We recently had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Prerit Mathur, CEO and Founder of NuLyf Global, a beacon of holistic well-being and professional empowerment. During his stint, he was heading the department of Orthopaedics, Physiotherapy, and Rheumatology at Aster DM Healthcare.
With over 14 years of expertise in various aspects of healthcare administration, operations, strategy, marketing, and business development, Dr. Prerit focuses on delivering high-quality, patient-centric services across the UAE and beyond. With his organization NuLyf, Dr. Prerit Mathur is redefining the healthcare sector, by being a healthcare provider and serving as a launchpad for the career of aspiring professionals as well. NuLyf Global has recently started its mentorship program under the leadership of Dr. Prerit Mathur, where he will be mentoring at least five startups this year, providing support to the next generation of entrepreneurs.
In this insightful interview, the CEO shares his advent in the field of medical tourism and his passion for business, following the core principles in his business operations, and offers a glimpse of his plans for the company.
Spark Behind Joining Medical Tourism
We started the interview by asking, “What initially drew you to your field, and how did your early experiences shape your approach to business?”
Prerit shared, “In my case, I wasn’t drawn to medical tourism straight away and was more focused on developing my practice and opening a chain of clinics. However, I used to see international patients coming to the hospital, getting treated, and going back to their hometowns.
The sad part was that they don’t have the kind of access we have to healthcare. They had to wait for years to get the surgeries done, even for the consultations they had to wait for 1-2 weeks. They don’t have the super-specialized doctors who can treat these kinds of ailments.”
He added, “The major points that sparked my interest were:
- To improve lives globally
- Bridging the gap in healthcare facilities
- Cultural exchange
- Empathy towards these patients and their family
These initial interests have really shaped my approach to information processing for the healthcare consultancy & medical tourism industry.”
Genesis Of The Business Idea
We were intrigued to learn more about the origin of Prerit Mathur’s business and the market gaps that he aimed to fill. So, we asked, “Can you tell us about the genesis of your current business and what specific need or gap you aimed to address?”
He shared, “Imagine a world where patients seeking treatment abroad have a reliable, unbiased resource at their fingertips. Secondly, everybody focuses on the patient and his/her well-being. Nobody is trying to understand the challenges of the companion. That’s the core idea behind my involvement in the medical tourism industry.
NuLyf Global focuses on the patient’s well-being and the comfort of the companion. We put our heart and soul into providing world-class treatment to the patient & a comfortable stay to the companion.
We identified problems with hospitals in tier II cities in India, including marketing their USPs and struggling to attract patients. To address these, we focused on their Operations Support, Marketing & Business Development Wing and developed their Biomedical Division, Medical Quality Department, and Medical Records Department. Lastly, we addressed the healthcare recruitment issue, focusing on providing proper guidance and skilled people to the industry.”
Impact Of Core Values On NuLyf
To understand how Dr. Prerit Mathur’s values influenced his business operations, we inquired, “How have your values influenced the way you conduct business?”
Prerit replied, “Since childhood, I have been raised very well by my parents, who instilled the values of respecting the elders, taking care of the ill, and helping the needy. I think all my services are focused on following these values only. Likely, NuLyf Global works on the following pillars:
- Patient Well Being
- Transparency in the treatment
- Respect for cultural diversity
- Accessibility
- Affordability
One more thing that we practice at NuLyf Global is that nobody is an employee, everyone is a partner. We share different styles of working but the main focus is patient well-being.”
Overcoming Major Adversities
Every business goes through inevitable challenging phases at certain points. To learn how Prerit overcame the same for his business, we inquired, “What has been the most challenging project or period in your career, and what did you learn from it?”
Prerit responded, “Yes, I had multiple such projects which shaped my career. Establishing a multi-disciplinary clinic in Kulgam, Kashmir – this was a beautiful project. In this scenario, the patients of this region were going to the Delhi and Punjab areas for treatment. So the only solution was to invite doctors practicing in the Delhi region to conduct OPDs in Kashmir to bail out these patients from traveling. We onboarded Cardiology, Orthopedics, Neurologists, and Internal medicine Doctors, from Delhi, to conduct OPDs in Kashmir.
This project taught us to have multiple doctors of each specialty so that if the doctor is not able to travel from Delhi, the other doctor can cover the appointments of patients. And, because of the roster system, we were able to develop a patient OPD of an average of 22-25 patients daily, generating a monthly profit margin of 43%. The patients were getting all the expert advice in the comfort of their hometown. Now, they don’t need to travel to bigger cities like Delhi and Punjab to consult the doctors.”
He continued, “Another project that is very close to my heart is the unification of Clinic Doctors to make a department. Doctors were practicing in various clinics but were not interacting with each other. To solve this, we decided to make a department of the specialty and to promote sub-specialty. The biggest lesson I received was that cross-referral is very difficult in individual practice and appointment of the HOD should be done through democratic practice. However, in a year, we developed 7 super specialty clinics, added 5 more doctors, and generated 35% more revenue as compared to the previous year’s revenue.
And our mainstream project is the Medical Tourism Project. We aimed to make healthcare affordable and for this, we partnered with specialized doctors, focused on niche treatments, and prioritized companion comfort, making healthcare affordable. Also, we contracted with multiple hospitals and maintained a core group of patient-centric individuals.
Gradually, we started focussing on the Spinal Disc Replacement procedure with the anterior approach. Dr. V. Anand Naik is the Director of Spine Surgery in our unit and he performs these kinds of procedures. Last year, we performed this procedure on 175 patients, which is huge. We have performed over 13k disc replacement procedures and 2k joint replacement procedures. We offer comfort to companions through partnerships with hotels like Radisson, Holiday Inn, and Lemon Tree. We handle visa invites, airport transfers, meals, stay, transportation, and rehabilitation, so companions don’t have to worry about anything.”
Staying Ahead Of The Curve In A Dynamic Field
We were interested to learn how Dr. Prerit Mathur incorporates emerging technologies in his practices. So, we asked, “How do you integrate new technologies or innovative practices into your business operations?”
“Healthcare is an ever-evolving field. You have to be on your toes to keep up with the market advancements. All our Physicians and Surgeons are trained from US, Australia, Germany, Japan, and Singapore
To reduce the error rate, we are using navigation and robotic support to perform the surgeries. Moreover, to bring the world closer, we have moved to the teleconsultation and email consultation mode. And, we are also working on AI to develop rehabilitation software for our patients.” He replied.
Pivoting Strategic Approaches
We further asked, “Could you share an experience where you had to pivot your business strategy dramatically?”
Prerit responded, “During the COVID times, the market was stagnant. None of the surgeries were happening or the hospitals were having funds to promote their services. Thus, we had to move towards the conservative part of the management.
Dr. Shweta Singh, my wife and co-founder of NuLyf Global, India helped me with this transformation. She, being a rehabilitation expert, started taking virtual sessions of patients suffering from breathing difficulties. We were treating around 25-30 patients every day. We joined our hands with Dr. Santosh Jha, a renowned pulmonologist to cater to our patients. Despite having a time crunch, he still used to consult at least 20 odd patients daily for us, through virtual consultation.”
Instilling Values Throughout The Journey
The crucial role of mentorship is prevalent in every field. Having a good mentor and being a guide in one’s journey can be life-changing. To gather Dr. Prerit Mathur’s view on this aspect, we asked, “What role has mentorship played in your career, both as a mentor and a mentee?”
Prerit shared, “As it has been rightly quoted – ‘A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you, than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out of you.’ I was blessed to have multiple such great people who believed in me and made me today who I am.
First and foremost, my parents. The values they inculcated, and the guidance that I got from them are incomparable. They taught me how to deal with stress, and how to stand out strong when the whole universe is against you. I will be indebted throughout my life for all the blessings and the guidance.”
“Next comes the role of Dr. Alakananda Banerjee, who recognized my potential in business development and operations and encouraged me to shift my focus towards improving the department’s revenue. Then comes, Mr. Anil Vinayak, who trusted me with making important decisions and allowed me to take control, leading to significant profit gains of 167% in just 3 years.
Dr. Gurpreet Singh, Dr. T.S. Jain, and Dr. Sahar Qureshi taught me the value of being patient-centric and the importance of empathy in healthcare. Their guidance has shaped me into a successful professional and a compassionate individual. Moreover, I would like to mention Mr. Pradeep Gupta’s name over here. I have learned a lot from him in the context of financial management; he is a finance wizard.” He added.
Expansion Plans For NuLyf
To have a glimpse of Dr. Prerit’s plans for the future of his business, we asked, “Tell us more about your future business plans.”
Prerit shared, “We are focusing on expansion of Surgeries, expansion of geographies and of Surgical Centres and locations. Initially, our focus was on domestic patients, with a decent number coming from the US, Canada, and Hong Kong. However, we have also expanded our services to include the UAE, Romania, Croatia, and Serbia. This expansion has led to a significant increase in patient volumes, allowing us to cater to a larger number of patients.
In addition to orthopedics and spine procedures, we will soon be offering Onco, Gynae, and Derma treatments. We are currently in discussions with healthcare giants in the UAE to provide surgical centers and serve their patients as well.”
Words Of Wisdom To Aspiring Beginners
Lastly, addressing the aspiring professionals, we asked, “What is one piece of advice you would give to someone starting in your industry today?”
Prerit concluded, “It’s a growing, ever-evolving field. People should collaborate and should provide the best possible solutions to the individuals. Let’s serve humanity and make healthcare affordable.”
Follow Dr. Prerit Mathur on LinkedIn.
Find NuLyf Global on LinkedIn.
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