On this Doctors’ Day, I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to the doctors, nurses, caregivers, and paramedical staff who work tirelessly every day—saving lives, offering hope, and carrying the immense responsibility of caring for others.
Having seen it up close through close family members and friends, I know the personal sacrifices this career demands —the long hours, the emotional toll, the constant demands. For many, medicine isn’t just a career; it’s a calling.
However, in India, doctors are taking on a much bigger challenge beyond patient care. They are also at the forefront of entrepreneurship in hospital delivery. They are founding and growing hospital networks, expanding into new geographies, introducing specialized therapies, and training the next generation of talent. They’re not just healing patients, they’re building institutions.
Why is this needed?
Because the public sector is less than a third of India’s total hospital capacity. It’s the private sector that’s taken on the mantle in expanding healthcare access. And at the heart of this effort are doctor-founded hospitals. In fact, 8 out of the top 10 hospital chains in India are founded by doctors.
That’s where the story becomes truly remarkable.
After spending 15–20 years in an intense clinical journey combining academic rigour, long hours, and little downtime, these doctors don’t rest of their laurels. They go on to build businesses that transform the way healthcare is delivered in India. And let’s be honest, entrepreneurship is rarely a straight line, requiring persistence and risk taking and takes a lifetime.
Yet these doctors pursue it (often without formal business training) driven by a refusal to settle.
What amazes me most is their ability to seamlessly transition from the operating room to the boardroom. Here's what they’re learning, and excelling at:
• Financial acumen: They quickly grasp the vocabulary of capital—how to track financial metrics alongside clinical outcomes, design capital efficient models, manage cost efficiency and understand accounting details.
• Talent leadership: They attract and lead teams of superspecialists which means balancing egos, structuring compensation and building clinical alignment.
• Team-building & delegation: They assemble high-performing teams, empower them, set up robust systems for audit, quality assurance and patient feedback.
• Infrastructure development: Building hospitals in India is no walk in the park. It means securing land approvals, permits and local government bodies. I've seen doctors who are used to working in sterile OT environments rolling up their sleeves to get these projects off the ground.
• Raising capital: Healthcare infrastructure is capital intensive and needs external infusion of debt or equity, but these doctors are able to navigate the financial world with confidence. And let’s not forget, capital comes with its own fine print—banks ask for collateral that includes everything but your family pet, and private equity folks seek approval rights for even the addition of an extra urinal in the restroom! Despite all this, doctors have been able to secure the trust of capital providers and proved to be thoughtful custodians of capital.
What they’re doing is nothing short of managing three full careers in one—as expert clinicians, builders of world-class healthcare infrastructure and operators of complex tertiary care systems.
So here’s to the Indian doctor—not just for keeping us healthy, but for building the very foundation of India’s modern healthcare system. For showing us what intellect, commitment and resilience can achieve.
At 360 ONE Asset, backing doctor founded specialty chains is a key investment strategy in healthcare. It’s been a privilege to work with several visionary founder-doctors (few mentioned below) and we remain committed to supporting bold clinical entrepreneurs.
• Ranjan Pai (Manipal Group)
• Dr. Chandrakumar and Dr Manivannan (and other founder doctors) (Kauvery Hospitals)
• Dr. Ramesh Kancherla (Rainbow Hospitals)
• Dr. Ashok and Dr. Aruna (A4 Hospitals)
• Dr. Raja (Hearzap)
• Dr. Dharminder Nagar (Paras Hospitals)
We hope to see many more founder-doctors stepping forward in the years to come. India needs them to build next-generation specialty care —combining technology, world-class clinical protocols, and a patient-first mindset. And above all, we need their indomitable spirit to keep building and pushing boundaries, despite the many challenges that exist in India’s healthcare landscape.
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