When it comes to healthcare, there is no minimum pricing model or benchmark to go by. Hence potential patients are always in the dark about the right price to pay. The confusion is even more when it comes to elective surgery, that is, one that is scheduled in advance. To address the woes of clueless patients, looking specifically at elective surgeries, Prakhar Gupta and Nivesh Khandelwal launched LetsMD in January 2016. The aim is to create a transparent marketplace where hospitals post information and patients connect with them.

“Currently, we have listed about 30 different surgeries (popular packages include Lithotripsy, Craniotomy, NDVH, Caesarean Section, etc) under 35 different hospitals. These include hospitals like Apollo, Fortis, BLK, Medanta etc. For every surgery, the pricing is listed and once the customer approaches us, we put him/her in touch with the respective hospital,” explains Khandelwal. The start-up works on a revenue-sharing basis with top hospitals where 5-10% of the bill is charged as a fee whereas, in case of smaller hospitals, a listing fee of Rs.10,000 per month is charged.

Khandelwal claims to have generated billing of about Rs.80 lakh by connecting 400 customers to the requisite hospitals. “We plan to add new hospitals and further market ourselves. Our focus will be on expanding in NCR and we will reach Jaipur and Lucknow after that,” adds Khandelwal. The start-up witnesses an average of 12-13 enquiries per day and will add categories like pharmaceuticals and diagnostics pretty soon.