Industry Watch
The news, and what I make of it
Thursday, 1 October 2026
Hospital industry stories from India and beyond, read through digital, brand and growth.
Hospital medicine prices: what the debate misses about MRP, pharmacies and explanationMy takeA non-partisan explainer on the hospital medicine price debate: who sets MRP, what a hospital pharmacy contributes, how other countries and India’s government hospitals handle it, and why it is a communication problem first.Read the take →
- 01Policybazaar is building hospitals. It already owns the patient’s walletPB Health starts where hospitals end: with the insured customer, the policy data and the renewal relationship. Chains…
- 02Public 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…
- 03Max’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…
- 04August 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…
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 & Automation23 articles02Growth & CRM51 articles03Strategy48 articles04PR & Communications28 articles05Leadership29 articles06Launches11 articles
Oct 1, 2026Generative AI in healthcare: where it works in India todayWhere generative AI in healthcare pays back in India today: the patient front door, contact centre, content, AI…Oct 1, 2026AI in hospital operations in India: a non-clinical risk frameworkHospitals can use AI safely by starting where no clinical judgement is involved, sorting use cases into green,…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…
Oct 1, 2026Package pricing vs itemised billing: how hospitals charge, and what it means for youPackage pricing vs itemised billing in Indian hospitals: how each works, inclusions and exclusions, how hospitals abroad bill,…Oct 1, 202612 questions to ask before a planned surgeryTwelve questions families should ask before a planned surgery in India, across the decision, the team, the cost…Oct 1, 2026Cashless vs reimbursement: what families should know before admissionCashless vs reimbursement health insurance in India: how each works, IRDAI’s one-hour and three-hour rules, Cashless Everywhere, and…
Oct 1, 2026What a hospital pharmacy does that a chemist doesn’tA hospital pharmacy runs 24x7 stock, cold chain, chemotherapy preparation, formulary and safety checks. Why it looks like…Oct 1, 2026What India’s 2019 cancer drug margin cap teaches us about medicine pricesIn 2019 India capped trade margins on 42 cancer medicines at 30%. Prices of 526 brands fell, some…Oct 1, 2026Who actually sets the MRP on your medicine? A plain guide for IndiaWho decides the MRP printed on a medicine in India: NPPA ceilings for essential medicines, manufacturer pricing for…
Oct 1, 2026When regulation makes headlines: a communications checklist for hospital teamsA 24-hour, 72-hour and week-one checklist for hospital communication teams when regulators or courts put healthcare in the…Oct 1, 2026Health awareness days in India, 2026 to 2027: a calendar by month and specialty88 health awareness days observed in India from October 2026 to September 2027, by month and by specialty,…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, 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…
Oct 1, 2026Hospital launch marketing plan: from 12 months out to the first 90 daysA new hospital launch is won in the 12 months before opening: catchment research, doctor-led pre-launch demand, local…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…