Tag: Ashutosh Raghuvanshi

Medical tourism to surpass pre-COVID levels soon; focusing on diagnostic biz: Fortis Healthcare

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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[wealthdesk shortname=”Fortis Health” isinid=”INE061F01013″ bseid=”532843″ nseid=”FORTIS” sector=”Hospitals & Medical Services” exchange=”nse”]

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, MD and CEO, Fortis Healthcare, said that medical tourism is picking up. He highlighted that the number of international patients had reached 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels in December itself, however January and February remained subdued. In a month or two, he estimates the number to cross pre-COVID levels.

“Medical tourism is certainly picking up. You will be surprised that in the month of December itself, it had come to almost 70 percent of the pre-pandemic levels, which got depressed in the month of January and February. In March, we saw those numbers go up. My estimate is in another one or two months, we should see more than the pre-pandemic level of international patients coming to the country,” he said.

Also Read: World Health Day: Where India’s healthcare sector stands; positives and shortcomings

He shared that the Omicron wave impacted Q4 numbers in January, however normalisation in operations started happening in March. Raghuvanshi expects occupancy levels to remain normal.

“As far as the fourth quarter is concerned, the Omicron wave definitely impacted the numbers in the month of January. But that started recovering in the month of February and we saw complete normalisation by the month of March. So that trend continues in this month as well,” he said.

“What we expect is that even if there was a rise in the number of cases, because otherwise the activities are not restricted and they are no restriction on movements, the occupancy levels should be the nearly normal,” he added.

On the diagnostic space, he said that with digital penetration, the industry is undergoing some change. He mentioned that home collections have been rising when it comes to diagnostics. In this regard, he shared that Fortis is focusing on optimizing its lab network.

“The diagnostic business is undergoing some bit of change, and that is related to how digital penetration is increasing in the business. So as with other groups, we are also focusing on that channel. So the home collection bit has been increasing,” he mentioned.

“The other effort which we have been making in SRL, is to optimize our lab network, which means we are increasing the touch points from where the samples could be collected, and the throughput of the labs could be increased. That increases the efficiency and sort of increases the depth as well,” Raghuvanshi added.

Also Read: The Medicine Box: Home health, telemedicine here to stay? Fortis head Dr Ashutosh Raghuvanshi explains

Fortis Healthcare, Max Healthcare and Apollo Hospitals had landed under the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) radar for inflated prices of medicines and devices. The hospital chains are likely to face penalties if they fail to explain how they set rates for the medicines and medical devices as per CCI’s order.

With respect to prices, he said, “The prices of consumables and medicines have always been under a regime or the charges levied by the hospitals are on MRP basis. So as far as this particular investigation of CCI is concerned, this was initiated in year 2015 and they had asked for information from procurement side on all our hospitals and how we price that.”

“So that information was also provided and we continue to cooperate with them. They have not given a final report or verdict in the case, but what we believe is that we have been following the MRP regime. Post COVID, we have started charging even less than MRP in many cases, wherever the costs of medicines is high. So we don’t see this as an issue,” Raghuvanshi explained.

Also Read: Wellness testing set to rise; targeting geographical expansion for growth: Dr Lal PathLabs

On government payables, Raghuvanshi said, “Receivables from the government remain a challenge from time to time. But being government payments, we are sort of assured in a way that these payments would come, though they may get delayed.”

Watch the video for the full interview.

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Fortis Healthcare expects dip in Q4 occupancy; will maintain momentum in diagnostics biz

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Fortis Healthcare came out with its Q3 earnings. Its consolidated profit after tax (PAT) rose by over twofold to Rs 142 crore in the third quarter ended December 31, 2021. The company had reported a PAT of Rs 54 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. Its revenue during October-December 2021 rose to Rs 1,466.7 crore as compared with Rs 1,177 crore in the year-ago period.

Shedding light on the Q3 performance and outlook, Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, MD & CEO, Fortis Healthcare, spoke to CNBC-TV18.

Raghuvanshi mentioned that occupancy stood at 65.4 percent in Q3. By comparison, in Q4, he expects occupancy levels to be slightly low. However, he believes that momentum will be maintained in the diagnostics business. He explained that diagnostics revenue grew over 40 percent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis.

He said, “On the hospital side, in Q4, we should see a slight dip in the numbers because of occupancy in the month of January. I expect it to recover gradually. February has already started recovering and by March, we should see a complete recovery.”

Also Read: Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission: Technology-assisted healthcare

On capex plans, he said that Fortis will be spending Rs 200 crore for the next 4-5 years. “We have been spending approximately Rs 200 crore which is both the growth capex as well as the replacement capex. A lot of machines and equipment have been upgraded and newer technologies have been introduced in the existing hospitals also. We expect the outgo for capex to remain at Rs 200 crore for the next 4-5 years,” Raghuvanshi said.

On expansion plans, he said that they have the ability to look at brownfield and greenfield opportunities now. “We would also have an opportunity to consider some greenfield expansion or some potential acquisitions. Of course, we will do it in a very calibrated manner,” said Raghuvanshi.

Watch the video for the full interview.

(With PTI inputs)

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COVID-19 is 10% of total admissions: Fortis Healthcare

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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With India now battling a third wave of COVID-19, and Omicron cases gradually rising, hospitals are gearing up to tackle the surge in numbers. To understand if there’s been a rise in hospitalizations, and also to get a sense of the on-ground preparedness, CNBC-TV18 spoke to Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, MD and CEO, Fortis Healthcare.

Raghuvanshi said that COVID-19 patients currently form 10 percent of their total admissions. To give a better sense of Fortis’ preparation to tackle the rise in numbers, he said that around 2500 beds are currently designated for COVID cases. He explained that while hospitalization numbers have gone up by 2-3 times in the last 10 days, there aren’t too many critical COVID patients as of now.

He said, “The hospitalization numbers have gone up almost by 2-3 times over the last 10 days, which is definitely concerning. But at the moment, we are not seeing too many critical COVID patients getting admitted. Though the numbers have gone up, but the hospitals still have enough capacity available.”

“Across our network, we approximately have about 500 plus patients, which is out of the 2500 beds, which we have designated for COVID care. So it is still a smaller percentage, it is about approximately 10 percent of our total admissions at the moment,” he mentioned.

Also Read: Take a look at how the COVID-19 pandemic is evolving in India

On occupancy, he said that it has come down. “Occupancy was approximately about 65 to 68 percent, that has come down to 60 percent.”

On testing, Raghuvanshi said that the numbers have certainly gone up and so has the contribution from COVID testing. He explained that the positivity rate in majority of the laboratories is  above 10 percent. He added that while the positivity rate in Delhi NCR and Mumbai are in low-teens, the rate in Kolkata is at around 18-20 percent.

“Testing numbers have certainly gone up. Currently our COVID contribution has gone up above 25 percent. The positivity rates in most of the labs is above 10 percent. It is variable in different regions. In Delhi NCR for example, we are seeing it in low teens and similar is the experience in Mumbai as well, whereas in Kolkata, we are seeing it even higher, approximately about 18 to 20 percent,” he said.

Also Read: Private offices to close in Delhi; only work from home amid rise in COVID-19 cases

On the lawsuit filed against Fortis and IHH Healthcare, Fortis’ parent company by Emqore Envesecure, a US-based fund, he clarified that Fortis never entered into a deal with the trust. Hence, he believes the lawsuit has no merit as the premise itself is frivolous. He shared that the company plans to seek a redressal when they are served.

He said, “I am given to understand that Fortis Healthcare has never had a dealing with this plant. The case is against more than 40 defendants, which includes Fortis Healthcare Limited (FHL) as well as IHH. At the same time, it’s important for me to highlight that Fortis has not yet been served with the notice in this case.”

“We understand that all the allegations made in this case as they are related to FHL are similar to the allegations which were made earlier in 2017, and 2018, which we had duly disclosed in our annual reports, periodically. We continue to take appropriate legal advice on that,” he explained.

“There is no merit in this case and we strongly believe that we would be seeking a dismissal of this as and when we are served. We are extremely confident that this is a very frivolous lawsuit and of course, we will be taking it to the logical conclusion,” Raghuvanshi mentioned.

Watch the video for the full interview.

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Can triple current vaccination capacity of 6-7 lakh a month, if more vaccines are available: Fortis Healthcare

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The central government, on Monday, announced a revised vaccine policy. The government will allow private hospitals to continue to procure 25 percent of all the vaccines produced in India. However, the service charge has been capped at Rs 150 for every dose. Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, MD and CEO, Fortis Healthcare shared his views with CNBC-TV18.

“What we are doing today, we have the capacity to enhance it further. We can enhance as per the availability. We are pretty confident that about 6-7 lakh vaccines per month is what we would continue to do. If the supply side improves further, if we have more availability of vaccine, we could increase this number to double or triple of that as well,” he said.

“Our understanding is that whatever has to be provided by the private hospitals has to be procured by the private hospitals, which will be only 25 percent of the total production,” he added.

In terms of vaccine charges, he stated, “On an average our charges were Rs 200 per vaccine. So Rs 150 – capped by the government – is definitely lower than that. However, it does cover the direct and some of the indirect expenses.”

“It will be a challenge to do off-site camps but as far as hospital-based camps are concerned, pricing will not be a challenge at all,” Raghuvanshi further mentioned.

For the full interview, watch the accompanying video

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Fortis Healthcare expects double-digit growth in non-COVID business

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Fortis Healthcare posted its Q4FY21 earnings. Revenue was led by non-COVID occupancy and margins have also expanded. As India battles the second wave of COVID-19, Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, MD and CEO of Fortis Healthcare, discussed the earnings and the hospital occupancy picture.

“Non-COVID work has not got impacted in the same way as it got impacted during the first wave. We also believe that the recovery of the non-COVID work is likely to be slightly smoother and faster,” he said.

“There is a pent-up demand which is going to be felt during the latter part of this quarter and in the second quarter. We expect that the recovery would be a little faster because we have more confidence in providing a safe and secure environment to the patients,” he added.

Non-COVID work in the diagnostic side had come to about 109 percent of its pre-COVID levels. “We see robust growth in the non-COVID segment and I think that is here to stay. We expect double-digit growth in the non-COVID numbers over the next few quarters,” he stated.

COVID occupancy currently stands at around 35 percent. “We expect that to gradually come down further,” he shared.

The diagnostic business had lagged a bit on the operational side for a few years. “Now it is performing well and we are very confident that it will go in that direction,” Raghuvanshi said.

“We are confident that with our new structural changes that we are making in terms of our rationalisation of labs, etc. we should see good growth over there and an increase in our profitability margin as well,” he stated.

For the full interview, watch the accompanying video

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Elective surgeries around 75-80% of pre-COVID levels: Fortis Healthcare

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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“The performance in second half would be much better than the first half,” said Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, MD and CEO at Fortis Healthcare in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

The hospital business is seeing steady ramp-up in occupancy.

“Currently the elective surgeries are hovering around 75-80 percent of pre-COVID levels,” he said.

“20 percent of the revenue came from COVID and 80 percent from non-COVID,” he said.

All the COVID beds are near 100 percent occupied right now, he added.

According to him, the full business is still away from pre-COVID levels.

On Fortis’s capex, Raghuvanshi said, “Our plans are intact. Our net debt has gone slightly higher due to the losses in Q1 by about Rs 100 crore but we still are in a very comfortable position. We have deferred some of our expansion plans by about six months because of the pandemic situation, we have resumed those activities now.”

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International patients not back in India yet: Fortis Healthcare

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Occupancy at Fortis Healthcare’s hospitals has returned to around 85 percent of pre-COVID levels, Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, MD & CEO of Fortis Healthcare said in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

“It’s a good indication that patients are coming back to the system. A lot of measures have been put in place which generates confidence in patients’ mind, but numbers are still not normal. India receives a lot of international patients which of course are not back yet,” he said.

Speaking about SRL, he said COVID testing currently contribute 25 percent of SRL Diagnostics’ revenue; and though not very profitable, COVID tests are contributing to volumes in general.

He also said that elective surgeries are back to 65 percent levels.

Raghuvanshi expects business to return to normal in this half of the year and said the company was not looking to raise fresh debt.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow