'Every life saved at Apollo Hospitals is an achievement for us,' says top executive
Dr Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals shares her entrepreneurial journey as a woman and her company's achievements in the last fiscal
- Mar 8, 2023,
- Updated Mar 8, 2023 5:39 PM IST
Known for her contributions in making Apollo Hospitals a high-quality healthcare chain and her support to various entities and industry bodies across India, Dr Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited, on International Women's Day, shared with Business Today her entrepreneurial journey as a woman, her company's achievements in the last fiscal and her vision for it and tips to cope up with tough times. Here are the edited excerpts from an interview:
What challenges did you face being a woman entrepreneur?
Personally, I believe that as a nation, we have transcended the stage, wherein only women entrepreneurs faced a select set of changes. At present, the business climate is greatly supportive of women considering entrepreneurship. Moreover, entrepreneurship is like a journey, the destination or goal post keeps moving and so do the metrics of success.
Therefore, one has to be mindful of reinventing oneself and the organization, to be relevant and be truly customer centric. Nevertheless, it is important that the entrepreneurial spirit always stays intact – which is the courage to take risks, the passion to try the untested, willingness to find new blue oceans and so on. This spirit must be nurtured in organizations, irrespective of their size, as it is the key to continued growth and sustainability.
What were your achievements in the last one year?
We believe every life saved at Apollo is an achievement for us. We work together as a team and it is not my individual achievement. If I have to list down the selected few achievements, then it would be the following:
* Successful completion of the final phase of CAR-T cell therapy clinical trials at Apollo Cancer Center - Teynampet. Apollo will be among the first to bring CAR-T cell therapy to India.
* Launch of Easy Check Breast, a blood test that can detect breast cancers at early stages in asymptomatic individuals. It can help in the detection of breast cancer even before the first stage.
* Apollo is running the country's largest robotic surgery program. We have done approximately 2500 surgeries in FY22.
* Apollo Hospitals inclusion in the Nifty 50 index. This is a testament to Apollo's commitment of providing value and returns to its shareholders.
* Apollo's cardiac and cancer centres have now been recognised by Newsweek magazine. This global recognition is a testament to the specialty healthcare of international standards provided at Apollo Hospitals with outcomes matching those of the world’s best hospitals. We believe in creating an environment that fosters clinical excellence.
How are you planning to grow your business in terms of finances, quality and substance?
We plan to double down on excellent clinical outcomes as our north star. In line with our vision of bringing International Standard Healthcare to the reach of every individual, we are coming up with two large Hospitals and expanding our existing ones which will set new standards for Indian Healthcare. In terms of quality, we are committed to providing the same quality of care across our hospitals, and for that, we will add new metrics of quality measurement to make our current system stricter and more holistic.
We will continue to develop skilled employment in the country by creating a pipeline of medical professionals who will serve India and the world. We are focusing on our digital foray and taking the point of care closer to the patients in multiple geographies and multiple locations.
What message do you want to give to other businesswomen who want to succeed like you?
At first, every individual has to bear in mind that they are truly unique, there is no one else similar to them, in the whole world, and that’s what makes them special. In terms of a message, the most important aspect of running a business, is that you must have absolute conviction in the product or service, on offer. This is key, as it is one’s conviction, that inspires investors, customers, regulators and every stakeholder to believe in you and partner in your success.
As they say- when the going gets tough, the tough get going. How do you face the tough time?
A learning from my father was that any aspect will be a problem, only if you decide to see it as one. Similarly, if you remove the invisible screen, which makes you think that something is not possible, then a lot can be done. In the seventies, no one in our country would have believed that some day, advanced medical care, like in USA or UK would be accessible right here in India.
Dr. Prathap C Reddy’s (my father) missionary zeal made it possible with the opening of Apollo, which birthed the vibrant health sector in India. Today patients from across our country and over 150 nations can access an international standard of medical care in India, at a cost that is a fraction compared to the western world and yet, clinical outcomes are on par and even surpass the best global centres.
What has been you turning point in your professional life?
In my career of almost four decades in healthcare, there have several interesting moments, which could be termed as turning points. A particularly special one was championing India’s first JCI (Joint Commission International) accreditation – the global gold standard for quality in healthcare. It was my conviction that a hospital in India had the inherent capability to be conferred by JCI, which motivated me to embark towards this goal. In 2006, Apollo Indraprastha was accredited by JCI and in a few years it motivated the institution of National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH), which is now the standard for a hospital to be empanelled under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) programme.
Another one close to my heart was bringing in Proton Therapy (PT) into India, which was then, the first in South East Asia and Middle East. PT is the world’s most advanced radiation therapy and its unique advantages of almost zero exit dose are making it standard of care for several cancers, particularly childhood cancers.
PT is available at the Apollo Proton Cancer Centre in Chennai. Since its launch in 2019, over a thousand patients, who came to the hospital from around the world have benefited from PT being so accessible. Being a part of this effort has been humbling and a privilege.
Also Read: India could bridge skills gap by getting more women to join workforce, says ABB India head
Known for her contributions in making Apollo Hospitals a high-quality healthcare chain and her support to various entities and industry bodies across India, Dr Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited, on International Women's Day, shared with Business Today her entrepreneurial journey as a woman, her company's achievements in the last fiscal and her vision for it and tips to cope up with tough times. Here are the edited excerpts from an interview:
What challenges did you face being a woman entrepreneur?
Personally, I believe that as a nation, we have transcended the stage, wherein only women entrepreneurs faced a select set of changes. At present, the business climate is greatly supportive of women considering entrepreneurship. Moreover, entrepreneurship is like a journey, the destination or goal post keeps moving and so do the metrics of success.
Therefore, one has to be mindful of reinventing oneself and the organization, to be relevant and be truly customer centric. Nevertheless, it is important that the entrepreneurial spirit always stays intact – which is the courage to take risks, the passion to try the untested, willingness to find new blue oceans and so on. This spirit must be nurtured in organizations, irrespective of their size, as it is the key to continued growth and sustainability.
What were your achievements in the last one year?
We believe every life saved at Apollo is an achievement for us. We work together as a team and it is not my individual achievement. If I have to list down the selected few achievements, then it would be the following:
* Successful completion of the final phase of CAR-T cell therapy clinical trials at Apollo Cancer Center - Teynampet. Apollo will be among the first to bring CAR-T cell therapy to India.
* Launch of Easy Check Breast, a blood test that can detect breast cancers at early stages in asymptomatic individuals. It can help in the detection of breast cancer even before the first stage.
* Apollo is running the country's largest robotic surgery program. We have done approximately 2500 surgeries in FY22.
* Apollo Hospitals inclusion in the Nifty 50 index. This is a testament to Apollo's commitment of providing value and returns to its shareholders.
* Apollo's cardiac and cancer centres have now been recognised by Newsweek magazine. This global recognition is a testament to the specialty healthcare of international standards provided at Apollo Hospitals with outcomes matching those of the world’s best hospitals. We believe in creating an environment that fosters clinical excellence.
How are you planning to grow your business in terms of finances, quality and substance?
We plan to double down on excellent clinical outcomes as our north star. In line with our vision of bringing International Standard Healthcare to the reach of every individual, we are coming up with two large Hospitals and expanding our existing ones which will set new standards for Indian Healthcare. In terms of quality, we are committed to providing the same quality of care across our hospitals, and for that, we will add new metrics of quality measurement to make our current system stricter and more holistic.
We will continue to develop skilled employment in the country by creating a pipeline of medical professionals who will serve India and the world. We are focusing on our digital foray and taking the point of care closer to the patients in multiple geographies and multiple locations.
What message do you want to give to other businesswomen who want to succeed like you?
At first, every individual has to bear in mind that they are truly unique, there is no one else similar to them, in the whole world, and that’s what makes them special. In terms of a message, the most important aspect of running a business, is that you must have absolute conviction in the product or service, on offer. This is key, as it is one’s conviction, that inspires investors, customers, regulators and every stakeholder to believe in you and partner in your success.
As they say- when the going gets tough, the tough get going. How do you face the tough time?
A learning from my father was that any aspect will be a problem, only if you decide to see it as one. Similarly, if you remove the invisible screen, which makes you think that something is not possible, then a lot can be done. In the seventies, no one in our country would have believed that some day, advanced medical care, like in USA or UK would be accessible right here in India.
Dr. Prathap C Reddy’s (my father) missionary zeal made it possible with the opening of Apollo, which birthed the vibrant health sector in India. Today patients from across our country and over 150 nations can access an international standard of medical care in India, at a cost that is a fraction compared to the western world and yet, clinical outcomes are on par and even surpass the best global centres.
What has been you turning point in your professional life?
In my career of almost four decades in healthcare, there have several interesting moments, which could be termed as turning points. A particularly special one was championing India’s first JCI (Joint Commission International) accreditation – the global gold standard for quality in healthcare. It was my conviction that a hospital in India had the inherent capability to be conferred by JCI, which motivated me to embark towards this goal. In 2006, Apollo Indraprastha was accredited by JCI and in a few years it motivated the institution of National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH), which is now the standard for a hospital to be empanelled under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) programme.
Another one close to my heart was bringing in Proton Therapy (PT) into India, which was then, the first in South East Asia and Middle East. PT is the world’s most advanced radiation therapy and its unique advantages of almost zero exit dose are making it standard of care for several cancers, particularly childhood cancers.
PT is available at the Apollo Proton Cancer Centre in Chennai. Since its launch in 2019, over a thousand patients, who came to the hospital from around the world have benefited from PT being so accessible. Being a part of this effort has been humbling and a privilege.
Also Read: India could bridge skills gap by getting more women to join workforce, says ABB India head