Is healthcare in India’s corporate hospitals designed for patients or processes?

Air Marshal Rajesh Vaidya, AVSM, VSM (Retd), Regional Director- Hospital Operations, PB Health examines how India’s rapidly corporatising healthcare ecosystem balances efficiency, scale, and clinical excellence with empathy, transparency, and patient trust highlighting both the strengths and the structural tensions shaping care delivery across the country

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Introduction

Indian healthcare exists in two parallel universes. On one hand, it is a global hub for medical tourism, offering world-class clinical outcomes at a fraction of Western costs. On the other, it is a system defined by sheer volume—public hospitals where a single doctor may see 100 patients in a morning, and private corporate hospitals where billing cycles often feel more streamlined than the bedside manner.

The most reliable national data on where Indians actually seek healthcare comes from the NSS 75th Round (2017-18), the latest comprehensive household survey on health utilisation. It distinguishes public/government facilities, private hospitals (any facility with inpatient beds, including small nursing homes), and private doctors/clinics (outpatient-focused, no inpatient). For more current times (2024-25), it is estimated that the private sector overall handles almost 52 per cent of inpatient care in rural areas and approximately 61 per cent in urban areas.

No national survey categorises ‘corporate hospitals’ (large organised chains) separately, as they form only about 15 per cent of private hospitals overall but dominate revenue, beds, and complex/tertiary cases particularly in large metros. Private providers account for nearly 60-70 per cent of healthcare spending, with large chains with multiple hospitals leading the charge through scale, technology, and standardised operations. Hence the focus of this article on corporate hospitals.

Process and patients