By Harsimarbir Singh
The COVID-19 pandemic exponentially accelerated the adoption of digital health technology in many countries of the world. While the pandemic stretched India’s public healthcare system to the limit, healthcare startups rose to the occasion and helped turn the tide and ushered in a transformational shift in the sector. India has long battled various problems such as the lack of funding for preventive healthcare, training of healthcare professionals, and investment in healthcare infrastructure, especially in rural areas, and an acute shortage of doctors and nurses. But that scenario is now changing for good with startups revolutionizing the healthcare sector.
Although still a sunrise sector, digital healthcare is a key focus area under the government’s plans for a Digital India. The launch of Start-up India program in 2016 has spawned the launch of many healthcare startups, and entrepreneurs have made the most of the enabling environment. The growth of healthcare startups has also been facilitated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) which has designed several initiatives to deliver better access to affordable quality care and also lower the disease burden and monitoring of health benefits to citizens.
Game Changer
Startups are now a major driver in India’s healthcare sector with breakthrough innovations in medical goods and services and are driving economic growth, innovations, research, and job creation. These healthcare startups aim at specific problems and contribute vastly to building innovative technology-led solutions that can help leapfrog the gaps in the Indian healthcare system.
One of the biggest impacts of health tech start-ups such as Lybrate has been the ease of accessing doctors for people who earlier didn’t have avenues. With the help of telemedicine and teleconsultation, people in tier II, tier III towns, and even rural areas can now consult specialists and take advantage of the best healthcare facilities. The proliferation of healthtech startups has also led to tests such as blood sugar, kidney function, liver function, lipid profile, etc. being very affordable.
The bigger hospital chains’ and corporate hospitals are asset-heavy by nature and are able to reach only 5% of the population, those in a very high-income bracket. With only approximately 40% of hospitals providing high quality and advanced treatments, the new-age healthcare providers are filling this gap by bringing high standard health treatments to patients. New-age healthcare providers such as Pristyn Care are able to potentially cut surgical costs by more than 50% by circumventing the reasons that raise costs of private surgical care, such as the distant location of large hospitals, fragmentation of the ‘affordable’ healthcare infrastructure in smaller towns, and underutilization of surgeons and OT spaces.
Healthtech startups are also driving accuracy and improved patient outcomes. Digitization of health records, EMR, data mining, and data analytics are offering healthcare providers insights into clinical data, facilitating informed decision-making about diagnosis and helping them provide the right treatment at the right time.
Startups are addressing different segments of healthcare, such as radiology, diagnostics, telehealth, genetics, therapeutics, and others to enhance the quality of healthcare. A relentless adoption of new, cutting-edge technologies like cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) as part of a rapidly-evolving culture continues to fuel the growth of healthcare startups in India. These startups are turning healthcare on its head by facilitating medical procedures that align traditional practices with modern technologies.
As far as patients are concerned, many of the startups have made life easier for them by offering a range of facilities such as diagnostic tests and medicines online, end-to-end elective surgeries and post-surgery consultations, fitness training, nutrition coaching, and remote patient monitoring. These startups enable patients and their caretakers to make informed decisions with respect to the prevention, maintenance, management, and treatment of diseases. Comfort and convenience have become central to healthcare today with a significant section of the population willing to pay for the same. Technology has been a major enabler as healthcare becomes more patient-centric than ever before.
For doctors and clinics, healthtech startups offer software solutions with cloud-based patient health records, online solutions for managing patient appointments and scheduling, invoices and prescriptions, and management of chronic patients among others.
Booming Market
Telemedicine, and online delivery of healthcare facilities are helping startups tap a larger market base. The telemedicine market is expected to reach a size of $5.5 billion by 2025, according to a study by EY-IPA.
Over the last few years, many such startups have also attracted big investments and built a loyal customer base. In 2021, there were 3,548 active startups in the healthtech space. During the year, the startups in this sector received $2.2 billion in funding across 131 deals, according to an Inc42 report. This figure is tipped to grow to $21.3 billion by 2025 with a CAGR of 27%.
A new crop of healthcare startups is also heavily investing in new technologies and proprietary, patented products to slash imports and counter the challenges faced by the country’s healthcare sector.
Promising Future
Digital transformation is now a top priority for healthtech companies as they seek to build resilient and future-proof healthcare systems. The government which has enabled the growth of this industry must continue to support initiatives to promote startups in order to further boost the healthcare system that has already come a long way from the traditional medical system to rapid adoption of technology and innovation. According to the projection of Invest India, the government’s investment promotion agency, the healthtech sector has the potential to create 40 million jobs by 2030.
But while the startup environment has diversified, healthcare startups have struggled due to fundamental and operational problems. They still face the challenge of raising funds, regulatory norms, and collaborating with bigger companies. To overcome current shortcomings, healthcare startups must invest in platform capabilities to capture future value. There is a need for an effective strategy to build a workplace of the future, and align digital strategy with the overall organisational vision.
Healthcare startups have been experimenting with a variety of business models, many of them successfully, and must scale up solutions with tech-driven healthcare delivery to improve the healthcare system with better outcomes for patients.
Despite some roadblocks, the future of healthtech looks promising. Digital transformation offers a unique and urgent opportunity to reimagine how and where healthcare is delivered – with patients and care professionals both set to benefit from more seamless experiences.
(The author is a Co-founder at Pristyn Care. The article is for informational purposes only. Please consult medical experts and health professionals before starting any therapy, medication and/or remedy. Views expressed are personal and do not reflect the official position or policy of the FinancialExpress.com.)
