Primary healthcare retail chain plans rapid expansion

Modern Family Doctor Limited (MFD), focussing on primary healthcare and attempting to revive the concept of the family doctor, had secured an investment of Rs 10 crore (about $2 million at the then exchange rate) from the venture capital arm of the US-based investment bank Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in July 2011.

SVB is the California-based subsidiary and the commercial banking operation of SVB Financial Group. Silicon Valley Bank’s holding company, SVB Financial Group, comprises additional businesses that are dedicated to improving clients’ opportunities and offering access to the right intelligence and connections in the innovation sector: The SVB Group is said to have $20 billion in assets and over 1,500 employees globally.

Naresh Malhotra, Director of Modern Family Doctor, said, “Modern Family Doctor already has 11 operational clinics across Bangalore. Each clinic serves as a primary healthcare centre that includes consulting, diagnostics, treatment and medication services under one roof. It is an established fact that more than 70 per cent of all medical cases can be initially addressed by a primary care physician. Only a certain percentage of these require referral to specialty care facilities.” The Modern Family Doctor plans to grow to over 300 outlets pan India over a three year time frame. It takes a capex of Rs 25-30 lakh for MFD to open a clinic.

Meanwhile, new clinics are being set up in Pune, Chennai and Delhi in addition to more clinics in Bangalore. The plan is to set 50 clinics over the next six months and scaling exponentially over the next three years reaching out to other towns through its chain of healthcare clinics under the brand name ’The Family Doctor’.

Meanwhile, MFD has also established a tieups with Lal Pathlabs to provide laboratory investigation support and with Narayana Hrudayalaya to provide on-line ECG services to all the clinics. “The aim is to address the early stages of health problems through our services such as consultations, diagnostics and medication services all at one location, creating a feel good experience,” said Malhotra.