BULLISH ONINDIA - BRS Ventures · acquisitions. What is the reason for this renewed thrust in...
Transcript of BULLISH ONINDIA - BRS Ventures · acquisitions. What is the reason for this renewed thrust in...
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.
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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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