Thursday, January 24, 2008

The problem with the Indian healthcare is that at the moment, it can only be, at best, described as a ‘bitter pill’ in a ‘sweet bottle’

The problem with the Indian healthcare is that at the moment, it can only be, at best, described as a ‘bitter pill’ in a ‘sweet bottle’. The pills may be bitter, but they have positive effects... So while on one hand, losses are a melancholic representation of Fortis’ actions, the sector has got one way to go – up! Firstly, India lacks a social security system. CII predicts that India has the potential to attract 1 million tourists per annum, which could contribute upto $5 billion annually to the economy. And with a massive 84% of Indians under no medical insurance protection (as per McKinsey report), surely one can well expect rich returns to accrue from investing in this medical giant. With McKinsey further proclaiming that unhealthy proportion of the Indian population would dangerously increase from to 47% in 2012 (due to increase in lifestyle related diseases), Fortis’ seems to be on the right path...

When questioned about growth and M &A plans, Shivender responded, “M&As come second. What’s more important to us is the strategic placement of our units. Till now, the focus location for Fortis had been the Northern belt where we progressed through a hub & spoke model but now we’re eyeing a more pan-India presence.” With upto 90% of total players in the industry being unorganised and with other organised challengers like Apollo, Max Hospitals & Wockhardt spreading wings fast, Fortis has to fight hard for many good number of years ahead. And for that, Shivender could well have to endure many more jet lags and sleepless nights ahead…

For Complete IIPM Article, Click here

Source: IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative


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