Practo Ropes in Rahul Dravid as the brand ambassador
Plans to facilitate 1000 cr worth of healthcare financing, including in tier-2 & tier-3 cities, over the next three years
The company will leverage existing hospital and clinic partners’ infrastructure to build specialized ‘Experience Centers’, and facilitate a seamless, end-to-end secondary care surgery delivery
India, Sep 23, 2021: Practo has unveiled 50+ Practo Care Surgery Experience Centers in six key cities (Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad), marking its foray into secondary care in India. Together, in partnership with its trusted network of doctors, clinics, and hospitals, Practo is building an omnichannel healthcare ecosystem for secondary care procedures, that will enable users to seamlessly cross over between digital and physical, and out-patient to in-patient environments. Over the past three months, Practo Care Surgeries has facilitated consultations with over 5000+ patients for secondary surgeries and has onboarded 200+ surgeons in its partner network.
Currently, Practo Care Surgeries is helping fulfill 50+ surgical procedures across three specialties viz. General Surgery, Urology, and ENT, in six cities. The company plans to expand its network to 30+ cities, launch 300+ centers, add more specialties (viz. Orthopedic, Gynecology, Ophthalmology, to name a few), and onboard hundreds of surgeons by the end of next year.
Practo Care Surgeries builds on the same three pillars that are core to Practo – Quality, Affordability, and Accessibility. Each Practo Care surgeon comes with at least 10+ years of experience. The model places an equal emphasis on audit as a tool to improve the quality and efficiency of care provided to the patients. Practo’s smart technology enables a team of medical experts to monitor the entire digital trail, and review each prescription to ensure the best quality of care is delivered.
The company plans to facilitate 1000 cr worth of healthcare financing in India over the next three years. Packed with a range of benefits, Practo’s healthcare financing options – like patient loans – are making the process affordable for patients. Additionally, its partnership with insurance companies is bringing in the much-needed convenience in paperwork support. And with further expansion across tier-2 and tier-3 towns and cities, Practo is making quality healthcare more accessible for Indians across the length and breadth of the country.
“An integrated approach to care delivery is key to better patient experiences and outcomes. So far, we’ve been helping patients connect with doctors, both digitally and in person. This launch is a natural next step to address the need and demand for a seamless, convenient, and end-to-end delivery experience in secondary care. With Practo Care Surgeries, we have an opportunity to strengthen the fabric of India’s secondary healthcare delivery. This would also mean continuity of care between primary and secondary healthcare, helping us truly put patients at the center of care.” says Shashank ND, Co-founder, and CEO, Practo.
“Over the years, we’ve clearly expressed our conviction to make quality healthcare accessible and affordable for a billion+ Indians, and Practo Care Surgeries forms an integral part of this mission,” he adds.
Reports indicate that approx. 20 million surgeries take place in India every year, with almost 80% of these falling under secondary care. The sector is estimated to be $10-12 billion in size, indicating the need for increased efforts to strengthen and improve access to quality surgical care and delivery. Foray into secondary care presents a unique value proposition for Practo, and signals a major shift in how it fulfills the entire surgical care cycle for consumers, and offers end-to-end care, from OPD to IPD, through its network of leading doctors and surgeons.
Commenting on the launch, Dr. Alexander Kuruvilla, Chief Healthcare Strategy Officer, Practo, says, “A large volume of crucial surgeries like hemorrhoidectomies, hernia repairs, etc may often be deferred by patients due to lack of information, costs involved, the cumbersome process in claiming insurance, lack of post-surgical support, and more. This is where Practo Care Surgeries comes in. Our objective is to work in step with our doctor-partners to provide superior secondary care experience to patients, right from the first touch-point (OPD) until after their treatment (including IPD), by establishing a strong connection and communication channel between doctors, patients, and other stakeholders.”
