Dr. Sachin Gupta

MBBS, MBA - National University of Singapore, founder & CEO - Salus Healthcare.

Dr. Sachin Gupta carries over a decade of leadership experience in the global healthcare industry. An eye for talent and an eye for innovation – Dr. Gupta combines both to create a template that can take the healthcare sector forward holistically. Here’s his Limelight story.

True leaders are constantly on the lookout for new challenges. It is the reason why Dr. Sachin Gupta left a cushy corporate career to follow his heart. He ended up disrupting the talent management space in healthcare and is fast on his way to up-ending the healthcare delivery terrain in the country’s hinterland as well. It all stems from Dr. Gupta’s abiding passion for spreading health and happiness. In his own words, “I wake up every morning with a desire to do something new that will have a positive impact on people around us and make them happier.”

Currently stationed in Gurgaon with his wife Kamya (who is Co-founder at Salus and also runs an NGO in Health Sector) and two lively sons aged seven and three, the saga of Dr. Gupta’s lifelong obsession with healthcare begins way back. He did his MBBS from the acclaimed Govt Medical College Patiala and subsequently his MBA from the prestigious National University of Singapore. Post his MBA, Dr. Gupta joined Parkway-Pantai of Singapore (a part of IHH – Integrated Healthcare Holdings) as Global Head of Clinical Performance Management. Subsequently, he was seconded to International Operations Division as their Business Representative at their India JV with Apollo Hospitals, with the express goal of powering growth in the Indian subcontinent.

A reality-shock awaited Dr. Sachin Gupta upon his return to India from Singapore. Having worked in Singapore for many years with an industry giant like IHH, he was quite unprepared about the healthcare landscape in India. He found it highly unorganised as compared to mature markets around the world, and also at a nascent stage as compared to other sectors of the Indian economy such as Financial Services and IT and IT Services. With the shock came a sense of duty as well - that something must be done to turn things around. The entrepreneurial instinct began to stir and whir.

While working at the India Operations of IHH, Dr. Gupta realized that there is a huge gap in clinical as well as managerial talent pool in the country and there was a lack of professional support to address leadership talent challenges faced by growing organizations in Indian Healthcare.

The entrepreneur in Dr Gupta had found his ‘green signal’. The analysis was spot-on. The response was sharp. The result was Salus.
Dr. Gupta’s entrepreneurial venture Salus Healthcare Resources saw the light of day in 2013 to fill this void. It not only did so but went ahead to create ripples of disruption across the industry, leading to a string of success stories. Today, Salus is the most sought after leadership advisory firm in the Indian Healthcare Industry firmament, partnering some of the economy’s Who’s-Who such as Reliance, Hinduja, Philips, Medanta, Apollo and the Manipal Group along their talent acquisition and management value-chain.

Dr. Gupta’s initiative is not just a need-of-the-hour, but a potential game-changer. Shortage of Physicians and trained Clinical Talent is a global challenge that even developed countries like USA & UK are struggling with. Dr Gupta’s mission is to address the physician shortage in India and other emerging countries by developing an innovative and efficient healthcare delivery mechanism via partnerships with private and public health stakeholders.

Salus marked a turning point in Dr. Gupta’s life – one that was to inspire and inform several more interventions and initiatives.

The other challenge Dr Gupta has trained his sights on correcting, is the scene of quality healthcare in rural and suburban India - which by and large is still exasperatingly rudimentary. His team has recently launched a new platform that will provide access of high quality and affordable healthcare for people living at the bottom of pyramid, through efficient use of physician pool available in the country. It is a giant step in a much-needed direction. While most founders like to glamorize and romanticize the roadblock and challenges they have had to overcome along the way, Dr. Gupta makes it a point to mention the brighter side as well. In his own words, “I have experienced that entrepreneurs and CXO Leadership in Indian Healthcare have been very supportive of our ideas from beginning and this is a very a very encouraging success factor of our journey so far.”

The man’s achievements are many (and he has barely started) – butcnot all summits of success feel the same. There are some triumphs that are, admittedly, sweeter than others. For example, during his days in Singapore, Dr. Gupta had rolled out Asia’s first clinical performance management system that went a long way in improving transparency in healthcare. In fact, the initiative was truly global in spirit, and set the ball rolling for outcome measurement and patient advocacy in India as well.

The other thing that brings a smile to his face is the authenticity and authority Salus Healthcare Resources has been able to generate in a highly competitive space. Says the inveterate entrepreneur, “ we have been able to attract top tier global talent from across the world to Indian Healthcare system. This has been very satisfying.”

Indeed, Salus Healthcare Resources has been nominated amongst the top consulting companies in India’s Healthcare Sector by leading magazines and newspapers. That is in addition to recognition received at various National & International Awards Platforms, including being honoured by the Union Health Minister at India Health Conclave, 2018.

So what does the road ahead look like? Dr. Gupta shares candidly, “I want Salus Healthcare Resources to grow beyond healthcare delivery segment and extend its services to entire spectrum of healthcare in next couple of years and then extend our services globally in next few years. We are also in process of launching “Serve in India” platform for Physicians of Indian origin setteled overseas to help them serve in India for short durations as a ‘Payment Gesture’. Finally, we are aiming to create single largest integrated Physician Services platform in next 5 -7 years.”
Disruptor. Mentor. Inspiration. Dr. Gupta’s legacies will, in time, be many. If you ask him, however, it is the role of a mentor that he relishes the most. “Going forward, I will like to mentor a few innovative start-ups in healthcare that can create a positive impact on global healthcare. If I am able to do that then i think that would be my little contribution to healthcare”, says the veteran with a warm smile.

For the next generation – or aspirants in his domain – Dr Gupta has a simple, but powerful, advice: Never be complacent. For Change is always round the corner. Stay open, and agile, to it. “I think we all need to constantly evolve with changing dynamics of the industry. We have seen paradigm shift in healthcare delivery over last one decade and i can foresee a lot of changes happening with Artificial Intelligence, Mobile Health and other innovations in the pipeline. Physician community needs to be prepared for these changes and embrace technology driven healthcare models.” The message is simple: The future will belong to those who are ready for it.

Any message to readers through the VOH (Voice of Healthcare) Platform? “First of all, I will like to congratulate Dr Naveen for conceiving this wonderful platform that brings together stakeholders from entire spectrum of healthcare. I think we all need to collaborate and work hand in hand with each other to create a sustainable and efficient healthcare delivery ecosystem in the country.”

*This story is published by VOH Team*

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