Pathology and radiology companies have recorded a dip in revenues and margins in the first half of the fiscal year as demand normalizes on high Covid base. Experts said that for major diagnostic companies, margins in the first half of the fiscal year would be under pressure as they had to increase Covid-related expenditure. "There could be a pressure of 50-100 basis points on EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) margins for companies which have a large presence in pathology and radiology," said Girish Vanvari, head of tax and regulatory at KPMG in India.Companies such as Dr Lal Path Labs, SRL Diagnostics and Metropolis Healthcare had reported a surge in demand for their services during the peak of the pandemic in 2020. However, with the Covid-19 situation improving and vaccination drives underway, experts said that the demand for these services has started to normalize."Pathology companies had reported a jump in revenues in the second half of last fiscal as the Covid-19 pandemic led to an increase in demand for their services. However, with the situation now improving and vaccination drives underway.
"The impact of Covid-19 on pathology and radiology companies has been mixed. While some companies have benefited from the increased demand for their services during the pandemic, others have seen a dip in revenues and margins as the pandemic has led to a slowdown in non-essential medical procedures," said an expert. "For many companies, the first half of the fiscal year is likely to be challenging as they adjust to the new normal."
India has about 5 million pathologists and radiology professionals, the world’s largest workforce in these fields. The country needs more medical professionals to cope with its healthcare challenges. This is where Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) come in. AI is an umbrella term that covers various types of software algorithms that can ‘learn’ from data sets by recognizing patterns and using that knowledge to make informed decisions. ML is a sub-set of Artificial Intelligence that uses algorithms to learn from data sets and make predictions based on those learnings. Both AI and ML have great potential for use in Indian pathology and radiology companies, which are largely manual processes with lots of paper records, images, slides, etc. Here’s how AI/ML can help them become more efficient..
