Hospitals tap preventive healthcare market

Rita Duta - Mumbai

They say prevention is better than cure. Perhaps, working on this proverb, there is a growing health consciousness among the common man, giving a boost to preventive health check-ups in hospitals.

Now, it is not just the stressed out corporates who go for annual health check-ups, sponsored by their company. Today, most hospitals witness an equal number of walk-in patients who believe more in preventive than curative health care. There has been a marked surge of middle-class patients who would not mind shelling out a few thousands of rupees for annual check-up for their families. Hospitals have been astute enough to have tailor-made packages for all age groups. According to industry analysts, there has been a growth of 25 per cent in the preventive healthcare market in the last five years.

These preventive health packages cost from Rs 500 to Rs 5,000. Majority of the customers prefer the comprehensive health package. The various packages are a permutation and combination of CBC, blood sugar, cholesterol, urine stool , digital chest X-Ray, ECG, general examination, blood group, blood sugar, liver profile, proteins, lipid profile, cholesterol, and renal profile.

The Apollo hospital group, which was the first to introduce the preventive health check-up package in India, today witnesses more than 100 patients in a day. The packages range between Rs 1,900 to 2,500. Says Dr Hari Prasad, vice president, Apollo hospital, Hyderabad, "The packages are highly subsidised. If a patient undergoes the tests separately, it would cost him thrice the amount."

More than 100 patients walk in to Wockhardt Hospitals every day for 20 test packages which cost from Rs 500 to Rs 5,000. Says Vishal Bali, vice president, operations, Wockhardt hospitals, "A patient might just come to the hospital for a blood test and can decide to get a complete health check-up done. We have seen patients gifting test packages to their parents. Also, around 10 per cent of the patients who come for the health check-ups require further tests.

Hospitals also conduct talks for a better life-style. Says Brig Joe Curian, CEO, Hinduja hospital, "Our patients are given talks on life-style modifications and dietary habits."

Some hospitals have started marketing their health packages by holding free health check-up camps and educational programmes about the importance of preventive health check-ups. Recently, Association of Hospitals, a body of 37 Mumbai-based hospitals declared it would conduct free health check-ups. However, Bali, feels it is not a good proposition, as "It costs us a lot of money to do a comprehensive check-up. Holding free check-ups might lead to a compromise of quality, and that is the last thing that a hospital should do."

The small cities, which on an average do not attract more than 15 to 20 patients per day, are also equally enthused. Around 70 per cent of their patients is through company tie-ups and the rest are walk-in patients. Fortis, for instance, which gets around 15 patients a day, attributes it to the tie-ups that they have with 73 companies. It offers eight packages ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000 and four more are in the pipeline.

Says Dr Ravindra Karanjekar, medical director, Fortis, Mohali, "It is a big challenge for us to sell the package. We have tied up with different medical associations so that they refer their patients to us." The patient education cell of the hospital educates the relatives of patients to go in for these check-ups. "We do not see many walk-in patients. So we distribute brochures and educate them about our health package." He suggests that a hospital in a small city should approach schools for the tie-ups.

Even diagnostic centres have started cashing in on this emerging sector. Says Dr Nilesh Shah, managing director, N M Medical Centre, Mumbai, "We score over others as being a diagnostic centre, our preventive health check-ups borrow high-tech diagnostic equipment like digital X-Ray, bone dentistometry, 3-D and 4-D ultrasonography, facilities which are not available with preventive healthcare centres per se. Every individual who walks into our centre is also made to undergo lifestyle and stress management workshops."

Experts say this sector has a tremendous potential to grow, as much as the insurance sector. "The government gives tax benefits to the curative healthcare, but neglects preventive healthcare. With the right kind of incentives from the government, preventive healthcare can make a dent in the curative healthcare sector," says Curian.