PatRangsit Hospital gearing up for competition
There is no shortage of patients at PatRangsit Hospital, which is as usual crowded, so much so that visitors have a tough time finding their way around the hospital that is situated adjacent to the Zeer Rangsit shopping mall, north of Bangkok.
However, despite operating at full capacity PatRangsit Hospital is feeling the heat from more intense competition, especially with Paolo Rangsit Hospital – that is a part of Bangkok Dusit Medical Services, Thailand’s largest private hospital chain – slated to open later this year.
Managing director Chayanant Yaemsaard said PatRangsit Hospital is embarking on rebranding and marketing campaigns for the first time since it was set up as the first private hospital in Pathum Thani province 29 years ago. He said the move was because of fierce competition and a slower growth of patients who defray their medical expenses from the government’s social security scheme, as seen in the last 2-3 years.
Patients on the social security scheme contribute 75 per cent of PatRangsit’s total patient numbers – about 700,000 people yearly.
To accommodate more non-social-security patients, Chayanant said PatRangsit Hospital has acquired a 3-rai land plot to build its new hospital building that would double the number of patient beds to 400 in the next three years, with total investment of no less than Bt500 million. For the immediate future, the hospital is also beefing up its marketing efforts that include launching a new corporate logo, uniform change and several other rebranding activities aimed at projecting its image of modernity and professionalism.
"I had never thought of the need to change our logo, which I thinks looks fine. But our new-generation managers insist we have to do this," he said.
Founded in 1983 as a 25-bed hospital in the suburban area of Greater Bangkok by Chayanant and Dr Krishrat Trakulchang, the medical director of the hospital, PatRangsit is promoting more roles for its new-generation managers.
Chayanant said PatRangsit is also considering listing on the stock market as a fund-raising alternative for the hospital in future.
"We’re studying to list our shares on the stock market but there are many conditions and procedures involved. Raising funds from the [stock] market is one method; we must first make ourselves more valuable," he said.
PatRangsit expects to achieve 10-per-cent profit on sales revenue of Bt800 million last year, compared to Bt55-million profit on sales of over Bt700 million in 2013. "Because of the maturing of patient numbers and our space issues, growth has increasingly been constrained. But if we can maintain our revenue figures while raising our share from "cash" patients [non-social-security patients who pay cash for their treatments], we will have more cash to invest in equipment and our medical professionals," he said.
Paolo Rangsit Hospital is expected to grab a share of patients on the social security system from PatRangsit and a dozen other private hospitals operating in the Pathum Thani-Rangsit area. PatRangsit currently receives a quota to treat 130,000 patients on the social security scheme. It is not yet known how many patients will be allocated to Paolo Rangsit Hospital, which will begin with 100 beds.
As part of PatRangsit’s efforts to attract more non-social-security patients, the hospital is offering more specialised treatments such as for heart disease, coronary care, dialysis centre, traditional Chinese medicine, as well as health and beauty services. PatRangsit is already acclaimed for its mother and child care after opening the "Rangsit Mother & Child Hospital" in 2011. Thanks to its proximity to Don Mueang International Airport, which has become a hub of budget airlines flying domestically and regionally, PatRangsit is also targeting foreign patients from countries such as Myanmar, particularly the middle class who will be looking for reasonably-priced medical care, not "A" group patients that other hospitals are servicing.
