Saturday, November 07, 2015

Why so many software professionals come to Malpani Infertility Clinic for their IVF treatment


We treat many software professionals in our IVF clinic.  A lot of them work for companies like Infosys and TCS, and come to us from cities like Pune and Bangalore. Now, you may wonder why a patient would come all the way from Bangalore to Mumbai for their IVF treatment , given the fact that they're so many IVF clinics in Bangalore. When we asked our patients this question, these are some of the answers we got.

IT professionals are internet savvy, and use Google extensively in order to find answers to their questions. When their IVF doctor refuses to talk to them , and they turn to google , they find that a lot of their queries have already been answered on our website. This allows them to develop trust in us , as they can see we are generous and are happy to share our medical knowledge on our website. Of course, just because they found this information on our site doesn't mean that they will come to us for treatment, but at least our clinic's name registers in their brain when they are preparing a shortlist of doctors to go to for their treatment.

Many of these patients are extremely unhappy with their local  IVF clinics. A lot of IVF doctors don't bother to explain to patients what they're doing. They don't respect their patient's intelligence, and either believe that patients won't understand medical terms; or that if they explain all the technical minutiae of IVF, then patients will get stressed out unnecessarily. In fact, a lot of these IVF doctors tell their patients, "Please don't do internet searches - you'll just get worried and confused. I am the doctor, just leave it up to me ! I am the expert and I will fix all your problems for you."

Many IT  professionals have interacted with doctors in the US and UK during their overseas postings, and they  expect better treatment from their Indian doctor as well. They don't like this cavalier approach because they are systematic and well organized , and want a doctor who is professional and will help them to get to the root of their problem. They want a doctor who will respect them , and treat them as an equal. Because we do this, they're very happy to come to us.

All patients want a doctor who's available and accessible. Even though I'm in Mumbai, they know that if they send me an email, they will get an answer within 24 hours, so this provides them with a lot of comfort and reassurance. Thanks to email , the geographic distance really doesn't matter anymore.

We've treated lots of patients from IT companies in the past, who've had a good experience with us. They are happy to vouch for us, and many will refer their friends to us.   They like the fact that we use technology cleverly , and many of them will download our IVF app to help them organise their life during their IVF treatment.

Another big problem they find is that local IVF clinics are often badly organized. They don't seem to have any systems and processes in place. There's no clarity; they don't know what's going to happen next; and treatment seems to be done on an ad hoc basis. The major problem this causes is endless waits in the clinic. Many patients tell me that they typically get an appointment for 9 am, but the doctor does not see them until 2 pm ! No one in the clinic seems to have a clue as to what's happening, because the assistants don't have any answers, and the main doctor is too busy to provide them.

IT professionals hate being treated with so much disrespect, and they don't like it when their precious time is wasted for no good rhyme or reason. When they come to our clinic , they are happy to find that there are only two doctors ( Dr. Anjali and me) , and they don't have to deal with assistants and juniors. They have direct access to us, and we're very hands-on, and do everything ourselves, which means they don't have to wait for ever and ever to meet us. We have well defined systems and processes , and we share our treatment protocols with them, and they find this transparency and openness very comforting, because it gives them control over their life, and they know exactly what to expect during their treatment.


Finally, they appreciate the fact that we do not take money under the table; that we are transparent; that our medical documentation is of high quality; and that we provide photos of their embryos. This increase their confidence and faith in us, so they have peace of mind they are receiving high quality medical care.


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