The Indian diagnostic industry comprises of over 1,00,000 laboratories at present. Out of these, 70 per cent labs cater to pathology services and around 30 per cent cater to radiology and imaging requirements.As per research, the Indian diagnostic market is expected to grow at CAGR 20 per cent to $32 billion between 2012-2022, from $5 billion in 2012.
The diagnostic test results are a crucial aspect in the treatment decisions. Timely and reliable diagnosis ensures the correct analysis and treatment schedule in addition to reducing the overall treatment costs. The private healthcare comprises of almost 72 per cent of the total healthcare expenditure in India and merely one percent of diagnostic labs is accredited. As a result, the unorganized sector is growing at a rapid pace.The $5 billion diagnostic sector is highly fragmented and unorganized due to the lack of regulations, directives and unethical manufacturing practices. This has also harmed the reputation of Indian pharmaceutical sector in the international markets.
Since there are no established regulations that authorizes minimum standards in terms of quality, technology, infrastructure and qualification of personnel for setting up and running a diagnostic lab, the diagnostics sector is swarmed with a gamut of small labs to bridge the gap between the supply and demand.As per research, the unorganized players with varying standards and practices are dominating 88-90 per cent of the diagnostics industry.
Technology is changing the landscape of almost every industry vertical. There has been a lot of start-up activity across various verticals in the health sector as well.The volume growth in e-commerce transactions is driven by ease of use, convenience: door step delivery, convenience: online payment /COD and multiple choice options.The healthcare segment is relatively untapped e-commerce segment and has tremendous potential in terms of revenue growth and overcoming the challenges of this industry. A number of players have come up in the market and offer e-commerce solutions on access, affordability, cost comparison, information database and much more to this sector.
Many key players in the healthcare industry are laying their foundation in the market with the help of technology and innovation to offer one stop destination for healthcare services like medicines, home care services, ambulance, diagnostics etc. It is enabling the companies to have a wider reach to the users in the market and also results in cutting cost of the overall services as they are availed on one single platform. By unifying the healthcare sector, such companies are also able to offer great deals on the services provided to enhance the customer experience. The users have been benefited by integration of the healthcare sector in a big way as they can now get access to all the services by saving their time and money effortlessly.
E-healthcare platforms in India has successfully streamlined all the customer pain points as it is user friendly, better and offers transparent service/delivery to the user. The aggregation has also helped in revolutionizing the healthcare sector as previously it lacked transparency. Such players are poised to becoming a true companion in managing health by covering all aspects in the patient life cycle management of detection, cure and maintenance.
Guest Author
A chartered accountant by profession, Manish Dashputre has more than 15 years of experience in financial reporting and accounting covering a variety of industries from start up business’s to financial management of strategic sectors.
