Published in eHealth Magazine : 01 October, 2010

The IT outsourcing deal puts Max Healthcare on the roadmap for becoming the best IT-enabled hospital chain in the country The Indian healthcare system has recently realised the potential of information and communication technologies in completely transforming care delivery at hospitals. The industry witnessed its first complete IT infrastructure technology outsourcing deal in September 2009, when Max Healthcare and Dell Services (formerly Perot Systems) partnered for developing IT operations at all Max Hospitals.

The cost of the deal, Rs 90 crore (excluding infrastructure cost), is an indicator of the increased priority that is now being given by Indian hospitals to IT, which is an extremely positive sign. As per the agreement, the deal will last for ten years, out of which one year has already passed, and a lot of positive transformation has already been noticed. The unique partnership is not only expected to provide a lot of value to Max Healthcare in terms of enhancing the quality of services and reducing treatment costs, but it will also be a great learning experience for Dell, which marked its entry into the Indian healthcare market with this deal. Status update Post its inception in September 2009, the ITO deal will last for 10 years and which, according to Dell, will comprise of three major phases – transition, improving productivity and optimisation.

Business Benefits realized by Max Healthcare:

Private Cloud IT Infrastructure: plug-n-play environment for new facilities
Business downtime due to infrastructure and HIS outages is history
Process Re-Engineering -- 1000 beds in 7 Hospitals; expanded to 1500 beds in 11 Hospitals.
Standardized operations without disruptions reduced the waste and improved the topline.
Near paper-less, > 95% Adoption in Clinical.
Achieved full NABH and HIMSS Stage 6 accreditations later.
Hospital was able to attract FDI investments.

The grand success was lost somewhere in the merger of Perotsystems with Dell Services [now merged with NTT Data]. Though the success achieved in Max is unprecedented and still largely unmatched. Time to get the credit back to the team where it is due.

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