Industry Watch
The news, and what I make of it
Tuesday, 29 September 2026
Hospital industry stories from India and beyond, read through digital, brand and growth.
Policybazaar is building hospitals. It already owns the patient’s walletMy takePB Health starts where hospitals end: with the insured customer, the policy data and the renewal relationship. Chains that treat insurers as a billing counterparty should worry.Read the take →
- 01Public hospital grades will make outcomes a marketing assetIf hospital outcomes become public, the brand will finally have to match the ward. Hospitals that start collecting…
- 02Max’s fourth Africa office shows medical travel is a distribution gameA patient assistance centre in Dar es Salaam is a cheap, owned front door. The hospitals winning international…
- 03August AI turned 9 million free chats into a $39 care planFree AI health chat is becoming a patient acquisition channel with a paid membership at the end. Indian…
- 04PM-JAY’s claims robot will reward hospitals with clean dataWhen a machine reads the claim, clean hospital data means faster cashless discharges. The insurance journey is now…
Tools & Checklists
Working tools, free to use
Checklists and calculators for OPD growth, launches, CRM readiness, AI search, content and budgets. Built for Indian hospitals, delivered as PDF and Excel.
- Checklist · PDFOPD growth checklistThe digital, brand, referral, CRM and contact-centre levers that grow outpatient demand, in order.Get the checklist →
- Checklist · PDFHospital launch checklistDemand generation from twelve months before opening to the first ninety days after.Get the checklist →
- Checklist · PDFHospital CRM readiness checklistData, enquiry capture, consent, HIS integration and ownership, before you buy or build.Get the checklist →
- Audit · PDFAI search visibility auditHow AI assistants describe your hospital: entities, listings, doctor pages, structured data, reviews.Get the audit →
- Checklist · PDFHospital social media checklistConsent, doctor-led content, what not to post, the inbox as enquiries, and measurement.Get the checklist →
- Calculator · ExcelHospital marketing budget calculatorSplit a budget by service line and channel, phase it monthly, test it against OPD capacity.Get the calculator →
- Calculator · ExcelEnquiry-to-appointment funnel calculatorTrack each channel from enquiry to arrival and see where patients leak.Get the calculator →
- Template · ExcelHealthcare content calendar templateTwelve weeks built on patient questions, languages and clinician review.Get the template →
8 free tools · Delivered by email after you confirmAll tools & checklists →
01AI & Automation21 articles02Growth & CRM45 articles03Strategy45 articles04PR & Communications26 articles05Leadership29 articles06Launches10 articles
Sep 28, 2026What ChatGPT ads mean for hospital marketing in IndiaChatGPT now carries ads in India, but OpenAI keeps them away from health conversations and generally bars health…Sep 28, 2026What AI assistants say about hospital marketing in India: Q3 2026I asked four AI assistants the same twelve hospital marketing questions. The answers lean on agency blogs, LinkedIn…Sep 28, 2026SEO vs GEO for hospitals: when to prioritise whichSEO wins the click; GEO wins the mention inside an AI answer. Most hospitals should fix the shared…
Sep 28, 2026Content vs paid ads for hospitals: how to split the effortPaid ads rent attention now; content builds an asset that keeps working and feeds AI answers. New units…Sep 28, 2026Google Business Profile vs website: where hospital enquiries startFor local and urgent needs, many patients never reach the website: they call from the Google listing. For…Sep 28, 2026Google Ads vs Meta Ads for hospital service linesGoogle captures patients who already know what they need; Meta creates demand among people who do not yet.…
Sep 28, 2026The state of hospital digital in India, 2026Four forces shaped hospital digital in India in 2026: AI entering the patient conversation, consolidation, new capacity chasing…Sep 28, 2026What a hospital website must show: accreditation, doctors, prices and privacyA hospital website is a public claim. Accreditation, doctor credentials, prices and privacy details must be accurate and…Sep 28, 2026Hospital digital agency scope: what to ask for, and the red flagsMost hospital agency problems start with a vague scope. What to include, what to keep in-house, how to…
Sep 28, 2026Launch PR: new hospital, unit or technologyA working PR plan for three launch types, new hospital, new unit and new technology, with a staged…Sep 28, 2026Newsjacking and health awareness days: earning coverageWhy most awareness day releases go unused, how to verify days and find angles journalists want, and the…Sep 28, 2026How to write a hospital press release journalists useThe practical build of a hospital press release: news test, headline, lede, quotes with judgement, substantiated claims, patient…
Sep 28, 2026The chief digital officer role in Indian hospitalsA chief digital officer in an Indian hospital group owns the patient-facing digital estate, the data and integration…Sep 28, 2026Chief growth officer vs CMO: two different jobsA chief growth officer and a hospital CMO are not the same job wearing two names. A CMO…Sep 28, 2026The chief growth officer role in a hospital groupA chief growth officer in an Indian hospital group owns the demand number across every unit and every…
Sep 22, 2026Soft launch or hard launch: choosing a hospital’s opening strategyWhether a hospital opens loudly or quietly should be decided by readiness evidence, not temperament. How to weigh…Sep 22, 2026The launch-month contact centre: scripts, routing and coverFor the first month after opening, the phone is the hospital. How to prepare the scripts, routing and…Sep 22, 2026Naming a new hospital or unit: brand decisions that lastA hospital name outlives its doctors, equipment and strategy. How to choose one that works on the phone,…