Though India spends only 1.3% of its GDP on healthcare, the sector is projected to achieve an estimated market size of $280 billion by 2020 as per KPMG report. A National Skill Development Corporation report of 2015 said that Indian healthcare sector is expected to generate close to 7.5 million direct opportunities by 2022. Online audio/video doctor-patient consultations have marked their space in the Indian healthcare industry and in this scenario Medharbour, a healthcare startup, is looking to make its presence felt. In an interaction with FE Online, Medharbour directors Vikrant and Nishant Gupta talk about their expansion plans and much more. Here are the edited excerpts:
Q. What is your business model?
Medharbour business involves two platforms:
1. We provide Primary Medical Care through our Multi Speciality Clinics which include, OPDs of various specialities, Rehabilitation facilities and Pain Treatments and Pathology. Our model is to create an ambience with infrastructure and HR which reminds the patients of the good old days when doctors were their friends, well-wishers and then a doctors. We plan to open more clinics through franchising.
2. Our website medharbour.com helps a Patient to connect with Doctors through Video and Telephonic conferencing. Along with other hygiene factors like managing/sharing health records, digital-prescription & expert panel of doctors to choose from, we complete the ecosystem required to make the online channel successful in this industry
Q. What are your expansion plans?
Medharbour currently has two clinics – one in Delhi and another in Gurgaon. We plan to expand to 5 major cities in the next 5 years, by opening 4-5 Medharbour Family Clinics in each city through Franchising. We also plan to come up with multi-specialty hospital in Gurgaon. Through our online portal we plan to expand our reach pan India so that maximum patients are able to get the primary health care that they deserve. We plan to invest around Rs100 cr in health care industry in the next 5 years to achieve the Infrastructure, HR and Marketing goals.
Q. What is your current revenue?
Primarily, our revenues come through our Clinics, through the OPD services, Rehabilitation services, Pain Treatments, Pathology and Diagnostics. Our current revenue through our clinics is around Rs 2 cr per clinic. With the launch of our online portal we expect to open many new streams of revenue generation which can be capitalized once we have gained the critical mass.
Q. How will your operations affect independent doctors?
Our services will enable independent doctors with both the Offline and Online space from where they can use our resources to better satisfy their patients. Our clinics offer premium ambience and facilities to doctors, so they just have to do their practice and leave the rest of the work like patient handling, billing, maintenance etc. to the management. We are also looking at possibilities of rebranding the personal clinics of Doctors so that their patients can also get the same premium experience that is the forte of Medharbour family clinics.
Q. Will you be foraying into online medicine delivery?
Currently we have no plan to enter into this market. But, we are open to tie-up with pharmacy chains.
Q. Are you planning to raise funds?
Currently, we are planning to raise Rs 15 crore.
Q. How do you see the growth of online healthcare sector?
According to a recent study by PWC 2.3% of total healthcare market can readily shift to online services. That gives us an estimated USD 6.4 bn market in India alone by the year 2020.
Q. Being a startup, what kind of policy change/support you expect from government?
We can help the Governments in health care penetration to areas which lack even primary facilities. But, for this the government needs to take initiatives and allow public private partnerships in this regard.
Q. How do you plan to tap rural areas?
With the ever growing reach of Mobile telephony and broadband, rural areas can now also consult specialists and doctors not accessible within their geography. We can tie up with banks and cyber cafes as well to serve the patients from rural areas.
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