Cost remains one of the most important determinants when it comes to accessing healthcare in India. According to the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery, the strength of the specialist surgical workforce in India stands at 7 per 100,000 people. A report published by Niti Aayog has said that only 30-35 % of patients undergo surgery in India as compared to 60-65% globally.
As a country with a high disease burden, India is expected to see a huge number of short-stay elective surgeries, but these are yet to become a priority for the masses. “The high cost of elective surgeries, coupled with the lack of accessibility and quality healthcare, forces a large number of people in the middle- and lower-income segments to ignore treatment in fields like proctology, urology, laparoscopy, and ophthalmology,” says Bidhan Chowdhury, founder of healthtech startup TaCa Healthcare (India). His venture proudly claims to be a patient-centric, surgeon-driven company that is addressing the issues of trust, cost, and accessibility for people needing surgical intervention.
The startup has set up an AI-enabled tech platform to make general and short-stay surgeries affordable and safe. From zeroing in on the best doctor and process for diagnosis to admission to discharge and post-surgery care, the tech platform makes the treatment journey smooth and affordable. With over two decades of experience in delivering cost-effective health solutions for middle- and lower-income groups in the Middle East and South East Asian countries, Chowdhury was driven by the goal to democratise surgical care in India.
Analysing the reasons that jack up costs of private surgical care, such as distant location of large hospitals, fragmentation of the so-called affordable healthcare infrastructure in small cities, underutilisation of surgeons and OT spaces, and pricing shocks, the health tech veteran realised it was possible to bring down surgical costs by almost 70% for the masses. TaCa Healthcare is onboarding well-known surgeons on a full-time basis from tier-I & II cities and even small towns. This allows patients to stay connected with the doctor they know and trust right through the treatment process.
The company provides them with end-to-end surgical care, offering a range of short-stay elective surgeries and procedures, such as gall bladder stone removal surgery, hernia repair/removal surgery, and surgery for piles, fissures, and fistula. “We are of the opinion that the surgical care startup ecosystem in India needs to move beyond the healthcare aggregator stage,” says Chowdhury. “We need full-fledged health tech companies, which can bring in real-time innovation in healthcare delivery, addressing the challenges of affordability, trust and safety.
Our innovation-led model has the potential to revolutionise healthcare in India and the rest of the developing world and support governments in building standalone secondary care ecosystems,” he adds. “Using technologies such as AI and MI, we are facilitating patient care and medical facilities’ revenue growth, and building new income avenues for surgeons,” says Amitoj Singh, CEO, TaCa Healthcare. The startup is aggressively upgrading surgical infrastructure in tier-II & III cities.
“We have plans to establish state-of-the-art TaCa Centres for Surgery in every nook and corner of the country, allowing people to avail high quality and low-cost surgical care seamlessly,” he adds. The company, which has some of India’s renowned surgeons and healthcare experts on board, is currently operating in seven states – Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, UP, Delhi and Haryana – and plans to cover over 45 cities by the end of this year. .
From: financialexpress
URL: https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/sme/taca-healthcare-going-under-the-knife-becomes-less-of-a-pain/2573568/
