Creator of Affordable Healthcare

A successful interventional cardiologist, he runs a chain of cardiac hospitals in north India

Dr Purshotam Lal (54) MD, Metro Heart, NCR

Born in 1954 at Patta Hira Singh of Firozpur district of Punjab, Dr Lal pursued his MD from American Speciality Board. He is a Fellow of American College of Cardiology, Fellow Society for Cardiac Angiography and Interventions, USA and Fellow College of Cardiology.

Why an entrepreneur?

He did not exactly plan to become an entrepreneur. He wanted to set up some cardiology centres in Delhi and NCR area to provide affordable cardiac care to lower middle class people. "Before we started, interventional cardiology was either restricted to big corporate hospitals who were charging exorbitant fees for these procedures or a few Government hospitals who were providing these treatments with long waiting periods with an indifferent attitude. I wanted to create a low cost model where good quality heart treatment was provided at a reasonable cost," he explains. He wanted to provide advanced cardiac care services at rates equivalent to AIIMS or even lower.

Before being an entrepreneur

While he was in the US, he felt his roots were beckoning him. "When I came back for a vacation in India, I realised that a lot of patients were deprived of advanced cardiology treatments as they were not able to afford services offered by the big corporate hospitals. So, I decided to create a low-cost hospital with modest structure without compromising on patient convenience and quality of treatment," says he.

He thus came back to India in 1994 and joined as Senior Intervention Cardiologist, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai. He worked at Apollo from 1994-1996. Thereafter, he worked as a Co-ordinator of Department of Cardiology, Indarprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi from 1996 to 1997.

The first move

He took over an already existing hospital at Noida, which was not functional. The hospital was renovated and named as Metro Heart Institute, which came into operation in June 1997. A number of people including family member settled in the US and France contributed financially to carry on this project. A certain amount was taken as loan also,” says he.

"The hospital came with 'no frills' and thus we are able to afford a 30-40 per cent less packages as compared to the big private hospitals. In fact, we were at times motivated by our own patients who came to us from faraway places to create facilities which were near to them," says he.

Over the years

Over a period of 11 years, the group has seen a substantial growth of more than 25 per cent. Subsequent hospitals were Metro Multi-speciality Hospital, Noida in September 1998, Metro Heart Institute, Faridabad in February 2002, Metro Hospital & Heart Institute, Lajpat Nagar in February 2004, Metro Hospital & Cancer Institute, Preet Vihar and RLKC Hospital and Metro Heart Institute, Pandav Nagar, New Delhi. It has now eight state-of-the-art hospitals with three satellite units. The group's present bed strength in Delhi-NCR is 630. "We have a revenue of more than Rs 100 crore, despite the fact that Metro Hospital had been established to serve poor patients and low middle class population," says he.

Awards

He has been conferred with Padmashree, Padma Bhushan in 2003 and Dr BC Roy Nation Award. He has also received 'Distinguished Achievement Award of highest order' for the year 2006- 2007 for performing the highest number of angioplasties/stenting as a single operator in the country.

Contributions to healthcare

Dr Lal introduced many new cardiological intervention techniques in the country. He began with the diamond drilling for blocked calcified arteries of the heart and also introduced shaving off the fat from the heart arteries. Techniques such as closure of the heart hole without surgery and replacement of aortic valve without surgery were brought to the country by him. Dr Lal has pioneered a few of his own techniques like opening of the tight valves of the heart without cath lab and closed artificial heart. By adding a few tips, he has established that coronary angiography through elbow is safe and user-friendly.

Fears and apprehensions

"There is no question of apprehensions other than the concern of maintaining principles of serving the common man. I was not born rich, so I had nothing to lose anyway," says he.

Overcoming roadblocks

"The major roadblocks which we faced at times, were the negative sentiments of some private hospitals who felt threatened by our existence. However, they realised that we are no threat to them since we are serving the lower middle class population who can't afford them anyway," says he.

Any formal degree in management?

"I never consider myself as an administrator. We have a good team of professionals who help me out all the way to carry out my goal. I am always in the cathlab, sometimes seven days a week and there is no question of managing the hospital other than the managing patients," says he.

Tips for entrepreneurship

"I believe one should always work with sincerity and honesty. Secondly, never go for any short-term gains. Even if the things are difficult in the beginning, one must ensure that one is not compromising on quality because ones reputation always precedes him. Thirdly, if all your objectives are only money-driven, then you would neither get money nor goodwill," says he

An entrepreneur that he admires in healthcare

"I had no major influence of any entrepreneur but I am greatly inspired by the work of Mother Teresa. I read a lot on her when I was in the US and that was again a motivating factor for my return to India," says he.

Way Ahead

He has planned a chain of Metro Hospitals. “The one that will commence soon are located in East Delhi, West Delhi, Faridabad, Meerut, Agra, Panipat, and Vadodra with satellite unit,” says he.