Delivering quality affordably: The story behind one of India’s first transition care centres, its future plans
Transition care facility is a relatively new concept in India. In 2019, Dr Sudhanshu Tyagi started Porvoo Transition Care to provide affordable and quality treatment post hospitalisation. Business has grown 3X since its inception, and the entrepreneur is now planning to expand its number of centres.
When Dr Sudhanshu Tyagi, MD, PHD in Nephrology and Founder of , saw an acute lack of adequate transition care in India, he set out to solve the problem himself.
Also the Managing Director of B. Braun Avitum, Russia, a German medical and pharmaceutical company, Sudhanshu tells SMBStory,
“My mother was admitted to a hospital due to a neurological disorder for three months. After the discharge, the consultant advised us to take her home as there was no further active intervention that could be performed. We sought out the help of a homecare provider and set up an ICU at home but it caused many troubles later.”
From lack of continuity of care to emergency assistance, emotional and financial stress and whatnot; there is a lot that is needed when a critically-ill patient is brought back to home. It is the family that struggles the most and the patient too has to go through a lot of trauma.
Having stayed in Europe for a majority of his life, Dr Sudhanshu was aware of transition care facilities, the service he was searching for but to his surprise, he couldn’t find any in India.
This led to him setting up a transitional care facility by himself.
Porvoo Transition Care was started in 2019 in New Delhi. While Sudhanshu refrained from sharing the turnover figure, he says that since the inception, the company has seen a 3X growth.
Edited excerpts from the interview:
SMBStory [SMBS]: What are the facilities provided at Porvoo?
Sudhanshu Tyagi [ST]: Porvoo is a 16-bed centre equipped with the latest medical equipment and the necessary medical team to take care of all kinds of patients. For any post hospitalisation needs, transition care is the first step a patient’s family should be taking. Our aim is to bridge the gap between a hospital and a home.
Transition care provides a host of services at affordable price points and at Porvoo, we have divided teams in two parts i.e., medical branch and administrative branch. The former team consists of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and supporting team, including dietician, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists. The administrative branch has members who work in unison to provide the best experience possible.
Our facilities include critical care, post operative care, nursing care, geriatric and dementia care, physiotherapy and rehabilitation, diet and nutrition, oncology services like chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, diagnostics and radiology, in-house pharmacy, and 24x7 ambulance support.
SMBS: What are the conditions where Porvoo becomes an ideal solution?
ST: Porvoo is the ideal solution for a number of problem sets such as If someone is visiting a large city for a surgery or any medical requirements, they are not fit to go back home directly post hospitalisation. This is where Porvoo fits
Critical care is an expensive affair. Providing the same at an affordable price is a major solution. Moreover, with the number of nuclear families increasing in urban India, Porvoo acts as an ideal space for the elders of the family with geriatric needs. For NRI families, if someone needs to take care of their loved ones In Delhi, Porvoo can become the care partner.
SMBS: How many centres does Poorvo have and what is the price structure?
ST: The main USP of transition care is its affordability. Post hospitalisation care can be given at Porvoo at 20-30 percent of what a patient would end up paying at a hospital.
The facility charges at Porvoo start at Rs 5,000 per day that include patient bed charge, nursing charge, medical attendant charge, all consultations of the Resident Medical Officer, daily consultation of Critical Care Specialist Doctor, daily diet planning, and dietician consultation and counselling.
A number of In-patient services like suction, dressing, catheterisation, nebulisation, cannulisation, etc., are also offered.
Porvoo also allows a patient's family stay where up to two people from the family could stay in the transition care.
SMB: Who are the other competitors in the space and how is Porvoo differentiating from them?
ST: At present across India apart from Porvoo there is only one direct competitor which is Health Care at Home transition care.
The major challenge is awareness of the concept as it is something new in the country.
Facilities that set Porvoo apart is that we maintain a nursing ratio of 1:4.
“Our nurses are experienced in handling critical care and are present 24x7 to take care of the patients. We ensure round the clock medical supervision by a team of critical care doctors. Our doctors keep a continuous liaison with the primary consultant of the patient to make sure continuity of care is maintained.”
Care plans are developed keeping in mind the condition of the patients and are reviewed on a periodic basis to incorporate patient progress
Physiotherapy and speech therapy form a crucial part of the patient care plans. Ensuring patients are mobilised helps in quicker recoveries
SMB: What are your future plans?
ST: In the near future, we are planning to expand the footprints of Porvoo and establish it across Delhi-NCR. Gradually, we could eye pan India expansion.
Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta