How Can A Professional Loan for Doctors Help to Expand Your Clinic?
India’s healthcare industry is projected to become a Rs.8.6 trillion industry by the end of 2022, driven by better health awareness, improved access to insurance coverage, and rising income.
The sector is, nevertheless, divided into two major components, the public sector, offering primary and secondary types of treatment throughout the country (especially in the rural areas), and the private sector, comprising of private hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics catering to metropolitan areas, Tier-1, Tier-2, as well as Tier-3 cities.
- Currently, there are more than 12.5 lakh allopathic doctors in India.
- Allopathic doctor to patient ratio stands at 1:1404 (as of April 2020), well below WHO’s recommended norm of 1:1000.
Unfortunately, India’s poor doctor to patient ratio paints a completely different picture. Studies show that public healthcare facilities, especially in the rural areas, are in a crumbling state, and are tremendously under-equipped to cater to the sick and wounded, with part of the problem occurring due to a lack of funding such as a professional loan for doctors. While private practitioners can contribute to rural healthcare services, most healthcare professionals prefer to practice in metropolitan areas only.
- Study shows that nearly 52% of India’s allopathic doctors practice in 5 states only.
Healthcare financing – The role and the lack of it
Inadequate financing often prevents doctors from extending their services or opening their clinics in the rural parts of India. Both new graduates and seasoned professionals may double down on the decision of expanding their clinics, thanks to the severe financial liabilities that may incur.
Thankfully, with the help of credits like professional loans for doctors, healthcare professionals can secure the much-needed monetary support to expand their clinics. There are several ways how a loan for doctors can be utilized to improve or extend one’s clinic’s reach. Here’s a brief insight on the same.
- Fund outreach campaigns –
A professional loan for doctors can be used to fund an outreach campaign, building the necessary infrastructure and catering to patients separated by geographic barriers. Today’s advancements in telemedicine make it significantly easier to overcome distance. While the new technology may be costly to procure and integrate, the one-time expenditure is guaranteed to generate significant revenue with time. Doctors can pay for the cost of switching to telemedicine with the help of a loan for doctors.
- Recruit skilled staff –
A skilled team can improve the quality of service, draw better patient engagement, and overall increase patient retention by a significant margin. The increased overhead cost of recruiting experienced healthcare professionals can be one of the reasons to take a loan for doctors.
- Invest in new technology –
Updating medical and diagnostic equipment can drain a large amount of savings at times, but the immediate benefits of using the latest technology in healthcare usually far outweigh the cost. The latest medical equipment helps in faster, safer, and more accurate diagnostics, ensuring better patient care and treatment at all times.
While there are options to lease such equipment, leasing vs buying medical equipment may point to the end result of procuring the machinery altogether. A professional loan for doctors can provide the necessary financial backing to help purchase and integrate such tech, as well as offer additional monetary support to pay for training the staff for new equipment.
There are several financial institutions, for instance, Bajaj Finserv, which offer such credits to eligible applicants. The financial institution even provides pre-approved offers to existing customers, which simplifies the application process and helps save time.
- Invest in administrative technology –
Patient management and medical billing have come a long way. Thanks to the proliferation of mobile computing, both doctors and patients can undertake administrative tasks (such as bill payment, accessing medical records, etc.) online. The infrastructure can be funded with the help of a loan for doctors with ease.
The professional loan includes a variety of different types of credits that healthcare professionals can avail for various requirements. Such credits can help doctors meet their professional requirements with ease while offering an affordable and easy means to repay the credit.
One can further lookout for other funding essentials that might require assistance for medical practice expansion and allocate the usage of such a professional loan accordingly.