In today’s fast-evolving healthcare ecosystem, hospitals are under immense pressure to deliver efficiency without compromising empathy. CARE Hospitals, with its focus on operational excellence, digital innovation, and patient-centric care, is redefining critical care and emergency response in India. In this exclusive conversation, Dr. Nikhil Mathur, Group Chief of Medical Services, CARE Group of Hospitals, shares with Dr. Asawari Savant, of Elets News Network (ENN), how CARE is blending technology, clinical governance, and agile strategies to shape the future of modern healthcare delivery. Edited excerpts 

How is CARE Hospitals redefining the patient flow in critical care as part of a broader strategy to lead in operational excellence and innovation within the healthcare ecosystem?

At CARE, we have been very attentive to the flow of patients through critical care. It’s not about simply reducing waiting. It’s about enabling the right team with the right information to be able to act at the right time. We built digital tools that allow us to triage quickly, coordinate between specialist areas, and monitor in real time. That resulted in better transitions, fewer stops, and a better experience for patients and families. This is all part of what we consider operating excellence, and we believe we are signalling to our peers how a modern hospital works in a connected health system.

How does agile workforce planning contribute to CARE’s operational brand narrative, especially when engaging with institutional stakeholders and healthcare partners?

Workforce planning is all about resilience. Demand in health care can change in a moment, particularly with the southern factors of critical care, and our capability to align our workforce to these opportunities is a significant strength. Predictive analytics and a flexible workforce model ensure we are always capable of meeting patient care requirements, without overtaxing teams. As part of CARE’s brand identity, by engaging with stakeholders and fellow partners, CARE becomes an efficient and deeply human-centred organisation. Operating excellence does not diminish empathy.

How do tech-enabled workflows and real-time data systems enhance clinical decision-making and patient outcomes at CARE?

At CARE, technology is not just about efficiency; it is about strengthening clinical decisions. Real-time data and integrated workflows help doctors access the right information instantly, coordinate with other specialists, and intervene faster. This reduces delays, avoids duplication of effort, and ensures patients receive timely, evidence-based care. For me, the value of these systems is in how they empower clinicians at the bedside and improve patient outcomes.

What was the strategy behind the initiative Power of 3?

The reason we have The Power of 3 is because we intend to improve emergency care around three promises to patients that historically have saved lives: speed, compassion, and clinical excellence. Combining CARE’s 28-year legacy of dependable care with desirable innovations like India’s first rollout of 5G-enabled ambulances in Hyderabad, providing real-time, live feeds of patient data back to the hospitals so they can be ready before the patient arrives, offers families confidence. The commitments were to answer all emergency calls within three rings, 30-minute pick up with our ambulances, and to ensure physicians were providing attention within minutes of the patient’s arrival in the ER. This gave CARE the opportunity to position itself in the marketplace as a leader in emergency response and a partner families can trust in times where every minute is consequential.

As Group Chief of Medical Services, how do you ensure that CARE’s focus on clinical governance aligns with its operational excellence and innovation goals?

Clinical governance is the backbone of everything we do at CARE. While operational excellence and innovation drive efficiency and scale, they only create lasting value when patient safety and clinical quality are uncompromised. We’ve built strong audit systems, outcome-based measurements, and peer review practices into our processes. This allows us to not only innovate responsibly but also to benchmark ourselves against the highest global standards. Our Centres of Excellence in Cardiology, Oncology, Neurology, and Gastroenterology further strengthen this framework by integrating technology, talent, clinical audits, clinical research, and education. When teams see that innovation is always tied back to patient outcomes, it builds trust internally and strengthens CARE’s credibility externally.

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How does CARE balance clinical innovation with responsible investment to ensure patient outcomes and sustainable growth?

Every new innovation we consider is first assessed for its impact on patient care. Clinical outcomes, safety, and quality come before everything else. At the same time, we evaluate how these innovations can be scaled responsibly across the system without overextending resources. This balance ensures that we invest in advances that not only strengthen CARE’s operational excellence but also build long-term trust with patients, caregivers, and partners.

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