ExpansionNews

NOVA Medical Centres Expansion Plans

Girish Rao

NOVA Medical Centers (NMC), a premier day care surgical centre, is planning to set up 25 centres across the country in next 18-24 months. This will be for a total investment of about Rs 250 crore or Rs 10 crore per centre in the first phase.

NMC's primary business is ambulatory surgeries (day care surgeries). The firm's business model is based on a partnership between the GTI Group (a New York-based private investment company) and 30-35 established surgeons from multiple specialties in each centre.

NMC opened its first centre in Koramangla, Bangaluru in May 2009. Said Girish Rao, CEO & MD, NMC, "The second centre is coming up at Kailash in New Delhi, followed by another at Tardeo in Mumbai." It plans to open another centre at Sadashivnagar in Bangaluru. All the three centers should go live by April 2010. According to Rao, day care surgery is now a global trend, and over 70 per cent of elective surgeries in the US are now done this way. "Also studies worldwide have shown that day care surgery delivers the same high quality care as that given to hospital patients. In fact, research has shown that day care surgery centers are actually safer than hospitals. Day care surgery is economical as well. On an average, research conducted in the US has shown that procedures at day care surgery centers cost 50 per cent less than those at hospitals," he added.

In next two to three years, NMC is planning to go for Initial Public Offering or a strategic sale. NMC works on a new business model where doctors can also be the co-owners of NMC with investment of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.

EH News Bureau