Philips testing home care biz in India for global launch

Philips Home Care offers facilities like assistíng patients to recover, regain lost health etc

The Netherlands-based health technology major Philips may look at taking the home care business, which it launched recently in India, international once the model is successful in the country.

Abhijit Bhattacharya, chief financial officer and member of the board of management of Royal Philips, said the business was expected to grow above the industry growth rate in India.

“We have invested in starting up the home care services in India. I think that would be a pilot which would then be good enough to run internationally,” he said.

The company started the business in India almost six months ago and the initial build-up was according to expectations. Once the business hits the kind of growth Philips expects, it will look at expanding the service to other countries. “I would look for at least another year and a half,” Bhattacharya said.

Philips Home Care offers a range of home health care facilities, assistíng patients to recover, regain lost health and improve their quality of life. Initially, the services are for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients, but medication management and compliance could be added as services later. The packages range from Rs 5,000 per month to Rs 200,000 a year.

Madhavan Hariharan, chief financial officer, Indian subcontinent, Philips India, added the company was expanding the service to the western part of the country. “We started in the NCR and in some of the southern states and we are expanding to other parts,” he said.

A study conducted by Philips and Banner Health in the US on using technology as a means for providing remote care for patients indicated a 27 per cent reduction in the cost of care, 32 per cent reduction in acute and long-term costs, and 45 per cent reduction in hospitalisation. Backed with these findings, Philips plans to deliver home care to over 100,000 people in India by 2020.

Commenting about the business, Bhattacharya said while the global health technology industry was growing at four to six per cent, India and China were growing at higher rates and India was among the top 10 countries in terms of business importance for Philips.