Ajuba to set up healthcare BPO in Hyderabad

Healthcare business process outsourcing (BPO) services company Ajuba Solutions, the Indian subsidiary of the US-based, over $100-million MirMed Global Services Group, is planning to establish a facility in Hyderabad, which will commence operations in the next 12 to 18 months, according to chief executive officer Tony Mira.

The company, which offers revenue cycle outsourcing services to over 10,000 physician practice groups, close to 700 hospitals and billing receivables management companies in the US, currently has a BPO centre in Chennai’s Tidel Park with a capacity of 2,700 operational seats across three shifts.

“We are right now getting close to full utilisation in Chennai. And, with our clientele base growing rapidly in the US, we are looking at Hyderabad as our next premier destination to expand. We are in the process of signing a 40,000-sft leased office space and the facility will be up and running in the next 12 months,” he told Business Standard.

The company will make an incremental investment of $5 million (approximately Rs 25.5 crore) in the Hyderabad facility, which will be funded through internal resources. As part of the two-layer expansion, the centre will have 1,000 professional initially and will be scaled up to 1,500 in Phase-II in 18 months from now.

Healthcare, an around $70-billion market which is growing at 20 per cent year-on-year, is a significant piece of the gross national product of the US. Besides Barack Obama’s 2010 healthcare reforms in the US that is triggering growth opportunities, demand for outsourcing has increased because of the complexity in regulatory requirements, including insurance claim submissions and client verifications, Mira said.

“This requires a high-level expertise and quick deliverables that are available aplenty down south, besides giving us 20-25 per cent cost benefits,” he said, adding Ajuba was also looking at entering the pharmaceutical and payer insurance space, hopefully within the next 24 months.

“Right now, we are evaluating opportunities in the areas of payer verification for insurance and new drug trials for pharmaceuticals. We hope to win at least five clients in the insurance segment and potentially three in pharmaceuticals in the US market, services for which will be offered both from our Hyderabad and Chennai centres,” he said.