Out-Patient Department (OPD) in India is a $40 billion industry, expanded by associated services such as pharmacy, pathology, and radiology. But OPD in India continues to remain broken and stressed. Outpatient care’s continuing quality challenges have led to an increased health burden, a greater strain on secondary and tertiary care, and increased patient struggles to navigate the healthcare system. Earlier attempts made by both standalone chains and hospital-led OPD chains to build a network of OPD clinics have not been very successful, largely for three reasons: 

1. Most of these chains took the dual burden of employing the best doctors in the locality as well as attracting patients. They failed to retain the best doctors, who moved on to build their own brand and private practice 

2. The doctors still took a large share of the consulting revenue ~80% straining the business model to recoup fixed costs largely by margins on pharmacy, diagnostics, and radiology.  

3. With the dual pressures of failing to attract the best doctors and trying to attract/retain patients, most of these models struggled to scale meaningfully.

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Docube aims to build an effective OPD care layer in the country by aligning incentives for doctors and enabling the creation of a single, trust-based platform for patients. The company provides a managed workspace where doctors can start their private practice without any friction. Doctors can rent cubicles for as many hours in a week as they like, and dip into a shared pool of administration & nursing staff, procedure room facilities, pharmacy, and diagnostics services. They also have access to backend IT infrastructure - EMR, doctor marketing, and access to a chosen set of pharma companies’ CMEs, and clinical trials. Docube essentially provides an aspirational clinic space in a modular, pay-and-play fashion, empowering doctors to establish or expand their practices seamlessly. 

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For patients, Docube serves as the neighbourhood specialty clinic where they have access to high-quality doctors. It stands as a sign of quality and ensures a better OPD experience for the patient. The goal is to build a trust-based relationship with the patient where the patient returns to a Docube for all their specialist needs. 

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The doctors invest in their space demonstrating significant skin in the game as well as releasing the real estate cost pressure of the traditional models. With doctors fully aligned to build their practice, Docube can shift its focus to capture the remaining share of the $40bn OPD pie in its specialties. Starting with diagnostics and pharmacy revenue, Docube will eventually channel all of patients' preventive and wellness spending as well as their surgical needs. 

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With its two centers in Koramangala and Whitefield, Docube provides a seamless patient experience and encourages more doctors to establish private practices. The fact that patients are returning to Docube clinics for appointments with other doctors, as well as diagnostics, demonstrates that the right selection of doctors and proper incentive alignment are creating a virtuous growth cycle. 

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With this strong foundation, Docube can scale to become a significant organized player in the OPD space. In addition to offering comprehensive OPD services, including pharmacy, pathology and radiology, Docube can support the launch of multiple product layers, such as OPD insurance, OTC products across specialties, and distributed clinical trials.

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Docube's founding team brings extensive expertise in healthcare, finance, and technology. Zeeshan Ahmed, a former practicing doctor at Apollo Hospitals, brings valuable on-ground healthcare experience. Azhar Hussain has held senior product positions at companies like Microsoft and Adobe. Kartik's expertise in healthcare M&A and clinical trials, combined with his knowledge of drug commercialization pathways, makes him a strong asset for unlocking future revenue streams.

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We are excited to be building this business with the founders who understand healthcare, digital products, and operational efficiencies well. Each of these capabilities will not just bring efficiencies and profitability to their current model but help them unlock newer revenue streams. Docube, with its innovative approach and customer-first mindset,  will create a scalable, patient-centric healthcare platform.