A healthy business
Sashia Samira | July 02, 2011

Father and son duo, Dr. Rizal and Dr. Ivan Sini have combined their gynecological training and market foresight to create a healthy business and a healthy community.

Dr. Rizal Sini has delivered thousands of babies at the Bunda Women and Children’s Hospital, an institution he founded in Menteng 38 years ago. Starting out with his own private practice at the age of 38, Dr. Rizal says he never dreamed he would own his own hospital.

“I have retired from practicing medicine now, but I am focused on keeping Bunda Hospital running smoothly,” says the 84-year-old head of PT Bundamedik. Under PT Bundamedik Rizal has three hospitals – two in Jakarta and one in Padang – as well as an in-vitro fertilization (IVF) clinic and a private ambulance service called Emergency Response Indonesia.

The latter is connected to the international hospital chain in Jakarta and Singapore, a system that allows patients to be flown with Bunda Hospital’s medical team for a cool $23,000. “We provide an air service to transport patients to and from Indonesia,” explains Rizal. The medical services firm also includes the Bunda Indonesia Hospital Alliance, which connects and coordinates several women and children’s hospitals located in Medan, Batam, Palembang and Semarang.  

The price of health

A seven-story general hospital building for advanced medical treatment is the latest in Bundamedik’s pipeline. The new general hospital, to be located opposite the Menteng Bunda Women and Children’s Hospital will provide advanced services such as CT scans, MRIs, digital X-rays, angiograms and minimal invasive laparoscopies. And these cutting-edge medical services don’t come cheap.

The Ciputra Group recently spent Rp110 billion ($12.8 million) on a four-story hospital, while Robert W. Hutapea, owner of Dian Graha Elektrika and a medical equipment distributor, says equipment costs for a modern general hospital alone can range from Rp80-120 billion. Hospitals, explains Rizal’s son Ivan, are at the center of the healthcare industry.  

Hospitals might be a hub for the pharmaceutical, HR and medical equipment industries, but Dr. Ivan says they are high-profile but low-income in comparison to other industries. Based on estimates by GlobeAsia, however, PT Bundamedik pulls in at least Rp150 billion in income per year. 

IVF services

Following medical school and clinical experience in Australia, Dr. Ivan founded the Morula IVF clinic 13 years ago, one of the first programs of its type in Indonesia. “People in Indonesia who wanted to try IVF previously had to go to Singapore or Australia, but today I even have patients at our clinic from abroad,” says Ivan. The price tag of IVF treatment in Singapore ranges from $7,000 to $11,000, according to the Singaporean Ministry of Health, while $10,000 is the going rate in Australia.

At Ivan’s Jakarta clinic, rates range from Rp60-70 million, he says. “At Morula IVF, we have the same capability, procedures and technology (as other IVF services) at a more reasonable cost,” says Ivan. In its first five years, the IVF clinic had only 50 clients a year.  “Now we handle almost 50 patients a day and an average of 40% of our patients conceive each month,” says Ivan, adding that it was his father who first encouraged him to open the clinic.  

Industry prognosis

Hospital players are constantly competing to provide the best services and doctors are racing to provide the capabilities. Staying abreast of the latest technological and medical developments is the key to maintaining market share, says Ivan. The former architecture student turned gynecologist stresses the importance of knowing the market before investing.  Like any other business, a hospital can also go into the red.

Rizal himself admits that he only survived the 1998 financial crisis because he was wise enough to relinquish some assets. In terms of business and health, the father and son team share the same philosophy and say they are committed to advancing medical services in Indonesia.  “We need more trust from the public that our private and public healthcare services are getting better,” says Ivan.

For Rizal, the lack of government initiatives has made quality healthcare services a luxury in Indonesia, particularly for low-income earners in remote areas.  “It is the government’s responsibility through public hospitals to provide adequate healthcare for the unfortunate. The least I can do is provide the support within my capability by paying tax,” he says.

“Yet it’s sad to know that the tax I pay is not fully contributing to improving and subsidizing healthcare for the disadvantaged. To be healthy here you need wealth,” concludes Rizal. GA    

Post a comment
Please login to post comment

Comments

Be the first to write your opinion!