Preventive health check-ups will witness major disruption with coming of new players: Dr Sushil Shah

New Delhi: ETHealthworld hosted the second edition of the India Diagnostics Summit at the Crowne Plaza, Gurgaon on June 16, 2023. The summit hosted influential leaders from the diagnostics sector who shared their insights on some pertinent issues such as the rapid diagnostic kit market, the significance of accreditations for private giants, investments in the diagnostic sector, the growing threats of infectious diseases, innovations and the future of smart labs.

Dr Sushil Shah, Chairman, Metropolis Healthcare Ltd delivered the keynote address on the ‘Impact of digital pathology companies on the diagnostic industry’, and the ‘Pros and cons of venturing into international markets for diagnostic companies’ at the summit.

In his opening remarks, Dr Shah cited how 15-20 new players have ventured into the digital pathology spectrum within a short span of a few months and the transition of the diagnostics industry from having a limited number of players to its expansion.

Startups, corporate giants, pharmaceutical companies and large hospital chains have ventured into digital pathology, Dr Shah elaborated on how this is bound to cause a lot of disruption in the industry. He divided the impact of the disruption with the coming of new players into three broad platforms, namely health check-ups, chronic disease, and acute disease treatment.

Expounding on the impact of digital technology players in the diagnostic industry, Dr Shah emphasised that when it comes to preventive health check-ups, there is going to be major disruption with the coming of new players.

“Health check-ups are going to be affected considerably. With all these new players, the goal is to reduce the price, and anyone who is not related to one particular industry is going straight to reducing the price and offering it at a cheaper price. And that’s exactly what all these players are doing. And the second thing they are doing is offering the fastest turnaround time,” remarked Dr Shah.

Elaborating that the chronic disease testing segment will witness partial disruption, Dr Shah highlighted that patients suffering from chronic diseases require testing more frequently, where price plays a role. The field of acute disease, or when the disease requires treatment, is not going to witness major disruptions. The reason for it is that the quality of the report matters, and people go to the laboratories with whom they traditionally rely, so there is less possibility of them going to all the digital players.

Delving into the pros and cons of venturing into international markets for diagnostic companies, Dr Shah mentioned, “We’re also looking for another avenue from which we can get better profitability. In India, the test charges remain the same for years together, very few will increase the charges during the same period as inflation or the cost of living goes up.”

Expanding further, he suggested that knowing the country where you’re planning to start the business is important, and proper research will always be beneficial because factors such as the economy, political and legal environment, market analysis, cultural and social factors, risk assessment, and many more are some crucial aspects to focus on that play an important role in establishing any business.

Expressing his views on whether Indian businesses should expand internationally or not, Dr Shah concluded that bankers, financial investors, and venture capitalists are against the idea, but he also voiced that it’s not entirely necessary and there are chances of failure as well as success, but eventually, it completely depends on the individual’s decision.