Fortis Healthcare
Case Study on Fortis Healthcare Ltd. Information Systems
Fortis healthcare is among the fastest growing healthcare organization, with a state-of — the art facilities and extreme commitment to quality and safe patient care. The supporters of Ranbaxy Laboratories, which are among the top ten world’s generic firms, and India’s largest pharmaceutical firms, established the facility in the year 1996. However, some literature suggests that the main founder was the late Dr. Parvinder Singh. His vision for healthcare was to develop a world-class integrated healthcare facility in India through employment of exceptional medical proficiency combined with considerate patient care. The organization is driven by the intention to attain dominance in integrated healthcare, driven by quality, excellence, technology and considerate care (Fortis Hospital, 2001).
On the other hand, Fortis healthcare provides excellent healthcare services to both the local society and the international community. The chain of healthcare organization aims to achieve its objectives through a combination of modern technology, qualified professionals, and modern facilities. The healthcare organization made its first step to achieve a world-class healthcare provider through the establishment of its first hospital at Mohali, Punjab. A current facility, Noida Fortis Hospital was opened in the year 2004. The hospital specializes in orthopedics, neuroscience, and cardiac sciences. Since then, the company has advanced to over 11 countries, and running over 70 hospitals, which have provided employment opportunities to over 23000 people in the world.
Literature suggests that most of the organization’s growth has been inorganic. The firm has a substantial asset base in India, which makes it have exceptional capabilities and knowledge in healthcare business, which has further given the healthcare firm distinctive skills about the countries to venture and how to compete. This, in addition, has made the healthcare organization to become one of the largest private health providers in India. In this regard, the organization has a network of 28 hospitals, including satellite centers, heart command centre, which can hold around 3300 beds (Fortis Healthcare, 2011).
The healthcare organizations include multi-specialty centers, which provide tertiary and quarterly healthcare services. Throughout the years, the company has managed to maintain its success and growth. It has managed to grow through the acquisition and development of other small healthcare organizations in the region. In addition, the healthcare organization has engaged in joint ventures with other foreign healthcare providers in an effort to enter the international market (Sagar & Praveena, 2013). Notably, the organization treats over 350 inpatients and many outpatients daily, which have made the healthcare organization to generate substantial revenues to improve its patient delivery system.
Company Analysis
Internal Strengths
Notably, the healthcare organization has managed to grow extensively within a short time. This is evidence that the organization is under good management. The company first came to the limelight in the year 2001, but currently, it has managed to grow across the globe. This growth has seen to the employment of many professionals from diverse culture. It has managed to have a large asset base in India, which has given it a strategic competitive advantage over the other healthcare providers. Another significant and notable strategy used by the company is the hiring of qualified professionals on all its level of care provision (Fortis Hospital, 2001).
Conversely, the health provider has job descriptions for all its employees and potential applicants. This also includes the subordinate and management staff, which explains why the organization has emerged popular. Owing to the services provided in the hospital, all its professionals must be qualified and renowned. This is why people from other countries prefer seeking medical attention and subsequent patient care from the organization. On the other hand, the health provider values its professional code of ethics, both formulated by its own and the one formulated by the healthcare bodies. This has made the firm’s professionals to respect each other and strictly observe their professional boundaries in an effort to ensure safety and quality of healthcare.
Fortis Healthcare has collaborated with a variety of nursing schools to ensure that the qualified nurses receive professional training, which will help in ensuring quality of care. For example, it has collaborated with Chitkara University. This has also led to the growth of other professionals in the field of health, some of whom are later employed in the organization. In the case of finances, the company has a chain of healthcare providers across the globe. The revenue collected has helped in the improvement of hospital infrastructure, including the acquisitions of other healthcare technologies to use in patient care provision (Fortis Hospital, 2001).
In all of its chain of hospitals, the organization has reported satisfaction in the quality of care they offer. This is the first step in attaining the trust from the care receivers, and it is a crucial aspect in the growth of the business. This means that care receivers will always prefer Fortis to other health providers in the region. The infrastructure, mainly for acquired healthcare organizations has improved tremendously. This is the first thing the organization does after experiencing success in the acquisition process. The infrastructure has attracted substantial health seekers, and this includes qualified professionals. The health provider has installed state-of — the art machines, and this includes the most recent machines (Fortis Healthcare, 2011).
The organization, in all of its facilities, has a . This is in terms of the hierarchical structure. In addition, the organization also uses technology, which varies from the use of HIS systems, prescription storage technologies in all of its organizations to ensure there are no medical errors. The technological interventions have helped the company to ensure that there are no auditing problems, to eliminate cases of revenue leakage, seen in most of the healthcare organizations in the region. Alternatively, the organization has ensured that all of its employees, regardless of the level they serve, are satisfied with their jobs.
In this regard, the company has succeeded to acquire some organizations, both locally and internationally. However, there has never been a case where the organization expels the acquired employees. It rather makes them feel comfortable working with a new team from Fortis. The company has also engaged in training of its professionals to ensure they are conversant with the current medical approaches to patient care. On the other hand, the organization has engaged in sophisticated marketing methods to ensure its brand reaches a wide variety of health receiver’s throughout the world (Fortis Healthcare, 2011).
In so doing, the company has used the social media, particularly tools such as Face book, Twitter, You tube and it has a working website to ensure it has reached many people. Although some people dispute that the use of “world-class” infrastructure is a lie, reports have come out to confirm. In fact, Fortis has a unique design, which allows natural light to penetrate into all of its parts, particularly, the patient care sectors. In addition, its architecture allows the conservation of energy. Notably, the facilities are earthquake resistant to avoid any disturbance in the provision of care to patients. On the other hand, the facilities use CFL lights, which ensure that there is reduced consumption of power.
The spaces provided in the facilities allow for movement, and most importantly, there are CCTV cameras installed throughout the buildings to ensure digital security. What even make the organization more preferred when compared to other health providers are the many crucial services provided. The services include cardiac or heart operations, knee and hip operations. Some of these services cannot be found in other health providers within the region, and if they are, patients cannot afford the payments. Unlike other healthcare providers, the organization has partnered with insurance companies to ensure that the patients who require insurance coverage can access it from a provider.
Internal Weaknesses
Although Fortis depicts growth in the future, the global healthcare leader does not fall short of internal weaknesses. One of the significant weaknesses is the accommodation of employees from organizations that have failed, particularly those it has acquired. Although this is a noble action, it is a vulnerability, which can cause subsequent failure of the acquired organization (Fortis Hospital, 2001). On the other hand, the company is focused on growth, through acquisition and mergers with other small or failing organizations. This is a good strategy to start with, but in the end, the company can have many organizations to handle, which can result to management issues.
In addition, the focus on growth can also make the organization deviate from its core business of providing quality care to its patients. This can also result to the expansion of the organization, but subsequently result to significant poor performance issues. Consequently, when the firm invests in foreign countries, through foreign direct investment, it engages in a lot of risk. It is apparent that the organization has a strong local foundation, but it is not clear that when it seeks to go to foreign countries, the reception will be the same (Singapore Management University, 2014).
Moreover, although there are many patients in India who feel that the organization is affordable, some of the foreign patients often have to spend a fortune to receive treatment from Fortis Healthcare. In addition, Fortis Healthcare has grown to become a worldwide leader in the delivery of a wide variety of sophisticated medical care in areas such as heart surgery. Although this is a positive aspect, particularly because it has led to the increase of medical tourism, this trend will result to adverse effects in the future (Fortis Hospital, 2001). This is because the company is gradually losing the desire to cater for the local people, and it is focusing on foreign care seekers.
Therefore, the local people may opt to seek healthcare services from other emerging healthcare providers, which can make the organization lose local dominance in its home country. In addition, the company always sees an opportunity in failed healthcare firms, and that is why it seeks to acquire them. However, it fails to calculate the costs involved in the improvements of the organizations. The company has some cases in court, and this is dangerous for the reputation and subsequent growth of the company. This may also result to the emergence of other cases, or public scrutiny and this is not good for business (Fortis Healthcare, 2011).
External Environment
Government Support
In India, private healthcare organizations enjoy support from the government. This is so in terms of appropriate policies about healthcare. For example, the government of India has allowed 100% FDI. In addition, the government has provided infrastructure status to the healthcare firms, and this includes low tariffs when it comes to medical equipment. For hospitals in the rural areas, the government provides tax holidays for a considerable amount of time, such as five years. In addition, the government, due to its inability to provide primary care, it has allowed the private healthcare sector to provide the services to the people (Sagar & Praveena, 2013).
Competition
India is renowned for its high level and world-class healthcare services. Locally, there is stiff competition from organization such as Max, and Apollo’s. Apollo’s has managed to be the leading healthcare organization in India, but Fortis is coming up fast. In this century of technology, there is an opportunity for Fortis to emerge the leading healthcare provider in India by 2020. In addition, its strategy of merger and acquisition can also contribute to its realization of being a global healthcare provider (Sagar & Praveena, 2013).
Indian People
Although the organization has managed to realize a global status, it remains locally attached as a way to appreciate the local people. This is why the local Indian population perceives the health provider as being the best. Therefore, the organization receives support from the local population, and specifically because of its continued support to the people. For example, the health provider provides healthcare services to the local people at an affordable rate (Sagar & Praveena, 2013).
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
The setting, or rather India is a country endowed with many qualified health professionals, and this is strategic to the organization. In this context, the organization does not need to outsource for professionals from foreign countries. On the other hand, the organization has a strong local foundation, and the world recognizes it for its success rates in operations. The hired professionals are global icons, and renowned for their experience in the health care industry. Therefore, they serve as marketing tools for the company to foreign and local care seekers. For the local people, there are varieties of services, which are available at an affordable rate (Fortis Healthcare, 2011).
Opportunities
One of the greatest opportunity the organization faces is the potential expansion to other countries. The company has managed to acquire a substantial asset base in its home country, and it has an opportunity to acquire the same in emerging markets such as Malaysia, China, UAE and Indonesia. The organization also has substantial amounts of capital, which it can use for other activities such as acquire other healthcare technologies, acquire other healthcare organizations, and improve its infrastructure. Alternatively, the government of India is in favor of healthcare providers because of their crucial role in provision and improvement of the well-being of people.
In addition, there is an opportunity of tourist medication, in terms of increasing. This is because the organization is providing excellent patient care, including services not offered in other parts of the world. There is growing demand of heart operations, which is among the services offered by the healthcare organizations. The demand is likely to grow, and this will place the firm in a position to generate more revenue and make profits, in the same time, improve the well-being of people. Having emerged from a pharmaceutical background, there is an opportunity for R&D and manufacturing from other foreign companies (Fortis Healthcare, 2011).
Threats
One of the significant threats lies in the government. Apparently, the government is the main provider of primary healthcare. On the other hand, the organization is focusing on expansion, and this means that there might be a lack of funds to discover new drugs. In addition, the economy in India is not that stable, therefore, there might be regular tax changes (Rao et al., 2011). The focus on venturing into new markets without considering the global economy is a potential threat to the expansion strategy of the organization. Alternatively, the healthcare field is full of uncertainties, which can predispose the company to unexpected challenges in the future.
Corporate Level Strategy Adopted by Fortis
Private-Public Partnerships
One of the strategies employed by Fortis is partnerships with the government in an effort to expand and accomplish its capabilities. To achieve this, the organization requires participation of the relevant stakeholders to contribute their expertise in running a quality setup, and partnership with the private partnerships with the encouragement of the government. The government has set up large infrastructures, but this is not realizing or achieving the country’s healthcare needs. This is why the partnership with the private sector will be strategic in achieving efficiencies of the healthcare needs. Fortis healthcare is working with the government to create models in the public-private partnerships, in so doing, the country, together with the organization will meet the healthcare needs (Rao & Mant, 2011).
Marketing the Brand
On the other hand, Fortis healthcare organization is among the fastest growing healthcare firms in India, and there is a possibility it will continue with this trend. Apparently, the firm has a significant market brand in the local market, which is growing fast in the international healthcare market. The company is focusing on marketing its brand through pursuing quality and accreditation certificates both locally and internationally. The company has already acquired an international market, and several accreditations such as JCI, NABH, which has placed its brand in a strategic position to promote growth. The company has also focused on marketing its brand by offering reasonable prices for healthcare services to international patients mainly because of the changing global economy (Rao, & Mant, 2011). The organization is doing this by providing quality healthcare services at an affordable price for foreigners and the local people.
Integration
The organization recognizes that the healthcare field is dynamic and prone to changes regularly, in this regard, the company has acquired a broad spectrum of experts. In addition, the firm opts to overcome this by having an integrated delivery network, which would involve different verticals of the delivery of care. The verticals of healthcare include primary care, diagnostics, and daycare specialty in its facilities. In so doing, the company will be better predisposed to provide tertiary care in cardiac sciences, orthopedics, neuroscience, and oncology. The healthcare provider has also shifted its focus from these services and focused on the cause of cancer, in an effort to save and enrich lives (Singapore Management University, 2014).
Mergers and Acquisitions
To achieve growth and expansion throughout the world, the healthcare provider has managed to acquire and merge with other healthcare organizations. It has particularly acquired some health care facilities, which have shown signs of decline. Interestingly, the once failing or declining firms are now providing excellent patient care, which is the main objective of Fortis healthcare organization. Mergers and acquisitions have helped many organizations, not only in healthcare, but also in other fields to take hold of a substantial market segment and increase the profitability margins. On the other hand, the organization has not only partnered with the government, but also other international healthcare providers, such as suppliers of technological interventions, insurance providers and many others to ensure quality patient care (Sagar & Praveena, 2013).
Nature of Business Strategy Adopted by Fortis
Fortis Healthcare Providers have managed to diversify their services. They offer a broad spectrum of health services, which is the main cause of its renowned brand in the world. It has ventured into diagnostic services, providing diagnostic products, medical technology, clinical trial services, and clinical investigation facilities. The health provider has also engaged in wide acquisitions and mergers to dominate in the healthcare field. This is a global case, and the firm aims to turn the acquired healthcare organizations into specialty firms. In so doing, it will be in a position to offer the sophisticated healthcare operations in knee replacement, cardiac and heart problems, and neurological problems. On the other hand, the organization has collaborated with several nursing schools, in an effort to instill the approach pursued by the organization in the provision of healthcare to clients (Fortis Healthcare, 2011; Fortis Hospital, 2001). The company has managed to sell its brand in the global market, particularly because it is renowned for its expertise in handling cardiac issues. In addition, the company has an able research and development team, whose main purpose is to find solutions for global healthcare problems such as cancer.
Fortis Structure, Control Systems and their Strategy
Similar to other healthcare organizations, Fortis is headed by the board of directors who play the main role in the running of the organization (Rao et al., 2011). The chair heads the board of directors, and the vice chairperson does so in the absentia of the chair. Although the firm begun in India, its corporate strategy of merger and acquisitions have helped it spread throughout the world. In this century, where every activity is run by technological interventions, the organization is in the process of implementing low cost, quality healthcare information and technology systems to further ensure provision of safe and quality care. For example, the organization has entered into agreements with technology firms, such as Microsoft. Currently, the organization uses a wide variety of technology in its daily activities of providing care to clients (Fortis Healthcare, 2011).
Proposal and Suggestions
The company has focused much on expansion, both in foreign countries and locally. Although it is a good strategy, the company ends up using substantial finances when improving the acquired firms to reach the Fortis healthcare level. Apparently, when a business entails using more money in improving it, it means that it will have to work extra hard to realize profits, which will result to work pressure, and possible medical errors. On the other hand, the organization has shown focus to solve complicated healthcare problems, and forgotten the simple or manageable healthcare issues affecting the local people (Rao et al., 2011). In so doing, the local people will feel left out in the local organizations. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the organization harmonizes the two health issues to remain in business. Alternatively, the organization can employ sophisticated healthcare technologies to ensure safety of patient data, enhance communication, faster sharing of patient information and interoperability. In addition, technology will help the management to harmonize and subsequently align the Fortis’ acquired healthcare organizations, to the strategic objectives of Fortis healthcare.
References
Fortis Hospital. (2001). Fortis healthcare. Retrieved from http://www.finedocs.com/Resources/case_studies/cs_health_001.pdf
Fortis Healthcare. (2011). Fortis Healthcare Ltd. India: Vision for global expansion. Retrieved from http://www.fortishealthcare..pdf
Rao, M., & Mant, D. (2012). Strengthening primary healthcare in India: White paper on opportunities for partnership. BMJ. Retrieved from http://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.e3151
Rao, M. et al., (2011). Human resources for health in India. Lancet, 377, 587-98
Sagar, R., & Praveena, L.P. (2013). An analytical study of FDI in Indian healthcare sector.
International journal of social science and interdisciplinary research, 2(8), 29-38.
Singapore Management University. (2014). An Indian healthcare company’s foray onto the world stage. Retrieved from http://www.smu.edu.sg/perspectives/2014/02/26/indian-healthcare-companys-foray-world-stage#.U2Dib67aHIU
