Now They Expand
When speaking about Max Healthcare India (MHIL), Industry watchers always talk about the transformation of the group, from reporting a loss of Rs 50 crore in 2018 to Profit After Tax (PAT) of Rs 1,328 crore in 2023. Its Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) grew from Rs 222 crore in 2018 to Rs 1,636 crore in 2023, clocking a growth of over 635 per cent - It has been quite a turnaround. And, one that undoubtedly took a lot of sweat and hard work from the leadership and their teams.
MHIL closed FY23 with a revenue of Rs 6,236 crore, a jump of 2.1 times in past four years, a remarkable growth story indeed. “Today, we are a debt free company and have a huge opportunity to expand organically and inorganically” says Abhay Soi, Chairman and Managing Director of Max Healthcare.
The group now looks to expand. This expansion entails strengthening what they have, by adding capacity to existing hospitals, investing in technology and skilling their technicians. Further, the group has been focused on medical education, which is another area of growth. BW Businessworld spoke to the leadership at Max Healthcare about their expansion plans, and commitment to deliver best in class care.
Moving forward
In Delhi-NCR, they have plans for a brownfield expansion in Dwarka, adding 300 beds. A brownfield expansion in Shalimar Bagh, adding 100 beds. Two in Saket, one that would provide medical services to a 500-bed hospital, and the construction of a new wing at Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital, adding 600 beds to the network. In Patparganj, they have acquired Eqova Healthcare, to aid development of and provide medical services to a 400-bed hospital. A greenfield project in Gurgaon that will add 500 beds to the network.
Further, a new wing is under construction at Nanavati Max Hospital, Mumbai. When completed will add another 600 beds to the hospital, making it one of the largest private healthcare facility in Western India. Work to add another 100 beds to the Max Hospital, Mohali has also begun. All in all they plan to add 2,600 beds to the network over the next four years.
What aids growth?
Some focus areas for the group are:
Technology
Investing in technology is central to the growth of any businesses. Over the last few years, the Indian healthcare industry has embraced technology and seen rapid advancement across patient care, diagnostics and research. Take Telemedicine for instance, it has been a gamechanger for the delivery of care in our country.
The Max group has invested in the latest medical technology across their hospitals, including 17 robotic systems. “We have specialised robots such as Da Vinci Xi, ExcelsiusGPS and the Stryker Mako Robots” says Dr. Budhiraja, Group Medical Director, Max Healthcare. He further adds “the use of robotics has enabled us to conduct minimally invasive surgeries across multiple specialities like Oncology, Urology, GI Surgeries, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Transplants, Spine Surgeries and Orthopaedics. Providing high levels of precision and accuracy.”
The leadership at Max believes investments in state-of-the-art infrastructure, technology and equipment will empower them to provide better clinical outcomes, and minimise hospital stays for patients. They have invested considerable time and effort in creating the Max My Health App, which has helped enhance patient experience, enabled easier access to clinicians and created a convenient repository of healthcare records for patients. This app has seen approximately five lakh downloads in less than a year. Clinicians have been quick to support it, with 80 percent of the Max hospital doctors who have outpatient clinics at the hospital signing up. 100 video consults are done on a daily basis through the app.
Skilling
The biggest strength of any organisation is its people, and in keeping with this the group is investing in skilling and training programmes. Over the next couple of years they plan to train more than five thousand nurses and paramedics. To this end, they plan to open nursing and paramedical colleges, and have recruitment offices for nursing across India. They have partnered with IIM Kashipur to launch a nine-month Post Graduate Programme in Hospital Management.
“We started our paramedical education vertical in 2021 , we had 60 student when we began, today we have 1200 students. Further, in the last two years, we have trained more than 2000 nurses and close to 3000 general duty assistants in our hospitals under the guidance of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship” says Umesh Gupta, Chief People Officer, Max Healthcare.
Medical Education is the way forward
“All our hospitals are teaching hospitals and we are keen on having a medical college here in Delhi,” says Soi. When one speaks to the leadership of Max their focus on medical education is clear. They have raised over $2 million in grants in the last seven years and have completed nearly 500 research projects. At the moment, they have 120 research projects ongoing, that include close to 100 sponsored clinical trials and 22 funded research studies. As a part of their commitment to research and academics, they have collaborated with IIT Delhi, BITS Pilani, Imperial College, London, Royal College of Surgeons, Deakin University, Australia, and George Washington University USA, among others.
Dr Budhiraja stresses the fact that clinical excellence and research go hand in hand. For a doctor to deliver the best in care, research and academics is essential. “We are a centre of education for post graduate and super speciality programmes. Our teaching arm Max Institute of Medical Excellence (MIME) registered close to 10,000 students in various academic programmes last year.”
