In India, healthcare costs remain a major factor for most people. Most patients often neglect or delay elective surgery because of the lack of access and the high cost of treatment. Elective surgeries or general surgeries are not life threatening and in most cases can be prescribed according to the convenience of the patient, but they can lead to complications if not done in time.
healthcare startup Taka Healthcare promises to substantially reduce these surgery costs asset light model, Where both the patient and the surgeon benefit.
The New Delhi-based startup was founded in February this year by Bidhan Choudhary and Dr. Atul Peters, who have known each other professionally for years.
Connect with Taka Healthcare
So far, Taka Healthcare has performed around 60-70 surgeries, and plans to take this to over 200 every month.
To start
Entrepreneurs started out because they believed the elective surgery segment was poised for disruption in terms of cost and care.
His belief stems from the fact that Bidhan has been a healthcare industry professional and Dr. Atul has been a surgeon for more than two decades.
Bidhan, who is successfully running a healthcare setup in the Middle East, had the urge to do something in this area in India, but with a distinction. He says, the current structure of a large hospital, especially private sector hospitals, does not allow them to offer elective surgeries at a low cost.
Connect with Taka Healthcare
This inspired him to start Taka Healthcare. The co-founders started with an initial investment of $6 million.
redefining patient care
According to Bidhan, it is estimated that about 271 million elective surgeries are performed every year in India.
A hospital typically has three sections of care – primary, secondary and tertiary. Most patients fall under primary (normal visits to hospitals) and secondary care (for older patients who require specialist consultation), and only a small number go into tertiary, where surgery is performed. Since these hospitals manage all these segments, there is a cost involved and it becomes difficult for them to provide a cheaper alternative.
“Unless elective surgery is freed from the clutches of big hospitals, one cannot reduce one’s costs,” says Bidhan.
Also, elective surgery is not urgently needed, but patients demand a higher level of service with the expectation that it will be cost-effective.
Bidhan says some of these surgeries can be done in a span of 15 minutes and don’t require a long period of hospitalization. But there are surgeons who are not being used to their full potential. Bidhan claims that on an average surgeon gets to perform only 10-15 surgeries in a month.
Given this environment, Taka Healthcare is keen to rework the entire dynamics of the elective surgery segment and ensure that it provides affordable and better service to the people.
how it works?
The startup leverages various digital technologies to bring patients on its platform. It also has a panel of surgeons who will answer all the queries of the patients.
Taka Healthcare has created a model where it sets up small facilities and also has a panel of surgeons to perform these elective surgeries. Unlike a large hospital, the startup does not need to set up an expensive operation theater (OT) to perform these surgeries, and it plans to take OTs from smaller hospitals on a rental basis.
Bidhan claims that the company is able to perform these elective surgeries at a cost similar to the Ayushman Bharat pricing. According to the Ayushman Bharat scheme, the cost of a lap chickpea surgery is Rs 18,500, while in a private hospital it can go up to Rs 1 lakh, he says.
Taka Healthcare offers short-stay elective surgeries like Gall Bladder Stone Removal Surgery, Hernia Repair/Removal Surgery, Appendix Removal Surgery etc.
“Our vision is to reduce the cost of elective surgery by 30 percent and this is possible by leveraging technology,” says Bidhan.
market and business model
According to a NITI Aayog report, the size of the surgery market is estimated to be around $100 billion, of which around 40 per cent falls under the elective category.
Taka Healthcare started its operations in New Delhi and Madhya Pradesh with 12 surgeons. In Delhi alone, it has 15 such set-ups and operates in places like Bhopal, Indore and Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. Now, it has expanded to Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The startup has a 50-member team for now.
In terms of bringing patients to the platform, Taka Healthcare will focus on those who want to pay in cash and others who are covered through insurance. For the cash segment, the proposition is that they can get the surgery done in a cost-effective manner. In the case of patients who have insurance, it plans to reach out to insurance companies by explaining that they will pay less if they go through its platform instead of a large hospital.
“Our top priority will always be the quality of service. Since our overhead cost is low, we are able to perform these surgeries at a competitive rate,” says Bidhan.
Taka Healthcare’s model is also beneficial for surgeons due to the large number of patients. Bidhan says that surgeons don’t have to worry about the influx of patients and can just focus on the surgery aspect.
In the field of elective surgery, there are few names like Glamyo and Pristine Care that offer similar service. However, Bidhan claims that Taka Healthcare does not follow an aggregator model, where patients and surgeons buy on a single platform, but own the entire set-up.
plan ahead
Taka Healthcare plans to expand to 40-45 cities by the end of this year. It has no plans to raise any external round of funding in the near future as it would like to establish its base first. The startup believes that these are early days and the big challenge is to convince potential patients about their value proposition.
Bidhan says, “We are a surgeon-run company and the comfort we provide to patients begins at their home.”
Connect with Taka Healthcare
