Healthcare in India
Someone very rightly once said "Health is Wealth".
We may be rich or poor, young or old... what makes are life better is a life free of any illnesses. And keeping our body & its wellness intact seems to be becoming an expensive affair... not just in India, but globally.
People running this business are faced with the problem of deciding between making the business break even v/s doing what the hospital is there for, that is take care of its patients in the best, most efficient way (the two needn't be mutually exclusive though).
Since building even a decent hospital/medical care setup takes loads of money, it is but natural for the people taking the initiative to look out to banks.... However, private equities wanting to put in money (and expecting 25 - 30 % returns in exchange) is a dangerous proposition to my mind... Whether it is Max group, Fortis or any of the other ones, one can easily note the trend in their billing... excessive tests, unnecessary scans, additional visiting charges, creating different types of specialized care or ICU... all a means to extract money from the patient... I wonder if the doctors are to blame at all, or if it is just the pressure from the management to "perform".
Having said that, there are interesting initiatives like Ziqitza, Eye Q, Lifecell Internation, taken by some PE funds, similar to what has been mentioned in the article below, which have made the most of the money they've got, and offered services that are scarce otherwise.
I am still not convinced that PE's putting money in healthcare is better for the society, but there doesn't seem to be any other option, since the government is a long way from even making basic clean facilities (leave alone sophisticated ones) available to all.
I guess everything has a price... just that this one has a price too high.
We may be rich or poor, young or old... what makes are life better is a life free of any illnesses. And keeping our body & its wellness intact seems to be becoming an expensive affair... not just in India, but globally.
People running this business are faced with the problem of deciding between making the business break even v/s doing what the hospital is there for, that is take care of its patients in the best, most efficient way (the two needn't be mutually exclusive though).
Since building even a decent hospital/medical care setup takes loads of money, it is but natural for the people taking the initiative to look out to banks.... However, private equities wanting to put in money (and expecting 25 - 30 % returns in exchange) is a dangerous proposition to my mind... Whether it is Max group, Fortis or any of the other ones, one can easily note the trend in their billing... excessive tests, unnecessary scans, additional visiting charges, creating different types of specialized care or ICU... all a means to extract money from the patient... I wonder if the doctors are to blame at all, or if it is just the pressure from the management to "perform".
Having said that, there are interesting initiatives like Ziqitza, Eye Q, Lifecell Internation, taken by some PE funds, similar to what has been mentioned in the article below, which have made the most of the money they've got, and offered services that are scarce otherwise.
I am still not convinced that PE's putting money in healthcare is better for the society, but there doesn't seem to be any other option, since the government is a long way from even making basic clean facilities (leave alone sophisticated ones) available to all.
I guess everything has a price... just that this one has a price too high.
One of my teachers once told us about a doctor here in Mohali. He has a written in Punjabi at the reception of his clinic something like: God, I can't really wish good health for all, or I will starve. Please forgive me.
ReplyDeleteI once read a local newspaper report that said that you are more likely to be recommended an operation if you visit a hospital near the end of a month or a quarter. This is because doctors have targets like the rest of us.
I have no idea what Zitqitza, PE, EyeQ etc. are :-)
Most of these stories are true... blame it on human greed or qtr end "sales" targets, in the end the patient bears the brunt... and that is sad...
Delete