Scaling up Indian Tele-consult Platforms – “7S” success Framework for Virtual Care

(Standard disclaimer: Views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the post are my own, and do not reflect the view of my current or past employers. I may not have copyright to any images in the post)

In my earlier post, I focused on key success factors for driving “virtual care” uptake in India. This article would focus on framework that entrepreneurs / startups / strategists can leverage to build an “at scale” and “comprehensive” virtual care company.

Given that we are looking at “SaaS” based business models, it may be prudent to explore success factors for scaling up such an enterprise. Following are select pearls of wisdom captured from an excellent talk, titled “Scaling from $1MM to $500MM ARR”, delivered by Karen Peacock (COO, Intercom) at annual 2019 Saastr conference:

• Expand your customer base by focusing on NOT what they want but what they need e.g. they may ask for budgeting tool, but cash management software better serves their needs
• Watch what your customers do NOT what they say e.g. they may say quality is my top selection criteria but in actual practice, always goes for cheapest option
• Your strategy is as much about what you DON’T do e.g. few short-term gains are worth a miss
• Add-on purchases happen upfront - nail your purchase experience and “show” rather than “tell”
• Keep reinventing – find the market fit again and again
• Fall in love with the problem NOT the solution
• Focus on active use and DO NOT fall for vanity metrics like visits, downloads etc.
• Decide your platform play – focus on delivering value to customers, partners and then yourself (yes, in that order)

Virtual Care – Key success factors for Indian healthcare participants

(Standard disclaimer: Views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the post are my own, and do not reflect the view of my current or past employers. I may not have copyright to any images in the post)

After trying to predict the post-Covid era for Indian healthcare in my earlier post, it did emerge that “virtual care” may be a major focus area going forward. In this post, we will try to understand, how “at scale” and “comprehensive” virtual care works and what would be key success factors for key Indian healthcare participants?

In my quest for finding the right definition of “virtual care”, the post on “intouchhealth” website seemed to be most helpful. It defines virtual care as “a broad term that encompasses all the ways healthcare providers remotely interact with their patients. In addition to treating patients via tele-medicine, providers may use live video, audio, and instant messaging to communicate with their patients remotely. This may include checking in after an in-person visit, monitoring vitals after surgery, or responding to any questions about their diagnosis, condition or treatment plan”

Predicting "post-Covid" era for Indian healthcare

(Standard disclaimer: Views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the post are my own, and do not reflect the view of my current or past employers. I may not have copyright to any images in the post)

Developments over the past few weeks have been unprecedented and with “health” at centre of Covid crisis, experiences are personal in nature. Given the constantly evolving landscape, I thought it may be meaningful to imagine how post-Covid era will look like for Indian healthcare participants. I have leveraged the “C-O-R-O-N-A” framework to structure my thoughts. The objective is to catch big trends and at the same time brainstorm with readers like you. So, let us begin.

C: “C” of the framework stands for “Contact”. “Touch and feel” has acted  as a placebo for patients given the health seeking behavior in India. Few years ago, I do recall that business models build around tele consultation provided at fraction of a dollar was struggling to find takers. Even western world leveraged it mostly for emergency support. Doctors too, had their share of reservations e.g. sub-optimal diagnosis, potential loss of business and so on.

AAP ki sarkaar : Will it succeed?

Those who follow cricket could relate to the scenario, “An underdog, not even having an outside chance, goes on the offensive and starts giving the opposition more than just a scare. Suddenly the underdog realizes that s/he can even win the contest. But that’s when the tide starts to turn i.e. the thought of success invites failure.” Some may attribute this to AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) as well when they were presented with the idea of forming the government in Delhi aided by Congress party’s “unconditional” support. This set “the cat among the pigeons” and rest as they say is history. 

While the jury is still out whether “referendum” was needed or is Congress’s support worth relying upon, in this post, I would rather focus on what lies ahead if AAP’s government is indeed formed? I must say I am really excited about this development even though my opinion would have been a NO to Mr. Kejriwal’s question during the referendum. 

Why did Sreesanth cheat?

If the title of the blogpost gives you the impression that what follows is an investigational account of the nexus among bookies, players, politicians etc., then you are bound to be disappointed. So, in order to set the context, let me outline what this post is all about. This post captures my understanding of what behavioral economists have to say about “cheating”. The learnings are mainly from an online course from Dan Ariely (Duke University) titled “A Beginner's Guide to Irrational Behavior”. So, let’s begin the journey of analyzing Sreesanth’s fall from grace.