By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    learn to recognize and treat yeast infections
    Most Commonly Asked Questions About Yeast Infections
    November 17, 2021
    Advanced lung cancer diagnosis systems used by doctors
    Advanced Lung Cancer Diagnosis Systems Used by Doctors
    March 6, 2022
    The Top Benefits of a Wearable Blood Pressure Monitor Watch
    The Top Benefits of a Wearable Blood Pressure Monitor Watch
    June 13, 2022
    Latest News
    How to Combat Home Sickness After Moving Abroad
    March 19, 2023
    4 Ways to Recover from a Broken Hip
    March 14, 2023
    What Are Dietary Supplements: Purpose, Benefits, & Facts
    March 15, 2023
    5 Benefits of Receiving Acupuncture Regularly
    March 9, 2023
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Breast augmentation: Late-generation models of...
    Making Sense of the French Silicone Breast Implant Scare
    January 6, 2012
    FDA Approves New Drug for Cystic Fibrosis
    February 2, 2012
    The Future of Consumer-Directed Health Care
    August 24, 2017
    Latest News
    3 Ways to Improve the U.S. Healthcare System By 2030
    March 14, 2023
    6 Steps To Ensure Speed And Efficiency Of Clinical Studies
    March 14, 2023
    5 Most Valuable Healthcare Programs in 2023
    March 8, 2023
    The Everest Foundation’s Mission to Support Inclusive Healthcare
    February 24, 2023
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Building a Chain of Branded IVF Clinics in India
Share
Sign In
Notification Show More
Latest News
mental health tips
Caring for Your Mental Health Should Be a Top Priority
Mental Health
combat home sickness
How to Combat Home Sickness After Moving Abroad
Health News
depression signs
Early Signs of Depression that You Shouldn’t Ignore
Mental Health
positive mental health
How to Build a Positive Mental Health Environment
Mental Health
broken hip recovery
4 Ways to Recover from a Broken Hip
Health
Aa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Aa
Search
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Global Healthcare > Building a Chain of Branded IVF Clinics in India
BusinessGlobal Healthcare

Building a Chain of Branded IVF Clinics in India

malpani
Last updated: 2013/03/05 at 9:00 AM
malpani
Share
6 Min Read
SHARE

Many venture capitalists (VCs) are interested in investing in the Indian healthcare industry.

Many venture capitalists (VCs) are interested in investing in the Indian healthcare industry. It has become a hot area, because it is very efficient, and it promises so much room for growth. IVF  especially is a very exciting market, given the fact that it’s currently underdeveloped, and there is so much potential for scaling up – not just to meet the needs of Indian infertile couples, but also because of reproductive tourism.

Venture capitalists have invested quite a bit of money recently and entered the Indian IVF market, but most of these ventures have failed. There is a desire to rapidly launch a pan-India network of IVF clinics, in order to make the most of the advantage of being first to capture the market.

 
The key question is: What makes an IVF clinic successful? If a clinic does not achieve a high pregnancy rate quickly, it is doomed to fail.

More Read

employee's wellness

How Hospitals and Other Healthcare Providers Can Boost Employee Morale

What are the Benefits of Hospitals and Clinics Using Expense Management Services?
Using EHR systems in healthcare for Cost-Effective Services
Benefits of Emerging Technology in Healthcare in 2023
Tips to Keep Health Workers Safe in the Workplace

There are two things that need to be emphasized. IVF is a very hands-on treatment – it is not something that can be delegated or outsourced to someone else. Successful IVF clinics are run by a person who is extremely thorough, someone who’s obsessed with attention to detail.

 
If you want to run a chain of clinics, you then need to design and implement systems and processes that are replicated identically across all the clinics, so that all the centers have equally good success rates. The biggest problem today is the large amount of variability within IVF clinics, so that even within one city, one center will do well, while another will flop, even though they seem to be following exactly the same processes. This can be extremely hard to understand and very frustrating for the doctors. We still do not know what causes this kind of variability. If we do not understand the underlying problem, how do we implement better quality control systems?

This attention to detail means that the IVF doctor needs to be do IVF as a full-time practice. It’s not possible to have a gynecologist who does IVF on a part-time basis, and will also do some hysterectomies and endoscopies side-by-side in order to maximize his income. This is why it needs a full-time dedicated doctor to head the IVF center.

While starting a chain of IVF clinics does not need deep pockets, it’s not very expensive to set up an IVF unit, and the return on investment is phenomenalm, the VC needs to have patient money. It takes time to successfully replicate the IVF clinic model across geographies.

This is a great time to setup a national IVF chain. There are lots of advantages to having centralized operations, because this gives you an economy of scale, and marketing and branding can be controlled centrally. A high quality brand, built patiently over time, will inspire confidence in patients, who would rather go to a clinic that provides high tech,  high quality care. Most IVF clinics today are run by doctors in solo practice, and their results often leave a lot to be desired.

Equally importantly, the IVF chain cannot afford to be personality dependent, it  should not be run by a single doctor. It should be doctor independent, because it’s not possible to have a single doctor try to trouble shoot when problems arise in multiple locations, as they inevitably will.

The key is to have a central head of quality control, whose fulltime job is to monitor each center closely, to ensure that they are all doing the same thing, each time. I would argue that a problem with IVF doctors is that they tend to have large egos, they think they know all the answers, and refuse to change their set ways. They always want to tweak protocols, to improve their success rates. This is a recipe for disaster. The flagship center needs to provide training, so that each center will be a clone of each other, even though the doctors are different.

It’s possible to set up a chain of IVF clinics in India, but an IVF clinic is not an eyecare clinic or a pathology lab. Cataract surgery is very straight forward, which makes it very reproducible. However, doing IVF treatment is slightly different, and we cannot use a cookie cutter model when setting up an IVF chain. There is still quite a bit of “art” in IVF treatment, which means it requires a lot more supervision and handholding to be able to carry out successfully.

The other danger is that in the pursuit of numbers and profits, each center will try do too many cycles. The optimal number of IVF cycles a clinic should do is about 1,000 cycles per year. This makes it busy and profitable – but still manageable enough, so that the care remains personalized.

Creating a national IVF brand is both a challenge and an opportunity. Anyone who is willing to do it properly is likely to reap rich rewards.

TAGGED: India, IVF clinics

Sign Up For Daily Newsletter

Be keep up! Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
malpani March 5, 2013
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Copy Link Print
Share
Previous Article Image Interoperability Unbound: CommonWell Health Alliance Unveiled at HIMSS
Next Article Aspirin Linked to Macular Degeneration

Stay Connected

1.5k Followers Like
4.5k Followers Follow
2.8k Followers Pin
136k Subscribers Subscribe

Latest News

mental health tips
Caring for Your Mental Health Should Be a Top Priority
Mental Health March 19, 2023
combat home sickness
How to Combat Home Sickness After Moving Abroad
Health News March 19, 2023
depression signs
Early Signs of Depression that You Shouldn’t Ignore
Mental Health March 19, 2023
positive mental health
How to Build a Positive Mental Health Environment
Mental Health March 15, 2023

You Might also Like

US healthcare system
Global Healthcare

3 Ways to Improve the U.S. Healthcare System By 2030

March 14, 2023
Clinical Studies
Global Healthcare

6 Steps To Ensure Speed And Efficiency Of Clinical Studies

March 14, 2023
valueable healthcare programs
News

5 Most Valuable Healthcare Programs in 2023

March 8, 2023
everest healthcare
Global Healthcare

The Everest Foundation’s Mission to Support Inclusive Healthcare

February 24, 2023
//

We influence million of users and is the most authentic source of information on healthcare business and technology news.

Quick Links

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Subscribe

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

Follow US

© 2008-2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?