'Rad'ical Inventor

He started Teleradiology Solutions in 2002 from the guest room of his house. Today, his company provides reporting services to over 60 centres worldwide and has also diversified into healthcare software development

Dr Arjun Kalyanpur (43) Managing Director, Teleradiology Solutions

Born in Beijing, China in 1965, he did MBBS and MD, Radiology from AIIMS, New Delhi. He then did Fellowships in Body Imaging at Cornell University in New York and in Neuroradiology at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, USA, followed by a residency in diagnostic radiology leading to certification by the American Board of Radiology.

Why an entrepreneur?

He did not actually plan to become an entrepreneur. "I had an idea and the opportunity to execute it and hence I took the plunge. Having said this, I thoroughly enjoy the challenges and the adrenaline rush of being an entrepreneur and would not want to trade it for anything else in the world," he beams.

Before becoming an entrepreneur

He worked as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiology at Yale University in the US, then returned to India in 1999. From 2000 to 2001, he worked as the Chief Radiologist at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences in Whitefield, Bangalore.

The first move

At this point of time, he realised the potential that the teleradiology market had and decided to quit his job at Sathya Sai. "While working in the US, I noticed how IT companies were able to provide round-the-clock services by having operations in different parts of the world that were located in different time zones. I realised that if the same concept could be applied in radiology then night shift duties could be eliminated," he explains. Thus, while working at Yale University, he conducted a series of feasibility tests that proved that a radiologist working in Bangalore could effectively report for a hospital in the US as accurately as the on-site radiologist. "When these studies were published in the medical literature, the concept gained credibility and I decided to launch a commercial venture," says he.

So, in 2002, along with his paediatric cardiologist wife Dr Sunita Maheshwari and two employees he started Telerad from the guest room of his Bangalore home. "We initially started by providing emergency radiology reads to the US hospitals during their night. The first hospital that we covered was Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia," says he.

Over the years

The company now reports for 10 centers in Singapore and hospitals in Georgia, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Croatia and other parts of India. "We have grown organically with internal funding," says he. Now, the office is housed at a 70,000 square feet campus in Whitefield with over 200 employees, including a large team of dedicated consultant sub-specialist radiologists. He has also started offices in Delhi, Hyderabad, China, Europe and the US.

It has expanded into other areas of healthcare including a multi-speciality 24 hour clinic in Whitefield and healthcare software development. It has developed an in-house Radiology Information System (RIS) solution that allows them to distribute workflow smoothly and track performance metrics including quality and report turnaround, as well as functioning as a database archive. "We plan to take this product to market in the near future. Our software team has also developed a structured reporting software, medical license tracking software and billing/ scheduling software," says he.

Telerad has collaborated with GE and Siemens to jointly develop high-end technology products. "Through our project with the Ramakrishna Mission Hospital in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, we provide free reporting services to a poor tribal population and hope to extend this service to many other such locations," he informs. “The company has shown a year-on-year growth of 50 per cent,” he adds.

Contribution to Indian healthcare industry

Telerad has put Indian healthcare industry on the world map in terms of its capability to deliver high-end medical diagnostic services to developed countries like the US and Singapore. "We deliver subspecialty level radiology reports to hospitals anywhere in the world in 30 minutes. We were India's first teleradiology company and also the first to obtain accreditation by the US Joint Commission," says he. It is also developing low-cost technologies in telemedicine that will provide cost-effective healthcare solutions to rural India.

Awards

Modern Medicare Award for Entrepreneur of the Year, 2007.

Fears and apprehensions

He started with ‘a nothing-to-lose approach’ as he knew that if he failed in his endeavour, he could go back to his practice. "However, when we had been in existence less than a year, we were approached by a large IT company with an acquisition offer which seemed generous at the time. Ultimately, we decided that it would be more fun and challenging to do it on our own. This was a tough decision and one that put us through a lot of stress and apprehension. However, in hindsight it was the best decision ever," says he.

Overcoming roadblocks

There were some sceptics who raised concern about the competence of a 'third-world country' providing support to hospitals in the US, Europe and Singapore. By delivering high quality work, he silenced all. "We were also initially hounded by the Western media who did not completely understand the issues and viewed it as another situation of 'they're taking our jobs away.' However, by being responsive to their queries, we eventually made the media our ally," says he.

Mistakes made and lessons learnt

He admits that in the past, he naively believed that good friends also make good colleagues/employees. "I now believe that recruitment of staff at any level, especially at the senior level, should be made objectively," says he. "Another learning point has been, as we have grown, that people do not necessarily grow or evolve along with the organisation, and therefore a system of objective evaluation and feedback is essential to scaling," says he.

Any formal degree in management?

No. "I do not feel it is essential, although obviously it is an advantage. One can always recruit the right team members with the necessary complementary skills to fill any lacuna in oneself," he feels.

Tips for entrepreneurship

"Be passionate and enjoy what you do, focus on quality and the rest will take care of itself. Plan your schedule smartly and you will have the best work-life balance," he avers.

An entrepreneur that he admires in healthcare

Dr Devi Shetty.

The road ahead

In keeping with the goal of imparting radiology education, Telarad has set up a radiology training center 'Radgurukul' with videoconferencing facilities that allow global faculty to deliver high quality training and conduct CMEs on a regular basis. "Finally, through our Telerad Foundation we wish to increase the scope of teleradiology within India and provide low-cost solutions and services to rural communities and healthcare providers. In this regards, we have submitted a proposal to the Karnataka Government to provide reporting services free of cost to district hospitals. We are excited and optimistic about what the future holds for us," he envisions.