Putting Patients At The Centre of Care
Being a doctor and having spent over three decades in the healthcare industry, I know one thing for sure, that getting access to quality healthcare is not very easy for patients. For many years, the industry has been largely facility-focused, and patients have to often navigate through multi-layered processes, which has made access to healthcare tedious, expensive and complicated.
This has affected the implementation of truly patient-centric processes and often doesn't reflect the healthcare ethos of 'keeping patients first'. The fragmented approach toward healthcare delivery, lack of standardisation and limited accessibility are some of the many issues contributing to this reality of healthcare in India. To remedy the inefficiencies ailing the healthcare industry, it requires a much-needed shift– one focused on making healthcare more efficient, integrated, and value-based. And this shift is being driven by the advent of digital healthcare.
Practo has been driving this transformation from the forefront for the last 14 years. It has constantly evolved and adapted to implement practices that resonate with the idea of helping people live healthier and longer lives. With people at the centre of its operations, Practo has built patient-focused processes instead of facility-focused.
Be it doctor consultations, diagnostics, treatment (surgical or otherwise), and post-treatment care, patients backed by the support of Practo's team have been able to access healthcare which ensures total transparency.
What Makes Practo Different?
A Strong Medical team of Doctors and Healthcare Professionals
It is the medical team that sets Practo apart.
This team, built over the years, has been integral to Practo's journey and growth story. From driving every crucial decision to drawing up strategies, Practo's core has been built by doctors keeping in mind the well-being of all patients. And everything is aligned to the most important principle of 'Do No Harm'.
The fact remains that when it comes to healthcare, nothing can be left unmonitored and who better to drive this than our doctors? From healthcare centre infrastructure, standard operating procedures, training, and overall quality of care, this independent medical team oversees and reviews all operations at Practo. The team comprises 40+ doctors with a total of 200+ years of experience spanning hospital administration, radiology, anesthesiology etc. And they are led by Ex-NABH and QCI Officials to ensure the utmost quality.
Practo's medical team's unbiased decisions are never overridden or trivialised by short-term thinking.
The team accomplishes this by:
1. Being an integral part of business and product planning
2. Implementing a robust system of protocols, followed by employees, hospitals and doctor partners.
3. Enforcing stringent frameworks to ensure patients are never coerced into undergoing procedures unnecessarily and without their full consent. In case of surgery, this team ensures that the decision on whether surgery is required or not resides with the doctor presiding over the case.
4. Enforcing a medical quality framework that all partner clinics and hospitals must abide by. Additionally, they must follow clinical pathways for various surgical procedures designed by the Practo's medical director.
5. Keeping City Medical Superintendents at the helm of decision-making regarding approval and verification for undergoing a procedure, treatment or medication.
Key Drivers of Quality Healthcare
Network of Doctors and Surgeon Partners
The medical team takes stringent efforts to onboard highly qualified and experienced doctors. This involves credentialing partner doctors by their qualifications and ensuring they carry an adequate experience in the procedures the patients seek.
For instance, as part of its surgery vertical called Practo Care Surgeries (PCS), this team ensures patients have access to surgeons with at least 8+ years of experience. These doctors and surgeons decide what's best for their patients based on their medical expertise.
Care Counsellors & Buddies
Navigating through the complexities of secondary care like getting the most suitable doctor and hospital on a budget, ensuring insurance claims, pre and post-surgical support, etc., is a lot for a patient to plan and execute.
Much like many private hospitals, Practo has a team of Care Counsellors and Care Buddies providing end-to-end assistance to patients to eliminate this stressful situation for patients.
Trained by experts from the industry, including doctors from Practo's medical team, every counsellor undergoes at least 20 hours of training to ensure that their care is patient-focused and of the highest quality.
Ensuring Adherence for Sustainable Impact
Creating a sustainable impact - which is core to me, is intrinsically a part of Practo's core as well.
To sustain the impact, the medical team constantly engages with doctors for feedback while maintaining a robust compliance and escalation matrix. Here's a part of a detailed escalation matrix in place to keep a vigil on the processes under PCS.
At Practo, the purpose– of helping make quality healthcare affordable and accessible for over a billion+ Indians– forms the core of all its operations. Guided by a robust code of ethics, similar to the oath that has bound me as a doctor— to put the patient first, no matter what— Practo has come a long way in redefining digital health's potential of democratizing healthcare.
As a doctor, my work was always focused on making efforts that create a real difference in patients' lives. Practo's robust mechanism enables me to multiply that impact to millions.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are of the author and not of the Medical Dialogues. The Editorial/Content team at Medical Dialogues has not contributed to the writing/editing/packaging of this article.
