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A recent report released by the RBSA Advisors says that the Indian healthtech market is expected to reach US$50 billion by 2033 and register a CAGR of 39% from FY2020 to FY2023. The Covid-19 pandemic brought the healthcare sector in India under the limelight. Since the pandemic, the industry has witnessed accelerated technology adoption and innovations. This breakthrough by disruptive technology has ignited the boom in the healthtech sector and this resulted in pouring investments into healthtech startups. The pandemic also efficiently pointed out the gaps in the healthcare sector and enabled the digitalization of the industry. 

According to the report, the pandemic-induced physical restrictions and safety concerns lead to the increased adoption of teleconsultation, homecare services, e-pharmacy, online fitness, and digital personal health management, and this launched the Indian healthtech sector on a high growth path.

With the amalgamation of automation, AI, machine learning, blockchain, IoT, robotics, and other disruptive technology, the healthcare sector has enabled its exponential growth. This technology acceleration and customers shifting to digital platforms have promoted the growth of the healthtech sector in India. Telemedicine and e-pharmacy are the most significant among the technological services. Before the pandemic, people and healthcare workers were not much aware of the impact technology can bring. E-pharmacy is a one-stop online pharmacy that delivers medicines and OTC health products at the doorstep.

With the onset of pandemics, the telehealth prospect got maximum attention. It uses insights from accurate sensing devices for remote diagnosis and employs AI-based chatbots and voice assistants to answer queries and engage them, which has provided a hospital-like experience to the patients. Integrating electronic health records and wearables to monitor the health status of patients has also boosted the success rate of telemedicine. Leveraging cloud infrastructure and machine learning for maintaining electronic health records and conducting remote diagnosis has also seen a spike. Another important technology is robotics. Healthtech companies providing robots and robotic automation services have also increased in recent years. 

Healthcare IT and analytics is another potential healthtech market segment that the report highlights. It includes SaaS and cloud services to improve better patient data, monitoring, data-driven health analytics, personalized healthcare, and more. While pandemic closed down fitness centers and gyms, people resorted to digital fitness service providers and hence, this sector witnessed a boom. According to the report, the largest healthtech segment in India in 2020 was e-pharmacies with a US$700 million revenue. Followed by B2B Healthtech and B2B Medical Supplies at US$602 and US$288 million respectively. 

The report has listed the emerging technology trends in the healthtech sector that can be seen in the coming years. Some of them are, cloud infrastructure in healthcare record maintenance, growing adoption of robotics, 3D bioprinting, the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), nanomedicine, blockchain, and many more. The IoMT is the result of the integration of telemedicine and IoT, and it is a network of connected medical devices. This technology will enhance the efficiency of remote patient monitoring and health diagnostics. IoMT is being applied in the Indian health sector widely today. 

The RBSA report mentions various fundings received by different healthtech companies. We will list down the startups that received the highest investments among them here, for you. 

  1. Innovaccer- It raised a total of US$225 million. A healthcare analytics startup that aims to source and connect healthcare information and make it accessible for people. Innovaccer is a leading healthcare data activation platform that integrates them over the cloud to provide interoperability and simplified data insights in a cost-effective manner.
  2. PharmEasy- Total funding raised is US$651.5 million. PharmEasy is India’s leading online pharmacy and healthcare aggregator. It provides a smartphone-friendly app through which people can order medicines, connect with diagnostic centers, and offer other health products. 
  3. 1mg- It raised a total fund of US$191.3 million. Another online pharmacy, 1mg aims to offer affordable and accessible healthcare. 1mg connects people to doctors and teleconsultation services, diagnostic services and enables them to find better substitutes for medicines and also learn about them. 
  4. Cure.fit- Raised total funds worth US$404.6 million. Cure.fit is a health and fitness platform that provides integrated fitness training with nutrition coaching, meditation, online consultations, lab tests, and more. It is an interactive platform with recognized fitness coaches and dieticians. 
  5. Practo- Total funds raised is US$232 million. It provides healthcare services by connecting users with the right healthcare professionals and enables them to book online appointments. It is a telemedicine platform that also offers diagnostic services and healthtech services to hospitals. 

The pouring investments towards healthtech startups do not stop with these five brands. There are many more startups that are emerging in this sector and are attracting investments. Reports state that healthtech constitutes just 1% of the overall healthcare market in India. However, the advancements in the technological infrastructure of India, rising consumer adoption, and support from the government will enable the healthtech sector to flourish.