Health battle in Gurgaon

HEALTHCARE: Four big projects will jostle for patients in Delhi's hip suburb.

In August this year, when Fortis laid the foundation stone for its multi-superspecialty flagship hospital "" Fortis Healthcity "" in Gurgaon, it marked the entrance of another enemy in the already cluttered warzone.

With the Apollo Tyre Group-promoted Artemis Health Institute and Max Hospital within a one kilometre radius and Naresh Trehan's ambitious Medicity under construction in the vicinity, Gurgaon is preparing for a battle of sorts between some of the largest healthcare delivery players in the country.

Worth more than Rs 2,000 crore, it is clear that the stakes in that one kilometre radius are nothing short of high. While Artemis and Max are already up and running, Fortis and Medicity are still under construction.

The question, however, is that with each hospital being backed by brand value and brand name, how will each tackle the competition posed by the rest?

Max, which opened in July, is a 120-bed facility and already has 150 patients daily in its OPD. The hospital, however, unlike its three competitors is not a super-specialty one. Instead, the selling point for Max might just be its general outlook.

"We are already a well-known brand in North India. Moreover, others like Artemis have a different profile. We are a general hospital without a specific focus and people who require immediate medical attention will in this case prefer to come to us," says Dilpreet Brar, chief administrator, Max Hospital.

At an investment of Rs 70 crore, the hospital is on a much smaller scale as compared to the others.

For the Rs 200 crore Artemis Health Institute, a 250-bed facility, it is the first mover advantage that will work in its favour.

The hospital is also optimistic about the fact that despite stiff competition, it has been able to garner a sizeable number of customers and their trust.

Banking on the utilisation of high-end medical technology complimented by expat doctors who are well versed with that technology, Artemis is investing heavily in customer relationship management programmes.

"We have invested Rs 50 lakh in customer relationship already," says Anas Wajid, head (sales and marketing), Artemis Health Institute. Though Wajid agrees that eventually there will be an overlap in certain specialties among the hospitals, he is certain that with its strong focus on oncology and minimum invesive surgeries, Artemis will lead the way in surgeries.

"Moreover, while Max is a general hospital, Fortis has been unable to find a focus to its establishment in Gurgaon. No one knows what a seven star hospital means in medical capabilities and to move ahead, it will have to define its role clearly," he adds.

The hospital already has plans to expand its operation to 500 beds within the next 12-18 months. Yet, the toughest competition could be between the two bigwigs "" Fortis' Healthcity and Naresh Trehan's Medicity "" the projects that will eventually witness an investment close to Rs 1,200 crore. But Trehan is not worried.

"I have no anxiety," he says, adding, "Patients will go wherever they want to go but at Medicity I am there and that is enough. Beyond that there will be no marketing strategy."