siliconindia | | January 20189HOSPITAL & HEALTHCARE SERVICES INDUSTRYdollars spent of Cancer treatment in U.S. and other advanced nations and will give the same access to cancer patients in India and South-East Asia.(B) Bad Times Ahead for Com-mercial Stem Cell Banking CentresAs per the NGSR 2017, stem cell therapy will be restricted to BMT (Bone marrow transplanta-tion)/HSCT (hematopoietic stem cell transplantation) and besides these, treatment for any other conditions shall be considered unethical and a malpractice. This will directly im-pact the various hospitals and clin-ics which claim to commercially offer stem cell therapy as a cure for any disease. Due to NGSR 2017, the Government of India has put a tem-porary restriction on commercial banking of stem cell derived from bi-ological materials such as cord tissue, placenta, tooth extract and menstrual blood due to the absence of scientific evidence about its benefits. Although this looks temporary in 2018, it may have a long-term impact on the stem cell banking industry and companies such as Lifecell, ReeLabs, Cordlife, Crysave, and Cryoviva, may get hit in the coming days.(C) Expansion Of Hospi-tal Groups Continues in 2018 while the Focus Moves to Re-gional Monopoly & Experimen-tation with Business Model to Optimize InvestmentOne of the key players in north, Cygnus Group of Hospitals, is ex-pected to continue with their expan-sion plans and penetrate tier II and III towns in Punjab, Haryana and Rajas-than. The hospital is built around `An Asset Light Model' where the compa-ny does not own the land or building where the hospital is located. Howev-er, the company leases out the assets created by third party and converts them into super speciality hospitals and offers secondary & tertiary care.On the other hand, seasoned play-ers such as Apollo Hospital group (after attaining regional monopoly) are now focussing on speciality care monopoly. The company is expected to increase ~2000 beds for cardiolo-gy and oncology care and penetrate into cities where it does not have its presence. In 2017, the company has already opened its Apollo Memory and Apollo Headache & Migraine clinics in Chennai to create regional monopoly in the neuro care market. Another key service provider - Gle-neagles is expected to move to other region. After establishing its brand in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Chennai, Gleneagles Global Hospi-tal is expected to focus on the Delhi NCR market in 2018. While groups like Apollo is focusing on Oncology, Cardiology and Neurology, Glenea-gles Global Hospital is focusing on multi-organ transplant and quater-nary care in Tier I cities in India. In a way, 2018 will see more players creating their niche market for offer super-speciality care.(D) With An Eye On `Cost Op-timisation': Eye Clinics Expand Pan IndiaIn 2017, the Indian eye care mar-ket was worth $1.5­2 Billion and dominated by players such as Vasan Eye care, Maxivision, ASG, Centre for Sight, Eye -Q, Narayan Netralaya and more. Chennai based Dr.Agarw-al's Group of Eye Hospitals, one of the pioneers in exclusive eye care in the country is building it's business model on a time tested `Hub and Spoke model' and plans to expand pan India and move out of their com-fort market in South India. Final WordsOverall, the health of the market shall remain stable with new play-ers entering the market in Oncology, Neurology and Cardiology. Herb-al segment will grow tremendously with non-Healthcare players entering the market in 2018 with their OTC products. Large hospital groups shall continue with their expansion plans while the smaller players will focus on niche service areas in 2018.Cost optimization will remain the prime focus for the healthcare services industry and new busi-ness models will be tried & tested in 2018. While groups like Apollo is focusing on Oncology, Cardiology and Neurology, Gleneagles Global Hospital is focusing on multi-organ transplant and quaternary care in Tier I cities in IndiaDr. Siddharth Dutta
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