Pathology services may be outsourced to India

Pathology could be the next big thing in outsourcing to India. SRL Ranbaxy has completed trial runs with a private hospital in the UK and has projected that 40 per cent of this work could be outsourced to India.

The firm has also completed a trial with a Saudi Arabia based hospital.

Shivinder Mohan Singh of SRL Ranbaxy today said India could provide pathology services 30 to 50 per cent cheaper.

UK's National Health Scheme (NHS) spends 2.5 billion pounds on pathology every year. There are three accredited pathology laboratories that carry out tests in India.

India is already being projected as a destination for patients seeking quick and inexpensive health care, given the waiting periods in British hospitals. This was relevant to surgical procedures in particular, he added.

Former UK health minister Margaret Jay said IT was already playing a major role in tele-medicine where pathology samples were sent from remote areas to cities for analysis.

"This could be extended to India given its lower laboratory costs and the results could be emailed back", she said.

She was speaking at a meeting organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on `Healthcare in United Kingdom: Outsourcing Opportunities from India'.

She confirmed that certain trial arrangements were already in place between private British hospitals and Indian companies. Singh added that India is already a known commodity in the area of doctors and paramedical staff. Blood samples moving across boundaries could be the next possible area.

Interestingly, nearly 15 per cent of the laboratory technicians working in the research and development facilities of multinational pharmaceutical firms were of Indian origin, Jay said.

According to a study on the Indian healthcare industry by SKP Crossborder Consulting, the Rs 4,000 crore diagnostics and pathology laboratory testing business is growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 20 per cent.

While the industry has around 20,000 laboratories, only few prominent ones have any international accreditation inspiring international confidence.

The industry however, could underline quality control standards here. To import blood samples for testing purposes, laboratory testing companies have to acquire a licence from the Drug Controller General of India, in addition to approval from the Director General of Foreign Trade.