies will assist
physicians belonging to different specialties with a
wide range of factors – from increasing accuracy to
optimizing their diagnosis. Futuristic smart systems
that are capable of understanding complicated
diseases and health issues make this possible.
Revolutions in Health Care Driven By
Technology
Technology has been seen to influence healthcare
in unprecedented ways, of late. The ability to
leverage technology proves to be a boon to the modern
world; this revolution is about to break barriers in
future. Wearables, innovations in health information
technology and pharmaceuticals are just a few of the
numerous progressive factors in healthcare. The
following are a few of the key innovations in the
modern medical industry:
Ÿ Robotics
Ÿ Nanotechnology
Ÿ 3-D Printing
Ÿ Artificial intelligence
Ÿ Electronic medical records
Ÿ Medical practice management systems
Ÿ Personal health records
Limitations and Challenges
With innovative technologies and the current
revolutionary trend, considerable progress has been
achieved, but great challenges remain too. The
following are a few of the technology challenges faced
by the modern healthcare industry:
Ÿ Voluminous data: Data generation is on the rise
– increasing data and the need for handling the
same creates data security and data
management issues that need to be handled
Ÿ Communication gap among healthcare
systems: With progressive technologies being
created on one side, the limited ability of
interaction among them causes concern – this
restricts the capability of automating processes
Ÿ HIPAA and other Legal Requirements:
Medical service providers are required to
protect personal patient information, take
precautions to have data backups, and
eliminate data breach
Ÿ Increasing costs: Effective coordination with
the Affordable Care Act becomes difficult with
increasing IT costs.
April 201821 |
™
INSIDERS OPINION
24. The Next Big Blessing for the Healthcare Industry
he power of Augmented Reality (AR) to let the end user keep in touch with the reality and presenting the
Tinformation into eyesight as fast as possible makes it unique among other burgeoning IT technologies. The popularity
of Pokemon game is a world known phenomenon from where AR technology got a huge boost. Many experts believe
that AR technology has the potential to change the landscape of healthcare industry too in a gigantic way for both the
physicians and patients alike. There are many applications where AR proves to be a boon for the healthcare sector which is
described in this article.
Augmented Reality can Save Lives by Locating nearby Defibrillators in Quickest Possible Time
What would a person generally do when person next to him collapsed suddenly? The first thought generally comes to
anyone’s mind is to call the ambulance or contact the close one’s of the traumatized person. But does doing anyone of these
things suffice in all the circumstances especially in the critical ones? Definitely not!! With the help of augmented reality
technology, you can help a distressed person in much better way. With the power of augmented reality, a person can locate
automated external defibrillators or AEDs. Interestingly, this technology can let the end user find exact location of the nearest
AEDs in a shortest possible time, may be in a minute and thus help troubled person in quickest possible time.
Patients can describe their Medical Situation in a Better Way
In many cases, patients find it difficult to explain their symptoms to the doctors accurately. In some cases patient describe the
situations much more and worse than the actual reality and in some cases they report their situation as a much little problem
which was not the exact case either all the time. In ophthalmology field of medicine, augmented reality thus proves to be a
game changer for patient consultation.
In ophthalmology, using augmented reality, a camera can display the exact conditions that impact a person’s vision. Using
apps like EyeDecide, doctors can show simulation of the vision of a person suffering from specific eye disease. With this
technology, doctors can demonstrate the impact of Cataract to the patient and help them understand their actual medical
condition and future situation as well. Thus by looking into the long term impact on their health, it could motivate people to
make positive change.
Finding Veins becomes Easier with Augmented Reality
When things get out of control, applying needle is the only way out to get well soon, but Doctors and Nurses find it difficult in
many cases to find the vein in first instance. According to one prominent marketing specialist, 40% of IVs (Intravenous
injections) miss the vein on the first time, and this figure gets worse if it includes elderly and children’s.
With Augmented reality technology now both the nurses and doctors finds it easier to do this job. Using augmented reality
technology, a handheld scanner throws rays over to the patient’s skin and shows nurses and doctors the exact locations of
patient’s veins. Thus, it makes doctors’ job easier to find the vein and inject the syringe to the exact location with minimum
pain to the patient. Interestingly, it is estimated that using AR technology finding vein on the first stick has become 3.5x
higher.
April 201822 |
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25. Pharmaceutical Companies can let Patients Know How Drug Works
How medicine works when it goes into the body is a question which generally comes in to the minds of many patients.
And whose answer many want to know. One can go into the deep of medical science and understand the process of how
drug enters and change patient’s body. But for that, one needs to read a bunch of articles and book which are not feasible
to a normal person who is unaware of the medical terminology. But with the help of augmented reality a patient can see
how the drug works that too in 3D in front of their eyes instead of reading long descriptions.
Interestingly, AR technology can assist lab workers to monitor their experiments and can also help them in knowing what
to do next in the drug making process.
A Great Assistance for the Surgeons
When it comes to surgery, precision becomes the prime importance. While conducting surgery with advanced technology,
it has now become more important to draw a 3D model image of the patient’s organ part that has to go through surgical
process. AR technology thus empowers surgeons to locate the exact part of the body that needs surgery with the assistance
of X-rays views without any radiation exposure in real time. This technology thus assists surgeons to deliver a successful
surgery with utmost precision while taking care of patients’ safety at the core.
Now these applications itself prove that AR is gaining momentum in healthcare space too, and it will become future of
healthcare as far as technology is concerned. In the future, many of healthcare activities will revolves around AR. And
those who still have some kind of doubt over its popularity should look at the people chasing Pokemon on the streets.
TECH-TREND
April 201823 |
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26. n today’s time, access to quality
Ihealthcare facilities is a major
concern for people who live in tier
II, tier III cities & rural areas. The best
possible way to address this concern is
to provide healthcare solutions through
mobile technology, where you get
instant consultation from top certified
medical practitioners. So we would say
mobile health technology would prove
to be a game changer for India’s
healthcare system, and makes quality
and affordable healthcare solutions
accessible to all. One such healthcare
provider that provides quality
healthcare solution is AcneDr. AcneDr
is a specialist in the treatment of Acne
which is a common disease all over the
world.
Acne is a common adolescent skin
condition as over 80% of men and
women suffer from acne in their
lifetime. As per British Medical
Journal, it is estimated that the
worldwide prevalence of acne is
th
around 9.4%, making it the 8 most
prevalent disease. Majorly it affects
teenagers and adolescents who are
busy in their college or professional
lives & have little or no time to visit a
dermatologist. Also, there are many
studies which have concluded that acne
is associated with negative
psychological impact as well.
Fascinating Journey of AcneDr
AcneDr Healthtech Pvt. Ltd. was
founded with the goal of establishing a
digital platform exclusively focused on
Acne & making dermatologists
accessible to everyone. AcneDr is the
only dermatologist consultation app in
India which is dedicated for acne
management. The company has a team
of dermatologists & cosmetologists
having an expertise in treating acne
who provide customized treatment.
Their strategy is to remain focused on
acne management. Acne in itself is a
vast segment. They would continue
working towards creating awareness
about impact of acne on day-to-day life
& educate people to seek professional
advice rather than experimenting home
remedies. Also in the ever changing
health tech scenario they would strive
to offer the best user experience.
Masterminds of AcneDr
AcneDr Healthtech Private Limited is
Co-founded by Mohit Kochar,
Shailesh Javkar & Ashish Maurya.
“There is a tendency to ignore health
concerns which crop up frequently &
tend to forget that, to address these
issues & to prevent them from
recurring, medical advice is necessary.
Acne is one such condition which is
always ignored” said Ashish.“There
are many studies which have
concluded that acne is associated with
negative psychological impacts.
Embarrassment, stigma &
misconceptions about acne are seen to
be the likely causes that prevent people
from seeking medical help” added
Shailesh. This is where they thought
that AcneDr will play a major role.
“AcneDr’s objective is to create
awareness about the impact of acne on
day-to-day life & bridge the gap
between people & dermatologist, so
that pimples can be cured at early
stages. Thus helping people regain
their confidence and smile again” says
Mohit.
AcneDr:A Platform Which
Offers Acne Treatment
April 201824 |
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27. How AcneDr Stands Out From the Competition
The mobile health technology landscape is vast with
multiple services being offered across different therapeutic
areas. In this scenario, AcneDr foresees a lot of patients
moving towards online consultation for the benefits it offer.
AcneDr is a very convenient, secure & affordable platform
where patients will benefit from the customized treatment
offered by dermatologists.
Customer Service & satisfaction both are very crucial to
make successful & long term relationship with customers.
Many a times, it is very difficult to get an appointment of
specialists in a hospital & the waiting list is also too long.
AcneDr facilitates smooth consultation & customized
therapy from expert dermatologists at the patient’s
convenience without physically visiting them.
AcneDr - A Secure Way to Consult
The biggest challenge faced by AcneDr. was to develop
trust of their patients. It is not easy to ensure that what you
share online is safe and secure. AcneDr. is highly
committed towards maintaining confidentiality of personal
information shared by the patients. All images & chat
“We make sure that
affordable acne
treatment is accessible
to all”
conversations are stored in encrypted format in database &
only a dermatologist can access the database. This makes
AcneDr mobile application platform a very confidential and
secure one.
Focus and Vision of AcneDr
Focus & Vision are two attributes which is giving them
success. Their focus is only on acne management and to
create awareness about the impact of acne on day-to-day
life & educate people to seek professional advice. The
vision is to spread confidence by creating a difference.
Future Perspective of AcneDr
AcneDr believes in challenging the status quo of the
already existing methods or standards. Consumer
satisfaction and experience is their prime focus and they
work towards that every day. Positive vibes, integrity,
decision-making capability and self-motivation are highly
valued in their organization. And with having these traits as
their strengths, AcneDr is set to expand its business
footprint in the unchartered territory as well.
MOST ADVANCED
HEALTHCARESOLUTION PROVIDERS
THE
Shailesh Javkar
Co-Founder
Mohit Kochar
Co-Founder
April 201825 |
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28. About the Author
Nipun Goyal is the Co-founder
and Director of Curofy, where he
leads the medical team, handles
investor & media relations and
oversees overall business strategy.
He is a graduate from IIT Delhi,
2012 batch, with major in
Electrical Engineering and minor in
Business Management. He entered
the healthcare industry in college,
when he started a medical tourism
company. After working for few
months in the sector, he saw the
bigger problem of inefcient
digital health communication,
which led towards the inception of
Curofy.
Today, Curofy is India's largest
community of veried doctors.
Over 90,000 doctors from 600+
cities of India are using it to
discuss patient cases with their
peers to provide extremely quick
and better diagnosis to their
patients. Curofy is satisfying their
hunger for knowledge and better
outcomes. In this process, it is
creating a huge supply of “digital
doctors”.
Nipun Goyal
Co-founder and Director
April 201826 |
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29. New AgeTechnologies:
A New Wave in the Revolution of
Indian Healthcare Ecosystem
O
ver the last two decades, the
Indian healthcare sector is
growing at a tremendous
pace. This positive growth is majorly
fuelled by the innovation in technology
which has transformed the
conventional healthcare system into an
efficient digital healthcare system. The
adoption of technology by hospitals,
doctors and patients has developed an
infrastructure to overcome the current
prevailing challenges in the industry
and made the healthcare needs
accessible to everyone.
As per the estimates of ASSOCHAM
and RNCOS, the Indian healthcare
sector is going to see a compounded
annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22
percent with many technology trends
taking over the industry. Apart from
growth, the immense contribution of
technology in uplifting the Indian
healthcare sector is also expected to
revamp the functioning of the system.
Transparency is one of the major
concerns in Indian healthcare sector.
Adoption of technology and
digitization are playing a crucial role in
eliminating the ambiguities prevailing
in the sector. Transparency is driving
the positive outcomes in patients with
increased satisfaction. They can avail
information on their prescribed
medicines, medical records and
treatments all at one place. It has also
become easier to fix an appointment
with doctors and physicians by reading
their reviews online.
There are various technology start-ups
and enthusiasts who are betting on
technology to bring a revolution in the
Indian healthcare sector. Artificial
Intelligence and Internet of Things are
becoming the centre of every possible
solution that can leverage the growth
of the sector. The rise in technology is
resulting in a high demand for quality
and affordable healthcare in India. The
Indian healthcare sector is expected to
touch $280 billion in 2020 from $100
billion in 2016, thereby, creating
immense opportunities for technology
players in the industry.
Artificial Intelligence
The adoption of Artificial Intelligence
(AI) by healthcare industry is rising
and solving a variety of problems for
patients, doctors as well as for
hospitals. AI in healthcare works in a
collection of multiple technologies
which enables machines to sense,
comprehend and act just as human
cognition. It is making the healthcare
ecosystem more organized by
April 201827 |
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EXPERT'S VIEWPOINT
30. performing the administrative tasks and clinical
functions more efficiently.
Prior to the adoption of AI, patients did not have the
access to information including searching the right
doctor, hospital, treatment or even medicines and lab
tests. Now with AI enabled applications, they can
directly talk to doctors and get the best treatment out
for them. Moreover, now doctors can also talk to their
peers or experts to seek second opinion and treat
patients in a much better way.
In addition, introduction of online pharmacy store is
making the lives of the patients much easier by saving
time. Now patients can get genuine medicines, their
substitutes and even book their lab tests at home. The
business model of online pharmacy is interestingly
making the healthcare needs accessible to everyone by
expanding their reach to small towns and cities in
India.
Internet of Things in Healthcare
Internet of Things is transforming the current ailing
healthcare system. Internet of medical Things is
opening up new ways for patient care by focusing on
establishing machine to machine and machine to
human communication. It holds the potential to enable
networked devices to exchange information and
function without human assistance. Various sensors,
Wi-Fi and cellular communications links help the IoT
enabled device interpret data and make decisions on
treating the patients.
IoT in healthcare is works as an aggregator and
integrator of data. It lends support to healthcare
organizations in making operational decisions and
reducing operational costs. It provides a new
foundation to gain insights into asset and human
resources management. Thus, IoT not only helps in
reducing operational costs but also helps in optimizing
assets and inventory.
Moreover with the surge in IoT enabled mobile and
wearable devices, doctors can easily identify the
health risks and effective treatment for the patients.
IoT also helps doctors in improving diagnoses by
bringing together data from distinctive devices
connected through internet and forming a complete
picture of a patient’s health status. The visualization of
clear clinical treatment through IoT lends value to the
patient, doctor and healthcare system.
Many healthcare providers are anticipated to adopt
IoT- based asset tracking and inventory management
in hospitals. This will result in improving patient’s
safety, satisfaction and operational efficiency.
Redesigning healthcare system
Healthcare organizations are adopting new
technologies in order to deliver best to their patients.
Many hospitals and doctors have already started
utilising AI and IoT in their daily lives to improve
services with efficiency and better communication
with patients. In the coming years, these new
technologies are not only going to redesign patient’s
experience but also revolutionize the way Indian
Healthcare ecosystem operates.
April 201828 |
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31.
32. Surgeon
Dr. S. Muthu Kumar
A
CHANGED
LIFE AFTER
A KNEE
SURGERY
A
CHANGED
LIFE AFTER
A KNEE
SURGERY
April 201830 |
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33. EENS and TWENTIES are the very years which
Tlay the foundation for the rest of one’s bright
future! It is the time when we study, choose a
career and go ahead at life in the full-on and revved up
mode. It is the time when many of us foray ahead to realize
our dreams!
Now, imagine if you were to be confined to the bed during
these years. Imagine if you needed the help of someone to
bathe and eat. If you cannot use the restroom, or change
your clothes without the assistance of another person? How
would that be?
This was the day- to-day life of 22 year old Bhuvaneshwari
who succumbed to Rheumatoid Arthritis. The progressive
condition damages all the joints in the body, crippling them
completely in course of time. The complicated condition of
Bhuvaneshwari was looked upon as one that cannot be
treated or where treatment was perceived as unyielding.
With her condition worsening day by day, she was crippled
and confined to the bed for almost 5 years with no hope.
The condition put a stop to her education and every other
thing an 18 or 20 year old girl would normally do. Dr.
Muthu Kumar moved by her condition at this very young
age wanted to change her life and give her the freedom to
move. The power to perform her routine and basic duties
and give her a fighting chance to live the life she dreams of!
After a complete diagnosis of her condition, Dr. Muthu
Kumar and the team of orthopaedic surgeons at Parvathy
Hospital, planned the surgery.
A total knee replacement for both her knees would enable
her garner the much needed mobility. The surgeries were
staged taking into account all her complications and the
responses her body could trigger during and after the
process.
Clinical investigation and evaluation led to the surgeons
understanding the reason behind her immobility. Both her
knees had a knocked knees deformity which had her right
knee bent at a 60 degree angle and the left knee bent at a 30
degree angle. This prevented her from stretching her legs
which is the primary reason for her inability to stand or
walk.
Using her hands Bhuvaneshwari used to literally crawl from
the bed to the chair or to the floor to even perform her
hygiene activities.
The total knee replacement was done as a three staged
procedure. With a Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis condition
her bones were extremely soft and the Knee Replacement
process was done with extreme care. After the successful
replacement of the right knee, neuro –vascular interventions
were required to get the knee moving back and forth or get
the complete stretching ability of a normal knee. The neuro
–vascular expertise also determines her ability to mover her
ankles and foot.
With both her knee joints replaced, Bhuvaneshwari is now
able to stand and walk and perform her daily routine. She is
back to pursuing her education, free to walk and do the
things she wants without depending on anyone.
While Bhuvaneshwari has a long way to go, this first level
mobility has opened the doors to her future. And a
promising one at that!
TESTIMONIAL
“I have been suffering from
Rheumatoid Arthritis and was
bed-ridden for the last 5 years.
I was unable to do anything on
my own – eat, brush, bathe or
go to school to study. Dr.
Muthu Kumar gave me hope
and a new life. With my knees
replaced, I am now able to
stand and walk. I am hopeful
about my future now. I thank
Parvathy Hospital and the
entire team of doctors.” -
K.BHUVANESHWARI
April 201831 |
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AN INSPIRING STORY
34. octor discovery is easy today,
Dbut patient engagement is
extremely difficult. Imagine a
healthcare provider (private doctor,
polyclinic or a hospital) wanting to
engage patients or have their own
digital presence. Their only options
today are to either:
a) Invest a lot of resources to build a
rd
custom technology solution, b) Use 3
party listing solutions that compromise
patients’ security & privacy and dilute
providers’ brand & patient
relationships or c) Engage patients via
phone calls or messages that are
difficult to control access or monetize.
Since none of these options are
attractive, patient outcomes continue to
suffer due to late interventions, patchy
adherence to treatment, needless travel,
lost/incorrect records, manual data
sharing and more.
To address these problems, 1Health, a
company built by ISB & IIM alumni,
developed an innovative platform
‘ARTH’ that instantly provides
healthcare providers their own
personalized, simplified & powerful
technology solutions in a secure &
affordable manner.
Uniqueness of ARTH
ARTH enables healthcare providers
to easily launch their own
customized health app for patients in
under 15 minutes.
Each customized patient-facing health
app comes with web & app interfaces
for providers. The powerful out-of-the-
box features include appointment
booking, video consulting, chatting,
record sharing, article publishing, bulk
messaging, medicine ordering,
treatment tracking, online payments &
more.
In an industry-first, the built-in virtual
assistant allows all users (including
doctors) to give voice commands to
manage appointments, inform about
delays, store/retrieve health readings,
order medicines etc.
Thanks to its SaaS model, included
support & feature upgrades, ARTH
helps providers engage patients,
enhance brand, monetize services
and manage operations in an easy,
secure and affordable manner.
Leading Lights of 1Health
1Health was founded in mid-2014 by
two ISB & IIM alumni – Jainam Shah
& Naitik Vyas - who have over 20+
years of experience in executing large-
scale transformation projects, setting
up healthcare e-commerce operations,
building & leading B2B sales teams &
automating complex processes
nationwide. Their initial platform was
a B2C integrated primary care platform
which made them learn first-hand the
challenges healthcare providers &
patients face in adopting health-tech
despite its many benefits. This
experience led them to launch ‘ARTH’
in 2016 – a platform that would make
it easy, quick & motivating for any
healthcare provider or patient to adopt
personalized health-tech in a
meaningful manner.
Four Levers of Growth
ARTH can apply its expertise in high-
speed personalized solutions on 4
growth levers.
The first lever is personalized health-
tech solution for providers (e.g.
provider-branded patient-facing apps)
in India. ARTH already powers patient
apps for healthcare providers such as
private practitioners (diabetologists,
psychiatrists, oncologists,
cardiologists, gynaecologists etc.),
polyclinics & more in over 15 states
ARTH:Making Personalized
Health-Tech Accessible to All
April 201832 |
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35. and sees plenty of room for expansion.
Second is the company’s ambitious plan to help improve
patient outcomes by providing personalized health-tech
to individual patients. For e.g., when a patient is
discharged after a month-long hospital treatment, the
patient would receive a self-named health app preloaded
with the patient’s treatment team & consult modes
(video, chat, clinic), treatment reminders, nearby
pharmacies, relevant health articles and a smart virtual
assistant. This would help the patient stay motivated and
treatment compliant during post-op recovery.
Third is entering global healthcare markets where health-
tech is still underpenetrated or immature. 1Health’s
vision is to mass-deploy personalized health-tech
solutions in such markets at a high speed, thereby
leapfrogging and standardizing an entire country’s
healthcare ecosystem within weeks or months, while
retaining individuality for providers and patients alike.
Their fourth growth lever is horizontal expansion into
services, medical device integrations and security
solutions for the broader healthcare industry.
Reasons behind Growth
One of the prime reasons behind the company’s success
is having a clear vision of how an ideal healthcare
ecosystem should be and following necessary steps
“Health is
personal.
Health-tech
should be too”
towards translating that vision into reality. For e.g.
Security and privacy is built into all custom solutions
powered by ARTH. Records, video consults and chat
messages are encrypted, accessible only to doctors
and patients and stored on servers within India.
Another key reason for their growth is developing a track
record of bulk-producing personalized health-tech
solutions within hours. On more than one occasion,
thanks to their proprietary, automated app-building
engine, ARTH has provided over 150 doctors their own
custom-branded health apps in a single day.
Finally, continuous product innovations like the voice-
enabled health assistant (an industry-first), handwriting
recognition, instant video consult with real-time doctor
availability check, treatment adherence tracking,
automatic coupon generation etc. has helped them stay
ahead of the competition.
Future Endeavour
Looking ahead, ARTH will soon support built-in
integrations for medical devices, local languages, AI-
powered decision support systems, analytical tools &
more. From a market perspective, 1Health will partner
with leading healthcare institutions to target new
segments and geographies with mass-deployable
personalized health-tech solutions.
Jainam Shah
Co-founder
Naitik Vyas
Co-founder
April 201833 |
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MOST ADVANCED
HEALTHCARESOLUTION PROVIDERS
THE
36. Organized Marketing
Hospitals
its Future Trends
of
and
The hospitals, nursing homes, healthcare
organizations, rehabilitation centers have been
practicing on improving marketing strategies since
the 1970’s. During the initial days, there was a thread-like
conflict between the healthcare organizations and
marketing. However, now the healthcare organizations are
changing their focus from being product orientated towards
being user-friendly. The organized marketing goals serve
better customer relationships and ultimately assist in the
revenue growth of organizations.
The organized hospitals comprise of fundamental elements
responsible for its ‘systematic’ marketing structures which
include professional referral marketing, internet and
external marketing, branding and public relations.
Nevertheless, the patients should be the center of the
decision-making process as the patient-oriented decisions
make the marketing strategies more effective. In this
patient-centric world, convenience has become a new
competitive currency. Patients need prompt and feasible
appointment timings as they could not wait for weeks or
days for an appointment. Hence, the healthcare
organizations should keep an eye open on providing prompt
services to their patients.
The healthcare sector is growing and marketers have the
best chances to set up their companies to achieve a leading
position in the market. Hence, it is the time for the
healthcare organizations to keep an eye open on the trends
and activities which are arising in the healthcare markets.
Social Messaging Applications as a Marketing Platform
Social Messaging Apps such as Whatsapp, Snapchat,
Facebook, Twitter, etc. are lightning with a high volt in the
market. These apps are flexible and provide a fast-
April 201834 |
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37. developing multipurpose platform which is a great need to
enhance the market. Real-time customer discussions and
relationships are the conventional origins of the messaging.
One can expect to see new advertising and marketing
probabilities to arise as chat apps will continue to grow.
Social Involvement is the Sword and Content is a Sharp
Edge
Every minute, tremendous count of user accounts is being
created on every social site. Healthcare companies are
creating social communities to connect and collaborate with
the customers. The population health management
programs are deploying social apps for measuring and
tracking conditions. The inspiration to get socially engaged
comes from the healthy reward programs, community
competitions, and games.
Nowadays, social media has become a critical factor for
healthcare marketers. A recent survey has reported that
more than 65% of Chief Medical Officers make use of
social media to run their business and to build their digital
brand. The healthcare organizations which hold a social
media page rely on the ‘content’ to promote their purpose.
Patients look for social media content which is shareable,
fresh, worth reading and unique, and compelling to hold the
customer’s attention.
Marketing Based on Location
The healthcare marketers can reach the patients by fetching
their location using smartphones. The marketers can alert
their customers about nearby facilities. Furthermore,
location-based marketing can detect the social and personal
likings of the audience from their profiles. Companies that
are using the location-based marketing should ensure the
CHALK-TALK
April 201835 |
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38. customer’s privacy through rigid opt-in policies and safeguards.
Video Speaks Louder than Text
Internet technology supports online video delivery and it is observed that video has sturdy audience appeal to grab the
information to be conveyed. The modern healthcare marketers can share their stories through video content and live
streaming videos on websites, blogs, and other social media platforms. Marketing companies can shift their plans and
budgets in video categories for the best results.
A programmatic video is automated, real-time buying and selling of video advertise. Purchasing programmatic video is more
cost-effective as these videos will be presented to precisely qualified customers at the right time. It is estimated that, within a
couple of years, the concept of programmatic video will take the majority of digital video spending with amazing results.
Advancement in Patient Portal
Patient portals have been in the pipeline for many years and in the coming days of the healthcare industry, there will be a
renovation of portals because the healthcare organizations are searching new ways to develop the services outside the
conventional settings. This approach can make the portals more user-friendly and sophisticated as consumer-oriented
companies are entering the healthcare market with a huge count.
Enhancing User Experience
A concentrated approach to user experience (UX) can lead to stronger relationships between the healthcare providers and
their dear audiences. Many researchers have commented that patients are demanding user-friendly healthcare websites. The
concept of user experience has got hype in the healthcare industry due to the increased use of electronic medical records.
The primary aim of healthcare websites is to satisfy the customer’s experience through improved usability, enhancing
customer satisfaction, and inspiring loyalty.
Chatbots
A Chatbot is an interactive platform for medical practitioners to communicate quickly to their patients who feel secure and
specific to their needs. The healthcare companies are looking forward to incorporating chatbots as a part of their marketing
strategy. It is estimated that Chatbots can replace search windows in the near future.
Chatbots are very interactive where customers can get the desirable answers more quickly and efficiently and can also save
time in making phone calls. A combo of Chatbots and Messaging Apps can significantly improve the quality of patient
service.
Voice-based SEO
Digital assistants such as Siri, and Google Assistant are occupying our lives through smartphones and home devices.
According to recent reports of healthcare agencies, an astounding 200 billion searches per month will be done with voice.
Voice search has already accounted around 20% of all searches and will make its way into the healthcare industry as well.
Voice search is certainly going to play a huge role in search results.
‘Out with the old, in with the new’ is the primary directive of the hospital marketing departments in today’s rapidly-
developing healthcare landscapes. The hospital marketers can see more efficient marketing strategies to reach and connect
with increasingly sophisticated patients and consumers by optimizing each employee and attaining new leadership skills. A
key point of organized marketing is to add value to the things for which the patient has a highest priority. The new
inventions in the healthcare marketing will be worth watching in the upcoming years.
April 201836 |
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39.
40. ndian healthcare sector is growing
Iat a rapid pace and in the coming
years it is expected to reach to
supreme level. With a rise in the
population, infectious and chronic
diseases have increased at a larger
extent due to which it has become
quite tough for the minimal online
healthcare solutions to serve to such a
big proportion of population. Due to
the growing population, the costs of
the healthcare services are also
increasing which has given rise to the
development of the cost-effective
healthcare solutions which could
provide wide range of services to their
patients.
One such leading healthcare company
which holds high desire to help and
benefit the society in an innovative
way is, Doctto Online Healthcare
Innovation, which has been providing
reliable solutions to the healthcare
service seekers since 2016. The
company is a certified partner of
NASSCOM and is headquartered in
Bangalore.
‘Docttocare’ is a product of Doctto
Online Healthcare Innovation Pvt. Ltd
which is an online healthcare portal
designed to deliver high standard
health services to the society. It
provides an interactive online platform
for the patients, doctors, clinics,
hospitals and the wellness centers by
reducing the costs and delivering quick
services to the emergency admissions
of the patients. It also emphasizes on
providing best services to Digital
Healthcare Solutions for users and host
providers at low cost. Docttocare
undisputedly covers all the major
challenges such as the unequal access,
the quality issues and the rising costs
of healthcare industry, making it as one
of the most advanced healthcare
solution provider in India.
Docttocare Delivers Wide-Range of
Services
Docttocare is a robust platform which
offers virtual and reality guided tool to
the various medical centers and
provide its customers a complete 360
degree view for easy decision making
process. This versatile platform let the
customers to search, compare,
evaluate, and also share their health
records and prescriptions, making the
portal user-friendly. It also allows the
customers to shortlist the medical
centers based on the rating and to avail
more information regarding their
required services. Dentist, ENT
specialist, Homoeopathic doctors,
Gynecologists, Neurologists, Skin
specialist and more provide wide range
of medical services to the clients.
The most highlighted features of
Docttocare are Instant Online
Ambulance and Air Ambulance, Blood
bank and Hospital Bed Booking
Facilities. It also includes features like
Virtual 3D Panoramic Walk Through
and Visual experience of the ambience
of the hospitals which helps the users
to book hospital’s beds or rooms
before they opt-in for treatment and
procedures with just a click.
Docttocare assures the confirmation of
online appointment with the tip of an
Email, Call or SMS.
The instant online ambulance booking
facility allows the users to book an
ambulance quickly, track the live status
Doctto Online
Healthcare
Innovation:
Redening Indian Healthcare System
April 201838 |
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41. of fleet, its arrival time and the expected travel time.
Additionally, the availing blood bank feature allows the
user to track the facilities of blood banks such as
availability of blood groups, its available quantities, and its
current status with the associated hospitals and
organizations. Docttocare aims to provide the best
healthcare services in respect to Quality Services, Visual
Experience, Augmenting Reality, and Digital Awareness
towards the end users.
About the Head-honcho of the Company
Sugandha Agarwal is the Managing Director &
Founder of Docttocare who is a B.Tech graduate from a
renowned institute in Ghaziabad. Before getting self-
employed, she has given her fruitful contribution to some
of the IT giants like Infosys and Google Maps for four
years and has worked there on diverse projects. Her strong
idea behind the establishment of Docttocare was to reduce
the high queues for emergency medical services in India.
Sugandha delivers the credit of Docttocare’s success to her
Co-founder, family, friends and conveys her gratitude to
all those who has helped her selflessly. She believes that
‘determination’ has always been her vital element and the
largest contributor in achieving success.
“We deliver versatile
online healthcare
services to our
customers”
Docttocare Team’s Valuable Contribution
The robust team of Docttocare consists of developers,
marketing & sales, and finance experts who possess a
strong experience of over six years in their respective
fields. The combined efforts of its team have successfully
completed the registrations of more than 2000 doctors
which is indeed a booming achievement for the company.
The team members always thrive hard to give their best
to the customers as customer’s satisfaction is the most
important factor for any organization. Additionally, they
communicate with their customers on a regular basis
making them feel more concerned and apparently
helping the team to improve their services through
feedbacks.
For every organization, security is the topmost priority
which makes it trustworthy. Hence, in order to achieve a
secure and systematic healthcare management,
Docttocare uses Amazon Secured Services and maintains
different isolated servers which ensure security of
patient's data. The success ratio of Docttocare is
continuously increasing and it is shaping the future of
Indian healthcare industry in an optimistic way.
Sugandha Agarwal
Managing Director & Founder
April 201839 |
™
MOST ADVANCED
HEALTHCARESOLUTION PROVIDERS
THE
42. Accelerating
IT Adoption in
Indian
Healthcare
Background
Like everything, Healthcare is on the verge of a major
technological upgrade. There is a myth that
healthcare is slow to adopt technology. This couldn t’
be further from truth. Let's look at some of the recent cases:
Ÿ Researchers have successfully created a 3-D printed
heart. The models are being extensively used by surgeons
to pre-plan their surgeries
Ÿ Remote Robotic Surgery is becoming more commonplace
nowadays
Ÿ ’Smartphone accessories along with wearable s are
revolutionizing the health of the consumer like never
before
Having said that, there is a vast dichotomy in technology
adoption between healthcare providers depending on
demography, regulations, and experience. In a country like
India, where the doctor to patient ratio is abysmal, doctors
don't get the desired time to enter health records to an
Electronic Health Record (EHR) system. For the same
reason, it is also difficult for the Government to bring in
regulations. Added to that, technology infrastructure in the
rural sector leaves much to be desired for rapid adoption. As
such, a different approach is required to improve IT adoption
in healthcare in developing countries.
Approach
S n – Leonardo Da Vinciimplicity is the ultimate sophisticatio
Owing to the paucity of time for Doctors and the
unfamiliarity of technology, a different approach is required
for mass adoption. There are scores of IT healthcare
companies who focus on creating sophisticated solution
without the end user in mind. That would work in some
cases but for the solution to catch the imagination of
doctors and patients, the solution must be simple and easy
to use. Here we look at some key features to be considered
for increased adoption.
Good UI and Great UX
People often confuse between UI and UX and speak about
them in the same breath. Good color combination,
consistent themes, subtle screen transitions and icons
constitute a good UI. However, more than having a good
UI, it’s crucial to have a great UX. The user should find
things in an intuitive manner. As an example, in the
appointment screen, past appointments should be shown
near-by. Any warnings regarding the patient should be
shown along with the health records. It might sound easy
but, a domain expert is required in designing screens and
functionality.
Conversational Interface
Having conversation comes natural to humans. That’s the
most prevalent form of communication. With rapid
improvement in voice recognition and natural language
processing, it’s now possible to have a variety of
conversational interface built into the system. As an
example, the system should be able to understand normal
spoken language (ex: the patient is suffering from fever;
open the relevant template), interpret its meaning and serve
the user (Opening the EHR system with relevant details
Brahma Acharya
Director
April 201840 |
™
43. Brahma Acharya is
the Director of
Kare4U Healthcare
Solutions.
Technology being
his passion, he
started Kare4U with
an intention to
provide healthcare
industry the much
needed boost that it
needs. It’s been his
constant endeavor
to bring all the
relevant
technologies to
Kare4U and give
the customer’s that
leading edge in
technology.
filled in). Systems can also understand the spoken language and
respond to users so that busy individuals (like doctors) can directly
speak to the mic and get the necessary help from the system.
Notification and Minimalistic UI
Healthcare is complicated and as such the systems supporting it is
complex. Having said that, enough thought should be put in to
make the experience of the end user easy. Rather than showing all
information and actions in big screens, notification and
contextualization should drive them. As an example, when the
Patient checks in to doctor’s cabin; the doctor is automatically
shown the screen with Patient’s data populated (rather than the
doctor trying to figure the patient and open it). The relevant section
of the patient can be open and suitable suggestions could be
already shown. Developing such a customized representation
might be involved but Healthcare start-ups including Kare4U have
been successful in creating such systems.
Search
Search has become ubiquitous in today’s digital world. In the
world of Google, searching in natural language has become a habit
of the consumers. A good search result is also one of the most
effective ways to engage the users of the system. Owing to the
complex nature of healthcare, users would like to have a magic
search bar where they can search anything from the patient details
to daily reports. An advanced search algorithm can even go to the
extent of context stitching (search result based on previous
searches) and showing results in the drop-down directly.
AI and ML driven
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)
significantly help in enhancing the value of the system. Whether
it’s doing analytics on the health data and suggesting suitable
prescriptions or recognizing handwritten records and interpreting
as a human does, AI/ML systems are enhancing the usability of the
system. An AI/ML system can be used to train on doctor’s existing
prescriptions and suggest in filling up EHR data. Similarly, a
well-trained system can detect fraud transactions and prevent
revenue leakage.
Conclusion
Challenges open opportunities to innovate. Whereas implementing
healthcare system in a developing country like India might be
difficult, it’s an opportunity for the IT Healthcare companies to
innovate and excel. As start-ups it’s our responsibility to up the
level and help the healthcare entities to adopt the system.
About the Author
LEADER'S INSIGHTS
April 201841 |
™
44.
45.
46. April 201844 |
™
n the last two decades, Indian
Ihealthcare sector has witnessed
gigantic transformational changes.
The same is continuing in present
times as the Indian healthcare industry
is growing at a pace of 15% and in
near future it is expected to touch $250
billion (nearly by 2020). Even after
such humongous growth, there are
many challenges that this sector is
facing. Effective utilization of
resources, controlling operational
costs, rapidly evolving technology, and
globalization of healthcare delivery
with desired quality and standards are
some genuine concerns that angst
many healthcare providers across the
nation. Thus trigger the need of
providers those have expertise and
experience in medical subjects,
management theories, hospital
planning and project development and
which can assist healthcare providers
in efficiently run hospitals and clinics
with their available resources and help
them streamline and sustain their
day-to-day operations.
One such organization that has built a
robust and impressive rapport among
clients with its effective management
advisory and consulting services is
Healthcare Consulting Services
(HCS).
Mumbai-Based HCS has a team of adept
and passionate professionals who have
developed a unique method to execute
efficient hospital marketing, branding,
operations management, profitable
revenue generating model, start-up’s
project for hospitals, manpower
management, and other resource
management by applying best
management practices. Now, moving
forward their focus remains on
providing six sigma training to its clients
to reduce waste and errors. The
company has excellence in providing
solutions that are sustainable and assist
healthcare providers in streamlining
their processes for better productivity
within available resources.
To achieve greater heights in this
hypercompetitive globalized world, no
healthcare provider remains in business
for long until they have effective
strategic planning, proper infrastructure,
best medical professionals and
consultants, proficient human resources,
clinical planning, sufficient knowledge
& exposure towards statutory
compliances, and efficient planning for
hospitals marketing and sales. This is
where HCS comes as a troubleshooter
and fits into place of a provider who
serves solution of all these grave and
vital concerns.
Vital Strength of HCS
Justifiable cost, efficient marketing,
vital KPI’s parameter, right IT
solution, and more decides the fate of
any healthcare service in today’s
modern world. HCS evaluates an
organization’s process based on critical
100+ KPIs and performs ‘Need-Gap-
Analysis’ which assists them to craft a
solution that leverages better
streamlining of all resources. Cost is
another factor that plays an important
role in patients mind while choosing
the hospital. Now-a-days patients are
more aware about the costing of varied
medical services than ever before.
Thus, over-inflated and unjustifiable
cost only forces a potential customer to
look for another provider. HCS’s
standard practices based on market
research thus assist clients to know the
right costing for various medical
services to attract more customers
towards their hospital.
HCS has tie-ups with experienced
digital marketing companies that help
hospitals to outreach among more
prospective customers and help them
build a brand out of a service. Strong
network and bonding among insurance
companies, TPA, corporate, product
suppliers, patients, doctors, staff,
licensing authorities, government
Healthcare Consulting
Services:
Management Expert of Hospital &
Healthcare that can help you turnaround
Negative Cash Flow into a Positive one
47. April 201845 |
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officials etc. makes it unique and dominant force of
healthcare industry.
Changing the Dynamics and Face of Healthcare
Delivery
Profit and loss are the character of any business, but
businesses with right management practices always have
lesser probability of loses as compared to those who
follow outdated and in-efficient management practices.
Clinicians may be excellent but poor management
practices can turn the cash flow negative or neutral for
any healthcare providing company. HCS’s SWOT
analysis thus assists healthcare providers to focus on
their clinical aspect more by leaving management aspect
on the safe hands of HCS, since their practices help
hospitals to eliminate the gaps or weaknesses and turn
them into a profitable entity. Besides this, HCS, as a team
helps the needy hospital in creating low cost Intensive
Care Units from concept to commissioning and further
plans to explore in establishing other clinical set-up like
OT, Wards, OPD, LDR, and more with the desired
quality by keeping international standards in mind that
too at un-inflammatory pricing.
Future Endeavour
With the intent to let hospitals adopt best clinical &
management practices that use around the world, it has
initiated consultation process with many top Hospitals of
“We apply best management
practices to reduce waste, errors
which assist healthcare providers in
optimizing resources for better
profitability”
the US and will collaborate with them in order to share
clinical expertise with their Indian counterparts.
HCS has aspiration to manage 10-12 hospitals in each
state in India. Currently, their target is to broaden their
customer base in big and promising states like
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,
Karnataka, and few others in south east of India.
Leadership of HCS
One of the distinguished professionals who are bringing
transformational changes in the healthcare industry is
Amit Sontakke, Managing Partner of Healthcare
Consulting Services. He is an MBA who has completed
“Advanced Senior Management Program” from IIM
Calcutta & certification course in “Sustaining &
Managing Hospital Growth” from IIM Bangalore as
well. His vast experience of over 16 years in serving
various Multi-specialty Hospitals & Multinational
Companies makes him a dominant professional in the
industry. His proficiency and astuteness in hospital
operation management and optimizing available
resources for more profitability and efficiency assist
healthcare providers with increased performance,
reduced cost and strengthen them in managing their
administrative task in an much efficient and money-
spinning way.
MOST ADVANCED
HEALTHCARESOLUTION PROVIDERS
THE
Amit Sontakke
Managing Partner
48. he healthcare sector in India
Thas become one of the largest
sectors both in terms of
revenue and employment. The industry
is growing at a tremendous pace due to
its strengthening coverage, services
and increasing expenditure by public
as well private players. The healthcare
market is expected to record a CAGR
of 16.5 percent during 2008-20. The
total industry size is expected to reach
US $280 billion by 2020.
A company providing innovative
healthcare solutions and services to the
customers is Sevamob. It is an Atlanta
based company which provides
artificial intelligence enabled
healthcare platform to organizations in
India, South Africa and now in the US.
The platform has 3 touch points:
1) Onsite popup clinics
2) Tele-health infrastructure for video
consultations and second opinion
3) Artificial intelligence based triage
and diagnostics. This includes: a) Skin:
screening for 11 specific fungal
infections b) Vision: screening for
diabetic retinopathy, cataract and
glaucoma c) Blood: cell counting
By integrating artificial intelligence
and tele-health with scalable last mile
service delivery, Sevamob is able to
offer primary care at up to 50% lower
cost. Care includes general health,
vision, dental, nutrition, cardio-
metabolic, infectious disease and
cancer.
The company earns money by charging
for service delivery and software
licensing. Their customers include
employers, schools, NGOs, hospitals,
corporate sector and government. Their
roadmap includes increasing usage of
artificial intelligence to detect more
medical conditions and address the
scarcity of physicians at point-of-care
in under-served areas.
The Insightful Leader of Sevamob
Sevamob marches ahead on its
illustrious journey under the percipient
leadership of Shelley Saxena, the
Founder and CEO of the company.
Prior to starting the company, he
managed several multi-million dollar
products for IBM and co-founded a
profitable mobile technology company.
He has an MBA from Cornell and B.E.
from IIT Roorkee.
Shelley founded the company after his
mom was incorrectly diagnosed and
almost lost her life because of Hepatitis
C. The realization that if this could
happen in a Tier-2 city, the plight of
patients in semi-urban and rural areas
was even worse, led towards the
inception of this company. He founded
Sevamob in 2012 with the objective
and vision of bringing primary
healthcare to India’s rural poor.
Strategizing for Growth and
Sustainability
The company believes that more
preventive and primary care can reduce
the need for critical care and the
overall healthcare spending but
technology alone is not the solution.
An approach that integrates scalable
service delivery with technology is
needed to achieve health outcomes.
Their growth strategy includes
increasing penetration in core areas
like India and US through direct sales
and reaching additional countries in
Africa via resellers. Their revenue
streams include: service delivery and
tech licensing. The company aims to
generate larger portion of the revenue
through tech licensing going forward.
Sevamob:
Transforming Healthcare through
Innovation and Dedication
April 201846|
™
49. In their model, they depend on local partners (franchisees,
resellers, anchor tenants) to replicate the model in new
areas. Finding the right local partner is challenging and
takes time and trial & error. To find such partners they
leverage social impact networks and referrals where
possible.
Sevamob Providing Excellent Services at Reasonable
Prices
Sevamob successfully marches ahead on its successful
journey overcoming many obstacles and achieving the
intended goals. The company constantly aims at targeting
under-served areas of the society. They intend to provide
differentiated, end-to-end solutions to the customers. They
focus more on health outcomes instead of technology
enhancement. The company aims to provide primary
healthcare and insurance services to low income customers
at a lower cost.
The company also has a tech platform to track the
outcomes of the healthcare services provided by them.
Major Awards and Achievements
Sevamob has achieved many awards and accolades
throughout its illustrious journey. The company has been
adjudged ‘Social business of the year’ by Intuit in India. It
was featured on Times Now in Amazing Indians program.
“We aim to
fundamentally transform
the delivery of healthcare
in the world”
The company is also the winner of ‘Matching Equity’
from Artha Ventures, and the winner of ‘Village Capital
Atlanta’. Sevamob was the finalist of ‘Sankalp Awards’
and the finalist for ‘NASSCOM Social Innovation
Honors’.
High-Quality Customer Relationship – The Prime
Focus of Sevamob
The company primarily aims at maintaining a strong and
long term customer relationship. The company’s key to
building a long term relationship with customers is to
focus on health outcomes and track those outcomes via
their tech platform in a transparent fashion. Further, they
strive to keep the cost low at each step in the process and
pass on those cost savings to their customers.
Marching Ahead towards a Bright Future
Sevamob is the only company in the world that integrates
artificial intelligence and tele-health with scalable last
mile service delivery, to offer primary care at up to 50%
lower cost. The company is going to use this vertically
integrated approach to offer more primary care services
in more under-served areas at a lower cost than their
competitors.
Shelley Saxena
Founder & CEO
April 201847 |
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MOST ADVANCED
HEALTHCARESOLUTION PROVIDERS
THE
