In a bid to spread their reach, big hospital chains in the country are increasingly setting up stand alone clinics. Apollo Health and Lifestyle Limited (AHLL) is currently operating 65 clinics and 2 cradles all across India and has set a target to establish 100 clinics and 10 cradles by the end of 2012. Fortis Healthcare has set up two subsidiaries to roll out stand alone centres with special focus on diabetes, cardiac and renal care.
“Apollo Group has set aggressive growth plans in the coming few years to increase its network and reach in India. This would speed up our penultimate vision to spread out in all parts of the country and also would make available Apollo’s world class care in the neighbourhood,” says Mr Sudhir Diggikar Chief Executive Officer Apollo Health and Lifestyle Limited
Healthcare market is growing at about 15 per cent CAGR and is expected to reach about $120 Billion by 2015. The contribution of out patient segment in the total healthcare market is typically over 60 per cent.
To create a differentiation with the local clinics operated by neighbourhood doctors, the hospital chains are equipping these clinics with a range of super speciality healthcare services. This comprises consultation with specialists and super specialists, comprehensive diagnostic services, dentistry procedures, a range of preventive health check packages, and pharmacy.
Fortis has floated a special purpose vehicle called Fortis C-DOC Healthcare Private Limited focused on the management of diabetes, metabolic diseases and endocrinology. “These standalone centres will help expand Fortis’s reach and capacity to meet the rising demand for quality healthcare services,” said a Fortis spokesperson. The company also plans to set up 50 stand-alone dialysis centres across the country over the next two years under a new brand Renkare.
Other hospital groups such as Columbia Asia Hospital and Max Healthcare are also eyeing this hub and spoke model to reach out to more consumers. Columbia Asia has started a clinic in Saraswathipuram – Mysore and a second one in Dwarka, New Delhi. “The Columbia Asia Clinics helps us to reach out to the patients in the areas near the hospital and provide them with quality healthcare,” says a company spokesperson.
Some of the hospital firms like Apollo are also doing surgeries in the day care centres. “Over 35 per cent of the surgeries done in Apollo Hospitals are on Day Care basis. Day Care Surgery has huge potential in India and will see enormous growth due to benefits it offers like reduced hospital acquired infections, same day discharge and low cost of surgery,” said Mr Diggikar.