Senu Sam, Rahmathulla TM, and Joash Philipose founded Mykare Health in 2021 to address the challenges faced by small- and medium-sized hospitals in India. The company provides minimally invasive elective and cosmetic procedures, offering transparency and no-cost EMI. 100
Senu Sam first encountered the problems of Indian healthcare in small- and medium-sized hospitals when he admitted his 65-year-old father to Kerala for neuro-brain surgery. He couldn’t find any digital information on his father’s doctor and wasn’t sure whether he was linked with the appropriate one.
I also wanted to discover if the hospital has done comparable surgeries before. He believes the insurance procedure was flawed, bills were overpriced, and there was little post-surgical assistance.
Many middle- and lower-middle-class families face this daily. Small- and medium-sized hospitals supply most of India’s healthcare, yet many of these 10-300 beds facilities lack excellent treatment owing to funding. The Indian Medical Association said nursing homes and small hospitals must survive for cheap short- and long-term care.
Sam says these institutions’ inability to provide timely care drives away low- and middle-income patients.
“Dearth of administrative and pricing transparency, skyrocketing healthcare cost, poor patient-to-hospital ratio, and paucity of quality care are the main causes of surgery-related fear, resulting in treatment delays and poor quality of life,” he says.
He also realized that many patients don’t know which doctor or facility to see, and no one to guide them through therapy.
Sam, Rahmathulla TM (CTO), and Joash Philipose (CPO) founded Mykare Health in 2021 to address difficulties in 30-80-bed hospitals with a patient-first approach.
Mykare is the trio’s second project. They started a YouTube channel called ‘physicians Story’ to share physicians’ personal stories and struggles.
Mykare aims to streamline the patient process from clear pricing through paperwork, insurance, free transportation, doctor communication, zero-cost EMI, hospital admission and discharge, and post-care support.
“Mykare’s trained and experienced counsellors are available on-site to help patients overcome fear of lack of funds and transparency and make their healthcare journey seamless for everyone,” the Co-founder and CEO said.
The Kochi-based firm helps small- and mid-sized hospitals gain exposure, trust, patient footfall, and income.
“The small and mid-sized hospitals, which account for about 80% of India’s healthcare facilities, and their doctors are heavily underutilised due to poor visibility, lack of trust, inadequate administrative, or patient experience,” Sam says.
The startup increases demand for these hospitals and their resources. Mykare also wants to construct India’s largest middle-class asset-light, cheap, and standardized hospital network.
Offerings
Mykare provides minimally invasive elective and cosmetic procedures including LASIK, hernia surgery, piles treatment, hair restoration, liposuction, knee and hip replacement, IVF, and more.
The firm offers 20 experienced counsellors and 800 senior doctors on site and offline to serve patients with transparency and no-cost EMI. Mykare has counseled 85,000+ patients.
It is building an app and works online.
Sam says, “All our platforms are developed in-house to make sure the patient journey is seamless—right from first touch point platforms, sales CRM, patient experience CRM, customer experience auto updates (through AI), hospital and in-house dashboard, associate platforms, etc.” The platform is free for patients and hospitals.
Business model and market opportunities
The Indian minimally invasive surgery market reached $712.4 million in 2022, according to IMARC Group. It will reach $1 billion by 2028, growing 6.63% from 2023 to 2028.
Mykare wants to grow in south India in 2023. It operates in 12 cities: Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Pune, Bengaluru (two locations), Hyderabad (two locations), and Vishakhapatnam.
Mykare Health is building an asset-light hospital network of 200+ hospitals, 4,500+ beds, and 80+ team members using small and medium hospitals and top surgeons.
Sam claims these facilities may serve domestic and cross-border patients, including those from neighboring states and abroad, who visit 10% of India’s big hospitals, by offering elective procedures at a 20–30% discount.
Pricing transparency is a major issue for patients. Mykare Health will negotiate a procedure fee with inclusions and exclusions with hospitals. This gives the patient complete cost information before treatment, he says.
The firm focuses on economical therapies, but Sam believes out-of-pocket costs may be a problem. Mykare is extending its services, including opening an overseas office in South Asia to connect patients, to make medical treatment 40-50% cheaper.
“The doctors are highly skilled and the facilities give a high-quality assurance, so cross-border patients can easily access small and medium-sized medical facilities with fixed and transparent pricing and end-to-end seamless care,” Sam says.
Its Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) increased 3X to $1.5 million in FY23.
The Kochi-based digital health business secured $2.01 million in a seed round in June to develop technology to streamline patient touch points, improve patient experience, and extend its reach. Despite competing with Pristyn Care in inexpensive healthcare, the firm has a distinct business plan.
