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ZON Healthcare Consulting: Next-Gen Knowledge based Healthcare Consultancy

CIO Vendor Healthcare is gradually moving to become one of India's largest sectors, both in terms of revenue and employment. The sunshine sector comprises of several components such as hospitals, medical devices, clinical trials, outsourcing, tele medicine, medical tourism, health insurance and medical equipment.

According to a survey, India's hospital industry and the sector is poised to grow to US$ 100 billion by the year 2015 and further to US$ 280 billion by 2020. With the sector making giant leaps it becomes increasingly important for healthcare providers to keep up with the technology curve to dish out effective healthcare services. This puts the spotlight on healthcare consulting service providers that can help healthcare companies create effective structural changes.

Hitting the Nail on the Head
Having gauged this need of the healthcare industry, a group of young and dynamic healthcare professionals with varied domestic as well as international experience made the journey back home to found Zon Healthcare Consulting, a management consulting firm dedicated to Hospitals and allied healthcare organizations. Founded in 2010, the company is an expert at providing comprehensive consulting services to healthcare service providers across the country. The company started with modest 2 projects and since then have come a long way to successfully completing 50+ sites and additional 10 projects are under implementation phase at the moment.
ZON Stands for SUN in Dutch language. It was during our interaction with European Investors during our Inception that we found about the meaning of and at that very moment both of us decided that it’s what best describes our company and envisages to always being a shining light in the hospital industry. "We were a team of professionals working in senior management position in hospitals; management consulting and healthcare informatics background who decided to come back to India. Our objective was very clear. We wanted to deliver high end consulting expertise to the entire segment of healthcare be it corporate, trust hospitals, govt. hospitals, chain of hospitals or clinics," explains Vipul Singh, Founding Director at Zon Healthcare Consulting. The founders focused on building a highly focused expert team which gives priority to execution of projects and not just provide expert guidance.

Armed with technical expertise, industry experience and a will to make a difference in the quality of healthcare services, the company today has transformed into a expert at handling sensitive Change Management issues related to structure, physician hospital relationships, management and medical staff structures, funds flow within and between organizations, and various aspects of Strategic discussions. "Adding to this, we also specialize in hospital governance & management, organizational design and operating models, medical staff restructuring and management in entirety," adds Gulshan Vijayshankar, Director & Co-Founder at Zon Healthcare Consulting.
ZHC currently operates with its unique "dedicated division" based functioning wherein a pool of talented experts in a particular division are guiding the on field team to deliver projects with preciseness and within stipulated time. Currently, ZHC has 4 full fledged divisions namely, Quality, Hospital Information Systems, Consulting Division & OMS (operations & management services) division.
ZHC has been a pioneer in innovating the ways healthcare consulting services are delivered today. The biggest reason ZHC has been successful in the past is that they have always been a partner to the organization and have handheld them in implementing and delivering results rather than just playing an advisory role or a plain conventional recommendations based approach.

At ZHC, every consultant at site goes with a result oriented approach aiding the hospitals actually implement the solutions rather than giving suggestions. This creates a big difference in their project completion. A simple example relating to this can be enumerated through their quality consulting assignments namely NABH accreditation services. Where other consultants generally are known to just guide and advise, ZHC Consultants are placed full time on site and act as hospital owner’s second in command and this helps them understand the practical hurdles in implementing their own suggestions from the Owner’s Perspective leading to a more detailed and Completion Oriented Results.
ZHC clearly distances itself from project Involving only advisory role or recommendations. "This is a principle we have followed since inception of our company," adds Vipul. He confidently elaborates further that it is not by Chance that ZHC has been successful in delivery time bound results across all segments in Hospital industry. It has been a conscious effort being replayed to every single member of the team.

"When someone asks what we do at ZHC, it's tempting to point out our track record for helping to transform India's best hospitals and healthcare organizations into sharper, smarter, better versions of themselves. It's true; our mission is to help management teams create such high levels of economic value that together we redefine our respective growth. And we don't stop there. We make sure those decisions get translated quickly into action and that the client's team can sustain the momentum into the future. We commit to leaving organizations stronger than when we arrive," adds Vipul.
"At ZHC we have our 3 Pronged Approach, PEOPLE – SERVICE – COMMITMENT. This is what the company stands for and firmly rooted to these values. We have stood by our team all the times in thick and thin and our team has reciprocated much more than what the company has given. It's a very close knit family which has stood the test of time in last 4+ years. We still have people who have joined us directly from campus and continue to be a core part of our team," Vipul elaborates. In fact, We discuss it lightly sometimes in our internal management meetings that ZON should internally review more strongly before accepting a project as till date we have never left a project incomplete, which has taken financial toll on the company at times but today it gives that extra zeal to continue on this path of delivering projects time and again. Unknowingly this zeal has transformed in great pride for us. Zon has been proudly associated with this commitment to deliver quality services across all segments of market. Now when we look back, it's been a great journey and we are more excited than ever to continue to bring about this swift change in the way hospitals operate," he adds.
Delivering best in healthcare system is the biggest challenge because we are directly responsible for patient care systems. ZHC approaches every client's business as if it was our own hospital operations to be managed and the company strongly believes that a consulting firm should be more than an advisor.
The company puts itself in its clients' shoes, align its incentives with their growth path, and collaborate to unlock the full potential of their business. This builds deep and long lasting relationships. "This is clear testimony of repeat business that we have been doing with our clients," Vipul adds. "True results require tailored solutions supported by innovation & perseverance. True results are often pragmatic and action-oriented. This is the same motto that our entire team follows and navigates this tight balance between the consultants and the employees," he adds.
Based in Mumbai, the company has spread its wings to other locations including Jaipur, San Jose, USA and Dubai, UAE.
Within a short span of time, the company has managed to cater to some of the biggest names in the Indian healthcare industry such as Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital, Sankara Eye Care Institutions, American Hospital (Doha, Qatar) to name a few and has distinctly helped them improve management of hospitals and helped them grow further.

ZON Healthcare started with modest 2 projects and since then has come a way to successfully completing 50+ sites and additional 10 projects are under implementation phase at the moment


Services to Mitigating Inefficiency in Healthcare
Although every hospital or healthcare organization reflects a general pattern in terms of challenges, however they also have their own unique characteristics based on their own differences of individuals, history and situations. “Events experienced by institutions are always unique to each organization and hence the solutions also must always follow an individualized pattern,” elucidates Vipul.

Rising up in an industry that usually doles out cookie cutter solutions to the healthcare industry, Zon Healthcare has a dedicated and proficient team that identifies the uniqueness of every organization and thus provides individualized solutions. In order to help clients steer their organization towards faster growth the company has devised solutions that help them work better through more efficient business processes, better resource management and continual quality improvement. "We work keeping in mind the philosophy and culture of the client organization. We focus on delivering simple and user friendly solutions for our clients," adds Gulshan.

In today's time, consumers are informed and want to keep up with the appropriate standards.
Keeping this in mind Zon Healthcare's core areas of expertise are Hospital Operations & Performance Management, Hospital Accreditation (IsQuA certified accreditations including JCI and NABH) and Implementation of Hospital Information system. These services are offered at the most compatible prices coupled with excellent services by well-trained industry professionals that make sure that the clients get what they are looking for. Adding to this, the company also delivers a complete end-to-end solution for Accreditation & Implementation of hospital information systems through strong market support, efficient quality control systems, unmatched capabilities and delivery fulfillment. "All this is being done under one management control. We act as a one stop solution for anything related to Accreditation or Hospital Information System," adds Vipul.
The company also helps clients leverage the distinct advantage of bringing an integrated platform of diversified expertise channelized towards achievement of one single goal of Patient-Employee Satisfaction while ensuring operational benefits and helping the hospital maintain the turn around and being on the path of continual growth. Zon Healthcare also assists hospitals plan, design, build and operate the most operationally-efficient patient care facilities in line with MCI, NABH & JCI guidelines & requirements. "We help clients understand the implications of trends in the organization and delivery of health care services. We develop alternative facility solutions and help clients establish priorities among capital projects that maximize future flexibility," adds Vipul.
In terms of Inventory Business Process Improvement Zon Healthcare takes care of inventory improvement, cost reduction, balance of quality and expense or performance improvement. Vipul explains, "We work with clients to uncover errors and make recommendations, designed to optimize savings without sacrificing quality or efficacy". Adding to this, the company also helps companies improve leadership and organizational effectiveness while preparing the road map to overcome challenges and tackle opportunities so as to function effectively, to cope
adequately, to change appropriately and to grow from within.
Mantra to Success
Every company envisions carving a niche for selves itself in the industry. However, this does not come easy and requires complete dedication from the company’s end. Zon Healthcare thus focuses on impeccable execution of projects; project completion and single point accountability from the beginning till the end of a project. "To keep ourselves a step ahead of pour competition, we have developed a unique implementation methodology for project management of any quality accreditation or HIS/ERP implementation," adds a proud Vipul.
It is often said that a team is only as strong as its weakest link. Keeping this in mind, Zon Healthcare has built a formidable team which has the highest cumulative experience for any non-software company in hospital software implementation. Currently the team has about 13 Full-time members and 20 expert associates. The entire team comprises of senior and self driven motivated members such as doctors, MHA and other professionals. "Our HR team organizes events on a monthly basis and we circulate newsletters to keep our team updated," adds Vipul. Zon Healthcare also emphasizes on being connected to management and there are open ended weekly reviews between project managers and head of consulting services. “We keep a very flat hierarchy,” he adds.
ZHC was valued at 1.6 Million US$ way back in 2013. The company has set an ambitious target of achieving a 7.5 Million US$ by the Financial Year 2017. The management team looks fairly confident about achieving the same. To achieve this scale ZHC has diversified with new services being planned in the coming year.
ZHC has announced 3 more services in its already existing umbrella of services. Healthcare Indicators, Support CEO Program and “Costing services for Hospitals”. Our pilot for costing services has already been a grand success and we are looking very aggressively in this segment. The company is confident that very soon this will be there in almost every single private hospital across India. Zon aims to capture 40% Market Share in the Coming 5 Years. Healthcare indicators and support CEO program are still under pilot phase and might take additional 25-30 days to come out as a service offering.
The company has come a long way since its inception and has been a zero debt company from the very first year. Zon Healthcare has also been the only consulting company to have successfully done NABH and JCI for different clients within a span of less than 12 months. The company also prides itself for being the only project management team that has been hired both by software development companies and by hospitals to implement HIS / ERP solutions within hospitals. With a 100 percent project completion track record since inception, the company is poised for greater success in years to come. Given the exceptional team and well rounded services, the sky is the limit for Zon Healthcare.
Panel:
Quick facts
- All of ZON's Staff is MHA's or doctors.
- It is the first company to do quality outsourcing projects in India, wherein hospitals have outsourced their entire Quality Department after certification so that the company continues to add value to the services delivered
- ZHC is the only company to come up with accreditation readiness check that audits a hospital and gives a scoring about accreditation readiness within 8 hours of visit and it is as per the objective elements mentioned in the respective standards or guidelines.
- The company has distinction of working in projects with Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, only Hospital based Consulting firm to be part of the consortium in the ambitious UPHSS project. Hired by public health foundation of India to conduct hospital oriented workshops as well as for district level projects in Mumbai & Uttar Pradesh respectively.
- ZHC is poised for expansion in Africa, SE Asia and has got partners initiating projects in these Markets.
- It is the only Non-Software Company to have implemented HIS systems of more than 7 different software companies.
- An organization which has developed it's unique implementation methodology for project management of any quality accreditation or HIS/ERP implementation. The cumulative experience of the team is the highest for any non-software company in hospital software implementation.
- Only consulting to have successfully done NABH and JCI for different clients within a span of less than 12 months
- Only project management team who have been hired both by software development companies and by hospitals to implement HIS / ERP solutions within hospital