Religare Technova plans healthcare IT foray

Information technology (IT) service provider Religare Technova is planning to foray into the healthcare information solutions sector.

The company would leverage on the strengths of the promoter group’s healthcare business — India’s second-largest hospital chain, Fortis — to develop user-friendly IT tools for hospitals, senior company officials said.

“We are looking at significant growth opportunities in the healthcare IT space. The immense pool of doctors, nurses and para-medical professionals readily available within the Fortis network will help us develop the best solutions needed to create an integrated healthcare delivery platform,” Pankaj Vaish, President (Healthcare IT), Religare Technova IT Services Ltd, said. Vaish, who recently quit IT major Dell to head the healthcare and lifesciences IT solutions vertical of Religare, said the Fortis linkage had help the company ease the biggest challenge before it — the need to understand the customer need.

“We want to develop affordable solutions. For instance, a patient should be able to avoid follow-up visits to his doctor by using mobile-enabled healthcare tools to convey his medical condition and receive feedbacks. Advisory and counselling services, both pre- and post-treatment is an area where we can bring in lot of innovations,” Vaish said.

According to him, direct inputs from Fortis doctors and technicians and the group-owned diagnostic chain (Religare Super Laboratories) will help the company have an edge over conventional IT companies that provide healthcare solutions. Religare’s entry into the sector began after it acquired the healthcare solutions business of Bangalore-based Sobha Renaissance Information Technology (SRIT) early this year.

Vaish said the electronic health record system developed by SRIT was a good platform that could find takers across the globe. “The product is good, so is the team of 100-plus employees. We are beginning with them and will go on to expand our services and team strength to meet future demands,” he said. The company is looking at developing specifialised solutions that can cater to the needs of healthcare establishments of all sizes and specialisations in the country. Before its foray into the healthcare segment, Religare Technova has been focusing on providing IT solutions to the financial services sector.