In an exclusive interaction with CXO Media and APAC Media, Shuchin Bajaj, Founder Director, Ujala Cygnus Hospitals, elaborates on how inclusivity can go hand in hand with a viable business model in healthcare. He also outlines the hospital’s digital transformation journey and how Gen-AI can help in deeper insights into patients.
What is the overall network of Ujala Cygnus Hospitals and what has been the expansion roadmap planned especially for tertiary healthcare?
At Ujala Cygnus, we currently operate 23 hospitals across North India in underserved Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, spanning states like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir and Delhi. Our expansion roadmap is ambitious yet rooted in our mission—to democratize access to quality healthcare. We are now entering a new growth phase, where we’re adding advanced tertiary care services like oncology, cardiology, gastroenterology, and critical care to our existing hospitals.
Over the next two years, we aim to reach 30 hospitals, with a strong emphasis on comprehensive cancer care, deploying PET scans, radiotherapy, and linear accelerators where such services have never existed before.
How has Ujala Cygnus focused on inclusive healthcare, especially targeting the Tier 2 and Tier 3 communities?
Inclusivity is not just a part of our strategy—it is our very foundation. We chose to work where the need is greatest: rural and semi-urban India, where quality healthcare has traditionally been inaccessible. We offer multi-speciality care at affordable rates, accept government insurance schemes like Ayushman Bharat, and conduct thousands of Sehat Chaupals annually—over 4,500 in the last year alone—to reach and educate communities at the grassroots level. By hiring local talent and building trust with local populations, we’ve made care both accessible and acceptable.
How has Ujala Cygnus balanced operational costs and reached out to lower socio-economic strata in devising a viable business model?
Our model was built for financial viability without sacrificing affordability. We achieve this through high patient volumes, lean operating models, and standardised clinical protocols. Unlike traditional hospital chains, we do not rely on premium pricing or urban centres. Instead, we focus on value-based care with low capex structures and tight cost controls. Importantly, we have never taken grants or CSR funds—our growth is funded through internal accruals and impact-aligned investments, and most of our units become EBITDA-positive within 18–24 months.
How has Ujala Cygnus undertaken its digital transformation journey by bringing all stakeholders like doctors, caregivers and admins under the system?
Digital transformation at Ujala Cygnus has been about integration, efficiency, and data-driven care. We have deployed a unified Hospital Information System (HIS) across all units, digitised patient records, enabled real-time dashboards for clinicians and admin teams, and introduced mobile-based tools for patient tracking and follow-ups. Our digital platforms connect doctors, nurses, admin staff, and patients seamlessly, creating a 360-degree care ecosystem that enhances outcomes and reduces inefficiencies. We have also started layering AI tools for clinical decision support and predictive analytics.
How is Ujala Cygnus focusing more on home care and preventive measures, leveraging wearable devices and sensors for personalised monitoring and early intervention?
We believe the future of healthcare lies in preventive and personalised care, and we are investing accordingly. We’ve started deploying wearable devices for remote patient monitoring, especially for chronic conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and post-operative care.
These tools integrate with our digital platforms and allow us to track patient vitals, trigger alerts, and intervene early, often preventing complications and readmissions. In rural areas, this is a game-changer. Combined with our Sehat Chaupals, we are building an ecosystem of tech-enabled preventive health.
What is your roadmap for digital health delivery and what are the key milestones?
Our roadmap for digital health focuses on three pillars:
- Telemedicine Expansion – We aim to integrate video consultations and e-pharmacy services into all our hospitals by 2026, particularly for specialist follow-ups.
- Chronic Care Management – We are building a chronic disease management platform with wearable integration and AI alerts for conditions like diabetes, COPD, and cancer survivorship.
- AI-Powered Operations – We are piloting AI-led triaging, diagnostics, and workflow automation to improve clinical quality and reduce delays.
By 2026, we want 40% of outpatient interactions to happen digitally, reducing the burden on physical infrastructure and increasing reach exponentially.
How is Ujala Cygnus Hospitals leveraging Gen-AI for deeper insights on patients and, therefore, enhancing patient care?
We see Generative AI as a powerful tool to personalise care, streamline operations, and enhance clinical decision-making. Currently, we are leveraging Gen-AI for:
- Summarising patient histories for clinicians in real-time
- Automated discharge summaries and prescriptions
- Generating patient-specific alerts for high-risk individuals based on EMR trends
We are also exploring Gen-AI-driven health education bots in regional languages for rural patients, making medical knowledge more accessible. Our vision is to use Gen-AI not just for backend efficiency but to transform how empathy, efficiency, and expertise are delivered at scale in low-resource settings.
Rajneesh De & Janvi Chauhan
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