Home healthcare provider Portea Medical has picked up a majority stake in health-technology start-up, PSTakeCare, for an undisclosed amount.
Portea MD and CEO Meena Ganesh, in a statement today, said: "Portea is very pleased to underline our commitment to enhancing healthcare in India via this investment in PSTakeCare."
She added: "Better-informed patients and enhanced transparency among healthcare service providers will remove ambiguity and opaqueness, and ultimately benefit healthcare across the board."
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PSTakeCare provides healthcare consumers with knowledge on doctors, hospitals and other healthcare service providers.
"Going forward, we will continue to focus on building disruptive products in healthcare and solving key patient needs through innovation. With Portea, we have the right platform to rapidly scale the business," PSTakeCare co-founder and CEO Pratik Chinchole said.
Formed in March 2015 by IIT Mumbai graduates Pratik Chinchole, Rahil Momin, Anup Raaj, and Shirin Shinde, who studied at the Institute of Chemical Technology, PSTakeCare currently employs 40 people.
"Better informed patients and enhanced transparency among
healthcare service providers will remove ambiguity and opaqueness, and ultimately benefit the healthcare system across the board. We look forward to further empowering healthcare consumers in India," she added.
PSTakeCare's technology equips healthcare consumers with relevant knowledge on doctors, hospitals and other healthcare service providers enabling consumers to take healthcare decisions based on factors such as insurance coverage provided, procedure-specific feedback and room-wise costs. In addition, the platform also presents actual photographs of medical facilities and will use advanced analytics and consumer feedback to provide comprehensive information to patients.
Pratik Chinchole, Co-Founder & CEO of PSTakeCare, said: "There is an urgent need for greater transparency in India's healthcare system. We would like to become the first port-of-call for patients seeking information on doctors, hospitals and labs for any medical procedure. Going forward, we will continue to focus on building disruptive products in healthcare solving key patient needs through innovation. With Portea, we have the right platform to rapidly scale the business" Elaborating PSTakeCare's plans, he added that the solution was available to patients in a few areas in Mumbai and will launch in other metros during the course of this year.
Portea is also exploring other investments as the company
expands its offerings to tackle the massive challenges brought on by India's ageing population, the rising burden of NCDs (non-communicable diseases) - which already lead to 53% of all deaths and which are expected to account for 67% of deaths by 2030 (Source: Public Health Foundation of India), and the huge gaps in healthcare infrastructure.
Portea employs more than 4000 staff and handles in excess of 70,000 home visits a month across 24 cities in India. The company focuses on general primary health care, post- hospitalization care, chronic disease management and allied services such as diagnostics and medical equipment on hire, thereby bringing the entire gamut of healthcare services to a patient's doorstep. Portea works closely with hospitals, insurance companies and individuals to improve health outcomes by providing a continuity of care in the home setting through doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and nursing attendants employed by the company.
