Innovation mind-set in healthcare crucial: Dr Selvaraj

Tamil Nadu stands head and shoulders above other

states in India when it comes to healthcare

It has done this by championing public health

initiatives, establishing a widespread network of

medical facilities, offering affordable healthcare, and

actively embracing technological advancements.

Kauvery Hospitals, a multi-specialty hospital chain

located in Trichy, Chennai, Salem, Hosur, Tirunelveli,

and Bengaluru, has contributed significantly to the

state’s healthcare ecosystem and is actively working

towards building the next wave of healthtech startups

Dr. Aravindan Selvaraj, Co-founder and Executive

Director, Kauvery Hospitals, says COVID gave the

medical community an opportunity to overcome the

inherent mistrust people had in modern medicine

He discussed the health insurance sector, which has

witnessed phenomenal growth in the last few years.

Up until recently, he said, there was only one

standalone insurer

Today, more are emerging and there has been as rise

in private healthcare insurance.  The next trend Dr

Selvaraj identified was that of private equity

investments in hospitals.

According to a report by Bain & Company, private

equity and venture capital investment in India’s health

and pharmaceutical sector reached a new record of

$5.5 Billion in 2023.

He discussed the direct impact of these investments,

particularly in aiding hospital chains in setting up multi-

speciality hospitals equipped with the latest

technology.

When Kauvery Hospitals expanded from Trichy to

Chennai in 2010, it received private equity funding. It

was one of the first deals that involved private enquiry

investment in a hospital chain based out of a Tier II city

in India. 

Dr Selvaraj also highlighted the digital disruption in

Indian healthcare. He said no sector is immune to

digital transformation, and government and individual

hospitals are investing heavily in digital healthcare

The sector is being reshaped by digital sensitisation

and optimisation, but India needs more time before

digital technologies can completely transform the

market, he said.

Building an innovation mind-set in healthcare Dr

Selvaraj revealed that a Turkish entrepreneur inspired

him to set up an Innovation Centre in 2019. As one of

the first hospitals to build a hub for innovation,

Kauvery Hospitals has created a culture and mind set

of originality and advancements

“Innovation doesn't need to be large-scale; it can

include small critical innovations. You encourage

people at the front end for delivering healthcare –

from the nurse's level to the ward boy’s level.

We developed a high innovation mind-set and culture

at Kauvery Hospitals. We already had an innovation

ecosystem, mind-set, and culture throughout our

organisation, so we were the first ones to adapt to

COVID challenges,” he said.

Working with healthcare start-ups Kauvery Hospitals

began evaluating start-ups through the Innovation

Incubation Centre, set up to address the disconnect

between health tech entrepreneurs and their

healthcare delivery provider.

Dr Selvaraj said the problem is that healthcare

technologists usually work in isolation from other

healthcare players in the ecosystem, such as doctors,

nurses and patients. They don’t have access to these

players, and therefore can’t gauge the impact of their

innovations.

After years of developing healthcare technology, they

have to receive clinical validations, by which point they

may have run out of funds or simply burnt out, he said

In the last five years, Kauvery Hospitals has worked

with 250 healthtech startups, guiding them from a very

early stage. Startups can access the hospital for clinical

validation or to course-correct if the technology fails.

They work with doctors and nurses, and are nurtured

by the hospital. The group also sets startups up with a

non-banking financial corporation, Healthcare Capital,

through which it invests in healthtech startups

“Kauvery Hospitals is completely involved in healthcare

innovation, guiding health tech entrepreneurs and

supporting them. To any health tech entrepreneur

here, I would like to say that I appreciate your courage.

You have to be really brave. Because here you can't

afford to make a mistake. It is a question of life and

death,” Dr Selvaraj said

The benefits of starting small Kauvery Hospitals had a

difficult journey from 1999 to 2012, experiencing slow

growth. Once it moved to Chennai, opportunities for

growth were much larger. However, Selvaraj credits

these difficult years for the hospital’s exceptional

growth today

“A hospital group of our size normally starts from the

metro cities, and then goes to Tier II or Tier III cities.

We had an advantage as well. We came from a small

town where the market was very sensitive to the cost

of healthcare. We learned to master the art of

delivering affordable healthcare, even at high end. We

are the best at optimising the cost for high-end

procedures like robotic or cardiac surgery,” he said.

The group has aggressive expansion plans for the next

two years, aiming to go from 2,500 beds to 3,500 beds.

It also aims to go public and make its presence felt in

healthcare technology, research, academic

publications, and community health.