As Dr Arjun Dang – CEO of Dr Dangs Lab – takes forward his family legacy of perfection, he catapults the diagnostics sector into the future: One big idea at a time.
Dr. Dangs Lab was started in 1983 with Dr. Manju Dang, MD and Prof (Dr.) Navin Dang, MD as the two founding partners. Today, it is one of the few pathology Labs in India with an exceptionally high doctor to patient ratio and offers a wide menu of tests in Biochemistry and Haematology including Flowcytometry, Microbiology, Molecular biology, Immunology, Histopathology and Cytology. The winner of numerous national and international awards (including Dr. B.C Roy national award and FICCI healthcare excellence awards, amongst others), it was the first lab in the country to receive ISO-9002 certification and has been accredited by NABL since 2001 in Medical Laboratories.
Today, Dr. Dangs Lab is a leading name in the diagnostics ecosystem, with a focus on quality and enhancing patient experience. It is a paediatric sensitized lab with specialised paediatric phlebotomists and pathologists trained in paediatric sample reporting - along with the finest doctors of the land such as specialist pathologists for MRD and hemato-onco pathology. The Lab’s critical callouts for emergency lab values and triple quality check policy are quite unique to the organization, and forms the bedrock of its superior quality and service benchmarks.
Carrying forward the dream of Founder & Chairman Prof (Dr) Navin Dang is the scion of the family and current CEO Dr Arjun Dang, a man who has committed himself to creating value for patients through accurate testing, personalised care and seamless services.
“We acknowledge the fact that majority of all medical decisions are based on lab reports and hence we have a fire inside to constantly improve”, shares Dr. Arjun Dang, pointing us towards the core essence of the organization’s goal.
Hailing from a family that sported doyens of healthcare, Dr Arjun grew up having big shoes to fill. Always up for a challenge though, the man chose to convert those daunting expectations into a motivational lever, sharpening his creative skills and out-of-the-box thinking to constantly arrive at novel answers to traditional questions around service, innovation and patient experience. “I completed my education from Chennai and then further moved on to working in labs run at corporate and government hospitals and abroad as well as I felt that exposure to all these would give me the know-how on how to handle every situation tactically”, recalls the CEO.
A stickler for perfection, Arjun Dang’s natural eye for granular details has found its way into a company-wide ethos and culture of putting quality above all. It has also nudged Arjun and his team to implement fresh thinking across a slew of novel programs thereby scaling several milestones, which makes him a unique change-maker who is laying down a bold new template in his chosen domain in his own, unique way. The hugely successful Drive-Through Testing is a sparkling case in point. Explains Arjun Dang, “The Drive Through Testing facility ensures minimum interaction and maximum safety both for the patients and medical staff. Countless travellers and mildly symptomatic patients have used our services and have been thoroughly satisfied.” During the current COVID-19 crisis, the idea has been a true success. Continues the game-changer, “Our drive through covid19 centres spanned across Delhi has given patients a seamless and safe option for testing. We continue to be inundated by requests on a daily basis and are looking to expand capacity.”
Taking setbacks in his stride is ‘just-another-day-in-the-office’ for Dr. Arjun, and not surprisingly, the current pandemic saw the man at his ‘fire-fighting best’. When asked about the setbacks he has had to ace in life, he readily points out to the corona crisis. “The Covid pandemic definitely tops the list where our staff and company was put to test. With the country in complete lockdown and numerous challenges, it was, in many ways, the industry’s Darkest Hour. We could only make it through by the relentless efforts of our team of doctors and staff. Yes, Teamwork Is Everything!", says Arjun, giving credit where its due.
When one pursues the hardships of life with vision and vigour, sooner or later, the joys of victory tend to follow. When asked about the achievements that make him truly proud and happy, Arjun reminisces for a while before divulging, “Being the central lab for clinical trials for multiple Vaccine manufacturers who are working on the COVID19 vaccine certainly was a great achievement. Also being the first lab in India to provide bacteriophage testing and setting up COVID-19 Drive Throughs was extremely satisfying.”
With both success and age on his side, Dr. Arjun Dang has created a foundation that can potentially launch him to heights rarely scaled by anyone amongst his industry and community. We are naturally curious about the future summits and challenges he has set for himself, and Arjun helpfully obliges, “Leveraging technology to further enhance our processes and using data effectively to develop new tools for diagnosis would by our main goal moving forward.” With the digital space and technology the biggest transformer of our times, the changemaker has evidently set his targets in the right direction.
The fruits of success tastes sweetest when shared, and Dr Arjun Dang is happy to distribute his wisdom to aspiring leaders who are next in line. When asked about his biggest learnings and the advice he would like to leave for ‘generation next’, Arjun shares generously, “The 3 H’s in life - Honesty, Humility & Hardwork – are the only secret to success.”
We all walk on the sands of time, but not all footprints left behind are the same. Some are a little bigger, and linger on a little longer. These are the legacies of legends and icons who have scripted journeys that have touched and transformed live, leaving behind a medley of memories. Dr. Arjun Dang has all the makings of evolving into one. And when he does, how would he like to be remembered? What, in other words, would he like his legacy to be? As a true leader, he puts his Lab and team ahead of himself, saying, “The lab’s aim of providing the absolute best quality in its reports to patients, along with the personalised care we offer, would be something we would like to be remembered by.”
Any message to readers through Voice of Healthcare Platform? The dynamic and visionary CEO of Dr Dangs Lab shares, “Platforms such as VOH provide an opportunity for healthcare workers and industry leaders to unite. We need to break the concept of working in silos and hold hands to give the absolute best healthcare services to the people of this nation.”