Aligning business and healthcare in India

Total number of pages 48

May 2018Vol 6 • Issue 8 • `50

SNAPSHOTS5TH SMART HEALTHCARE

INDIA SUMMIT

INFRASTRUCTUREFLOORING TRENDS

WPP license no. MR/TECH/WPP-76/North/2018 License to post without prepayment Postal Registration No. MCN/242/2018-2020.Published on 27th of every previous month. Posting date: 30th &31st of every previous month. Posted at Patrika Channel Sorting Office, Mumbai-400001. Registered with Registrar of Newspapers under RNI No. MAHENG/2012/46040

ON INDIABULLISH

DR BR SHETTY, FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN, BR LIFE, ON ACQUISITION SPREE IN INDIA

Published by ITP Media (India)

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BULLETIN10 This month's important news

updates.

EVENT22 Glimpses of Smart Healthcare

India Summit recently held in

Bengaluru.

ANALYSIS26 Insurance patients come to

hospital completely unaware

about their insurance benefits.

INFRASTRUCTURE28 We profile flooring choices of a

few leading groups.

COMMENT32 Universalising access to

healthcare is one sustainable

development goal that India is

committed to providing in all

rural and urban areas.

INNOVATION39 Design engineers need tools

that help them explore large

number of design options.

IT42 Organisations have the

responsibility of protecting the

privacy and personal medical

information of every patient.

Contents16

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COVER STORYDr BR Shetty, Founder and Chairman, BRS Ventures, on the group's recent acquisition spree.

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COVER STORY

Dr BR Shetty is founder and non-executive chair-

man of Abu Dhabi-based NMC Healthcare, one

of the largest private healthcare providers in the

UAE. Now Dr Shetty has set his eyes on the In-

dian subcontinent through BR Life, a part of BRS

Ventures, to roll out hospitals and health centres.

BR Life entered India in 2013. However, it’s only in the last two

years that the group has come into prominence with a series of

acquisitions. What is the reason for this renewed thrust in India?

India’s healthcare industry is growing at a fast pace. There is a

growing impetus from the Government of India on the healthcare

industry as well. Our recent budget has also given high importance

to healthcare.

In India, the health insurance penetration is only for 20% of the

population. I see this as huge potential for enhancing the healthcare

facilities in the country. The Ayushman Bharath Scheme, recently

announced by the Government of India, has a lot of promise. There

could not be a better time than now to be in India and play an active

role in enhancing the healthcare system in the country.

Having started NMC in UAE, it has now grown to 145 facilities

across 13 countries. My vision is ‘quality, ethical healthcare at af-

fordable costs’. Born and raised in India, the plan was always to do

something for the betterment of the people of India. This led to the

creation of BR Life.

BR Life includes hospitals in India and the sub-continent. SUT

Bullish on IndiaDr BR Shetty, Founder and Chairman,

BR Life, speaks on ambitious growth plans

BY RITA DUTTA

COVER STORY

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COVER STORY

1. Dr BR Shetty,

Founder and

Chairman, BR Life.

2. SSNMC

Super Specialty

Hospital, under

BR Life, is one

of the advanced

healthcare

providers in

Bengaluru.

investment. With quality healthcare at

affordable costs, India is also becoming a

preferred destination for medical tourism.

How do you see the group, a few years

down the line?

Currently, the group operates and manages

over 1,600 beds and intends to concentrate

on creating a strong network of hospitals

in several tier I, II and III cities across India

and the sub-continent. The main aim is to

attain a critical mass of around 5,000 beds

over the next three to four years and over

20,000 beds thereafter.

How has Kalinga Hospital been redevel-

oped after its acquisition?

We have carried out a complete assess-

ment of the facility and identified areas of

improvement. The hospital has immense

potential to grow, since it is a legendary

establishment for the past three decades

serving Odisha and the neighbouring areas.

Kalinga Hospital has a Centre of Excellence

(COE) for kidney transplant at the lowest

prices compared to anywhere in the east

Hospital, Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram

was the first BR Life hospital in India. Sree

Narayana Hospital (SNH), Raipur, SSNMC

Super Specialty Hospital, Bengaluru, Mother

& Child Hospital in Udupi and Kalinga

Hospital in Bhubaneswar are the newer

hospitals under BR Life.

With safety as the cornerstone, BR Life

is focused on accurate diagnosis, scientific

treatment and precise delivery of healthcare

services. Scientific cost accounting, stan-

dardisation of procedures, proper training,

and alignment with medical and non-med-

ical professionals are just some of the focus

areas that BR Life is working on tirelessly to

improve patient experience, engagement,

and satisfaction. We are a very young com-

pany and excited about our foray in India.

We look forward to offering our best services

to add to the healthcare sector in India.

Why the focus has been on India?

Healthcare and education are sunrise

industries. The Indian economy is growing

at a healthy growth rate of 7.2%. These two

industries require substantial amounts of

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COVER STORY

3. The group

has started

a Mother &

Child Hospital

in Udupi.

of India. We intend to add more COEs. We

are in the process of adding more clinicians,

doctors on board; enhance branding and

marketing and bring it to the best standards

in clinical and managerial facilities in the

country. We are also adding new areas like

oncology, IVF to cater to the increasing

demands of the region.

What is the investment on the redevelop-

ment of the project?

Substantial investments are being allo-

cated to building additional capacity across

all our projects. The bedrock of BR Life is

‘Quality Healthcare at Affordable Cost’. We

are constantly working on bettering our

clinical excellence and reach out as many

diverse patients as possible.

Please share details of projects in the

pipeline.

BR Life will have projects which are a mix

of Greenfield, Brownfield and Public-

Private Partnership (PPP) projects. We

have started strong by acquiring several

hospitals. We are location/ region agnostic

and are constantly on the lookout for new

projects and assets all across the country.

We have been selected by the Govern-

ment of Karnataka to set up, upgrade, oper-

ate and manage dialysis centres in seven

clusters across the state for a period of

five years. Each cluster has a combination

of already existing dialysis units at taluka

hospitals, functional dialysis units requiring

upgradation at district/ major hospitals and

set up new dialysis units. This is the first

of its kind PPP project undertaken by the

Government with support from me.

The PPP project is one amongst my phil-

anthropic endeavours. I believe it is impor-

tant for everyone to be grateful and serve

the society in whatever manner possible.

Why did you choose dialysis centres as a

business model?

We are fortunate to have had immense

experience in serving patients across the

globe. The Government trusts us for our

clinical and managerial expertise. We excel

in all areas and we want to make our port-

folio diverse.

You have started MCH hospital under the

PPP model...

Yes, BR Life has taken over the existing

Government’s Mother & Child Hospital

and constructed a new hospital and this is

currently offering free medical care to the

underprivileged people in the region. This is

a 200-bed hospital that will go a long way in

providing high quality healthcare services

with advanced diagnostic facilities together

with the highest level of care and com-

mitment to the people of Karnataka. This

hospital will bring world class healthcare

facilities to the women and children of the

region and provide services to the weakest

sections of the society. BR Life is a pioneer

in the PPP model and we wish to replicate it

in other states of India.

You also have plans to start a Greenfield

project in Udupi. Please share details about

the project.

The new hospital has a 300-bed capacity.

It will help sustain the Mother and Child

Hospital also in Udupi. The hospital will be

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COVER STORY

equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and

medical personnel, serving people of Udupi

and neighbouring districts and states.

A slew of regulations by the Government,

whether it’s the attempt to fix the cost of

procedures and devices, are dissuading

many private players to invest in hospitals.

Is not BR Life deterred by such stringent

regulations to invest in the Indian health-

care eco-system?

Regulatory norms are putting pressures

on the healthcare industry in the country.

Shrinking margins neither help the service

providers or the equipment manufactures.

The Government must enable us to serve

people better. The recently introduced

schemes such as Ayushman Bharat Yojana

are welcome steps in this direction.

The Government must help reduce import

prices, provide land at affordable rates, re-

duce procedural times for approvals for new

hospitals and provide an impetus to drug

manufactures in India. All these will help re-

duce cost to service providers medical which

they can in turn pass on to the consumers

and thus remain financially viable.

What are the unique challenges to foray

into the Indian healthcare firmament?

The healthcare industry is vibrant in India.

But due to long timelines involved in the

implementation of the regulations, inves-

tors could become sceptical. Greenfield

projects take lengthy periods of time.

International investors prefer brownfield or

combination of brownfield and greenfield

projects. PPP is critical to enhance overall

healthcare system across all tiers and sec-

tions of the society. We have recently begun

making inroads into this space in India.

Which are the other countries that the

group is looking at foraying?

We are looking to grow in the SAARC coun-

tries, Africa and the Middle East.

How similar and different are NMC and BR

Life as organisations?

NMC enjoys a leadership position in UAE.

My vision is ‘quality, ethical healthcare at

affordable costs’. This will be the corner-

stone for BR Life as well.

What is the business model for expansion-

Greenfield or acquisition?

We currently have multi super specialty

hospitals. However, we are open to single

specialty units like IVF, oncology as well.

We are open to relevant opportunities that

will help us feed to prevailing demands in

the market.

4. The group

plans to add

new areas like

oncology and

IVF at Kalinga

Hospital.

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