Chennai: Thanks to digital technology and the fillip in e-commerce, home-based healthcare services in India are growing on a healthy clip. The segment has seen several online start-ups come up in the recent past, such as Portea, India Home Health Care, Healthabove 60 and Homital, offering at-home services ranging from geriatric and post-surgery care to physiotherapy and general doctor visits.
Industry experts feel that even if the industry in India is in nascent stage, the whole idea is all set to disrupt conventional medical services in the country. India’s home healthcare industry is worth $2 billion and growing at 20 per cent annually, according to accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Globally, the market is growing at a rate of 8 per cent annually and is expected to reach $372 billion by 2015. It’s this market potential the new firms are trying to tap. “Online home health services are picking up thanks to the increase in awareness among the digital-savvy youth,” opined G. Srinivasan, chief executive, Healthabove 60, an online home health care service provider.
Portea Medicals MD Ganesh Krishnan said, “With the advancements in technology including the smartphone, 3G, broad brand, the industry will have a leapfrog growth in the coming years. There is a massive opportunity to improve consumer healthcare including home healthcare using technology disruptively,” he said. Started 20 years ago in Bangalore, Portea gathered pace on the back of the technology boom.
It is now present in 24 cities and is doing around 50,000 home visits a month. “With more people going digital, healthcare sector is also adopting the digital wave,” said Dr. Anitha Arockiasamy, president, India Home Healthcare. “More companies are getting into the sector. Over the past couple of years, we have witnessed more than 50 per cent growth in revenues every year,” he said.
However, there are some stumbling blocks. For one, currently, home healthcare is not covered under medical insurance.
Dr. Arockiasamy added that the industry would witness massive growth if insurance will be provided for home healthcare. With no real estate costs involved in home healthcare, industry experts claim that there will be a significant drop in cost involved if the treatment is done at home rather than hitting a hospital. “Home healthcare can bring in almost 20-25 per cent drop in cost compared to a hospital visit,” said Mr. Krishnan of Portea.
