Non-Covid services may boost hospital SMEs in FY23: CRISIL SME Tracker

CRISIL MI&A Research expects the revenues of hospitals and nursing homes to grow by a healthy 13-18 per cent year on year in the current fiscal year (FY23) too, after a high optical growth of 25-27 per cent in FY22 owing to the low base of 2020-21 (FY21).

Growth will ride on revival in demand for non-Covid-19 treatments — or regular services such as elective surgeries, outpatient department and other treatments — along with price hikes by health care providers, which will increase average revenue per operational bed.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which account for 60-65 per cent of the health care delivery market, stand to benefit from the improvement. SMEs in this segment are mainly involved in primary and secondary care, and only a few provide tertiary care.

For the record, the first quarter of FY22 saw the pandemic’s second wave and related mobility restrictions. Even though the focus was on Covid-19, regular treatments were hit less severely compared with the first wave. As a result, smaller hospitals mandated by the government to reserve a portion of their beds for Covid-19 patients witnessed a rise in occupancy.

These hospitals also benefited from pent-up demand as the second wave abated and recovery in regular treatments kicked in.