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The next blog in our ‘Seizing the Opportunity’ blog series unpacks one of the key trends to be discussed at Healthcare Business International 2022 (June 20-22). We’ll be exploring the question; What is driving the growth in outpatient services?
You can extract just about anything from a hospital and do it more effectively in an outpatient setting. A single speciality setting enables much more focus. And there is so much left to extract from the huge pot that is inpatient hospital care: ophthalmology, fertility, imaging, oncology, the list is endless. At the same time, investors have fallen in love with the opportunity to create international outpatient platforms.
All this means that in every conceivable sector, we see rapid M&A. Look at oncology where Genesis Care, Medipass and Atrys are all building international platforms. Or dentistry with Colosseum Dental and European Dental Group or fertility where IVI-IRMA is looking for a $2.2bn price tag.
Even sectors like imaging, long-shunned because of their high capital costs are becoming attractive. Look at the prices paid recently.
All of this works when run by managers who use a focus on a specific speciality to innovate. That is why Ramsay has struck an agreed deal with GHP management to buy the group. Ramsay valued GHP’s long-term focus on quality and data analytics. GHP could prove that its clinics delivered amazing results. Or take rehaneo, the GIMV-owned group which is consolidating outpatient rehabilitation in Germany. Its strategy is to provide Germans with the ability to recover whilst working by offering outpatient centres in big cities. The younger generation doesn’t want to spend four weeks in residential rehab in a remote small town!
But it may spell disaster if the acquirer is a naive new entrant to the sector. Infrastructure funds have convinced themselves that imaging equipment falls into their remit and are bending over backwards to buy groups at up to 13-14 times EBITDA in rich West Europe. That could prove expensive if we see tariff cuts!
HBI 2022, June 20-22 is a great place to find out more about innovative outpatient models with sessions on ophthalmology, fertility, imaging and more – click here to see all the sectors we cover. And here to see to our focus on innovative business models.
