Compare surgery costs online, opt for the cheapest

Medical portal helps patient analyse rates and doctors' profiles,

Parents of Sindhu Gupta (name changed) were shattered by the doctors’ final verdict:
Their teenaged daughter’s parotid gland had to be removed or she risked partial
paralysis of the face.

Their frantic search for an affordable surgery couldn’t progress beyond what a Citybased
corporate hospital offered: An expensive operation with an imposing bill of Rs 1.8
lakh.

Clueless, the distraught couples tumbled upon a portal that quickly comparedthe rates for
the procedure in different hospitals, directed them to the cheapest available option, and
fixed all the related appointments.

The surgery was successfully completed, the girl recovered and the parents had
spent not a rupee more than Rs 65,000! In the absence of a transparent, standardised pricing mechanism, the costs of various medical and surgical procedures greatly vary from hospital to hospital. Patients outside the government’s    subsidised healthcare umbrella
are often caught in a twister of mounting costs and substandard quality.

The Bangalore-headquartered portal, PeopleHealthIndia. com chose to change this
scenario in a small way four months ago. The firm tied up with over 60 corporate hospitals and diagnostic centres spread across the City. It enlisted over 200 doctors, both independentandattached to hospitals.

The portal then spread out an interactive online platform for the patients to register,
select a procedure, compare the rates in different hospitals, check the profile of
the doctor concerned and even pay for it in advance.

In the last quarter, People Health has facilitated an average of about 25 surgeries and
over 500 healthcare transactions every month, G Krishnamurthy from the portal told
Deccan Herald. “We are now planning to expand to Chennai and Hyderabad. We also want to help doctors in rural and peripheral areas to refer their patients to hospitals in the city.”

Oncea patient relative registers at the portal,andsubmits the details of the medical surgical procedure,People Health does a patient profile analysis and networks with other patients of similar profile. It then provides information (qualification etc) about three to four  leading surgeons, and secures appointmentwiththesurgeons that the patient prefers.

Thereafter, a comparison chart is generated, giving information on four to five leading
hospitals where the surgery could be done. The chart also details the location, package,
room type and package costs in different hospitals, length of hospital stay and what the
packages includes and excludes.

Finally, the patient is given a detailed FAQ on the pre-surgery and post-surgery Do’s and Don’ts, the success and risks of the operation, postoperative care, diet and other
advice.