Bengaluru-Based Practo to Launch Branded Clinics, Hospitals in 10 Cities

The branded clinics and hospitals will have advanced technologies along with new services on top of Practo’s platform such as ‘Practo Prime’ to deliver a superior healthcare experience for both consumers and providers.

Bengaluru-based healthtech platform Practo has planned to launch branded clinics and hospitals in 10 cities.

This strategic move seeks to provide a seamless healthcare experience for patients by opening the platform to more healthcare stakeholders including insurers, pharmaceutical companies, medical devices companies and others.

The branded clinics and hospitals will have advanced technologies along with new services on top of Practo’s platform such as ‘Practo Prime’ to deliver a superior healthcare experience for both consumers and providers.

Practo Prime lets clinics and hospitals deliver a superior visit experience to patients. This includes a 15-minute wait time, 24x7 instant booking, a smart calling system, free follow-ups, and assured meeting with the doctor booked.

Additionally, Practo’s hospital management system, Insta, has transitioned to a SaaS model to drive more value, efficiency, flexibility and scalability for its partner clinics and hospitals.

However, the specific cities have not been disclosed by the company. Reportedly, it is targeting the country's top 10 cities first and expects to expand this to 65 cities.

Earlier, Practo launched over 50 Practo Care Surgery Experience Centers in six key cities including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad.

Sharing his views, Shashank ND, cofounder and CEO, Practo, said, "We've been working on its full-stack offering for primary and secondary healthcare for a couple of years now. We're seeing some good traction, and it will be a 'phygital' experience."

The integrated healthcare firm will operate on franchise-owned, franchise-operated, franchise-owned, company-operated, and company-owned, company-operated models for its clinics. A separate brand name for it would be disclosed later.

Founded in 2008, by Shashank ND and Abhinav Lal, Practo offers various services to patients, including finding suitable healthcare providers, booking online consultations, maintaining electronic health records, and delivering medicines and lab tests through its mobile application and website.

The company's gross margin in the last fiscal grew from 54% to 70%, while contribution margin also surged from 5% to 42% on the back of improved productivity.

Earlier, Practo launched ‘Practo Plus Health Credits’ which sought to provide cashless outpatient department (OPD) healthcare services to employees of partnering companies by adding a fixed amount to their accounts. The program is built on an integrated model in collaboration with insurers, offering OPD coverage through Practo's extensive network of doctors, clinics, hospitals, medicine delivery, and diagnostics.

Just days back, health tech startup Curelo secured $100K in funding from IIM Ahmedabad’s CIIE.CO. The funding was utilised towards seamless booking of at-home blood sample collections for patients, ensuring swift access to their blood reports from a lab of their choice.

In another significant development, Bengaluru’s Kauvery Hospital launched 15 advanced ambulances under the KARES initiative. The purpose of this initiative is to serve a broader population and prioritise time-saving measures, ensuring rapid response.