Healthcare professionals are looking for novel approaches to close the gap as health inequities continue to have an influence on access to care and health outcomes throughout the globe, with people demanding speedier access to care, simpler communication with their physicians, and greater quality outcomes. Rupak Barua, Director and Group CEO of AMRI Hospitals, who has over three decades of experience in the healthcare industry, focuses on developing strategies for the growth and process-oriented administration of multi-specialty hospitals.
Mr. Barua is a well-known leader in the healthcare sector. After earning his B.Sc from Calcutta University, he took his first step and began working as a management trainee in the 1980s. From there, he rose to become the marketing head of a renowned chain of diagnostic centres, before transitioning into the healthcare delivery field, and working with premier private hospitals in Kolkata. He has a postgraduate degree in marketing, and has completed Management Development Program at Singapore Management University, as well as from the Indian Institute of Management’s two top schools in Ahmedabad and Bangalore.
He has led numerous teams in important corporate hospitals all across Kolkata throughout the course of a career spanning more than three decades. He has held leadership positions at prestigious medical institutions such as Duncan Gleneagles, Peerless, and Wockhardt. Later, he led overall operations at Eastern India’s first corporate hospital, Calcutta Medical Research Institute (CMRI), as the Chief Operating Officer (COO), followed by being appointed the CEO of the B.M. Birla Heart Research Institute, India’s first NABH-accredited hospital. He presently serves as Director and Chief Executive Officer of AMRI Hospitals, where he has made significant contributions to the development of private healthcare.
Mr. Barua has also been involved with various advocacy groups and Chambers of commerce, where he plays a leading role, including as Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) Healthcare Sub Committee (Eastern Region) and a Council Member of CII’s National Healthcare Committee, as a National Expert with the Indian Chamber of Commerce’s Healthcare Committee, and as the sitting President of the Association of Hospitals of Eastern India (AHEI).
AMRI Hospitals
AMRI Hospitals Ltd. is the top private healthcare organization in eastern India. It has three super specialty hospitals in Kolkata—in Dhakuria, Mukundapur, and Salt Lake—as well as another tertiary care hospital at Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Every year, the organization cares for nearly 450,000 patients, performing over 35,000 successful surgeries and 50 kidney transplants. While the Group employs around 5,000 staff members, more than 1,000 doctors provide medical expertise across the four hospitals, along with a well-trained workforce of nursing, paramedical, and technological personnel who diligently manage 1,200-plus beds.
AMRI invests in modern technologies and advanced treatment facilities to cure patients and save their lives by providing an exemplary clinical outcome, makes the healthcare organization a key contributor in keeping Eastern India at the forefront of innovation.
As a Director & Group CEO
Mr. Barua is the Group CEO of the well-known hospital chain, and leads teams that are in charge of ensuring that patients across all departments receive appropriate care and achieve expected level of clinical outcome. He does this by inspiring the departmental and team leaders and by ensuring that all rules and regulations are rigorously adhered to. Private healthcare requires a lot of resources, additional financial considerations must be made, and patient care always comes first over the top and bottom lines.
Additionally, Mr. Barua is in charge of informing the Board and examining both organic and inorganic growth. Planning and achieving strategic goals to target the financial turnaround of the organization, bringing about operational as well as medical excellence, and monitoring effective control over the fixed and variable expenses are also part of his duties. He believes that a leader should indulge in optimistic activities, work for the growth and development of the organization by maintaining good relationships with stakeholders, and also drive a cluster of well-organized teams of highly skilled professionals to achieve organizational milestones.
Defining Marketing and Branding
“Business development in healthcare is significantly different from any other sectors. Marketing & branding for healthcare needs to be much more subtle and should ideally carry a message that will benefit the community, instead of just pushing for products,” defines Mr. Barua.
People often get confused between business development and sales, but guiding people toward the right treatment, offering sound advice, raising awareness on diseases, and making modern technologies along with latest treatment platforms are the main components that would help people know that these facilities can increase their life span.
Patient First, More Than a Slogan
Mr. Barua considers the “Patient First” approach to be of primary value in the healthcare sector. While top-line and bottom-line considerations are a constant in business operations, every decision in the healthcare industry is made with the benefit of the patients in mind. He thinks quality treatment, a compassionate approach, and excellent clinical outcome are the main factors that influence values and organizational culture at any hospital. According to him, everyone needs honesty, integrity, and a hard-working approach to achieve their respective goals.
Threading in Transformation
According to Mr. Barua, nearly every area of human life is being heavily digitalized as the business landscape changes. The shift is more extensive than what we can now perceive, and every industry has been given the tools it needs to operate using a variety of methods.
As a result, a leader’s duties have become more demanding. According to him, if leaders pave the path towards transformation, then it will percolate down the chain and others would likely follow suit. The changeover could spiral out of control if a leader doesn’t alter the attitudes and actions of the workforce.
Live in Happy Moments
Healthcare sector is basically an emergency service, which makes it difficult to balance work and personal life. Still, Rupak manages to spend time with family every day, “which works as a stress-buster” he adds. He spends some time reading books on healthcare developments and geopolitical issues, besides watching sports and movies. He describes, “Although I don’t have any favourite film, I really appreciated Chak de, India for its inspirational message on how a great leader recognizes the potential of one’s team and instills confidence and discipline in them, helping to achieve a dream through determination and persistence.”
Mr. Barua feels that, as the Group CEO, any achievement of AMRI Hospitals makes him happy, be it winning an award on behalf of the Group or being revenue-positive. He feels happy when he comes across any innovative treatment technique at any of the hospital branches that helped a patient to win over a health crisis, despite complexities. AMRI’s track record of exemplary clinical outcome also makes him proud and happy.
The Futuristic Eye
In today’s environment, innovation and technology have become increasingly significant. Digitalization in the healthcare sector has become more obvious for cutting-edge treatments. Rupak is committed to giving the company an edge over competitors by implementing newer, more cutting-edge technologies. He points out that AMRI has already taken steps to make its systems and processes smarter in order to improve clinical outcomes, shorten hospital stays, and aid patients with more affordable treatment.
No one is too old to learn, according to Mr. Barua, especially if they are in a leadership position, and this is where widespread digitalization has a role to play, since the internet and mobile telephony have become the mainstay of most businesses, and it has become much easier to acquire knowledge from every corner. His vision is to keep learning to be in same phase with developments of healthcare sector. “I am looking at learning as much as I can about the world of digital technology to keep myself abreast of the latest developments, particularly in the healthcare sector,” he says.
Recommendations for Leaders
According to him, taking the lead, especially in times of crisis, is the most crucial quality of all effective leaders. A competent leader is someone who can push people to move forward by conquering difficulties and has a clear view of the roadmap strategically and critically. Any leader must also be able to find and develop the team that will best advance the organization’s objectives.
Mr. Barua is a firm believer in and advises upcoming leaders that “a leader is as good as one’s team.” He advises leaders to invest in proper human resources by building focused, dedicated, and target-oriented team members, who will be willing to push the envelope and go the extra mile. A leader should also be responsible for appreciating and rewarding deserving team members, he adds.
