Piramal Diagnostics, Mumbai

From one lab in Mumbai in 1963, Dr Phadke's Lab (founded by Dr AM Phadke and later managed by his son Dr Avinash Phadke) by the year 2000 had a turnover of Rs 2 crore. To scale up operations, Dr Phadke formed a JV with Piramal Healthcare (then called Nicholas Piramal) called Wellspring-Dr Phadke's Lab. When the JV ended in 2006, to pump in more working capital, Dr Phadke decided to sell his remaining 40 per cent stake to Piramal Healthcare, the parent company. Today, Piramal Diagnostics has 100 labs in 45 cities

Initial capital required for establishment of the lab: Informs Dr Avinash Phadke, Director and Chief- Pathology Services, Piramal Diagnostics Services Private Limited, "We spent approximately Rs 5 crore, excluding the value of property."

Growth of the lab in percentage: It has witnessed 18 times the original turnover growth and nine times the original profit.

Area of the lab: 7,000 square feet.

Accreditations: NABL & ISO.

No of routine tests per day: 4,000 per day.

No of specialised tests: 7,000 per day.

How many hospital/labs send samples: More than 300.

New tie-ups/ventures: Twenty satellite labs in Mumbai. Complete laboratory outsourcing done by Guru Nanak Hospital, Lok Hospital and Bhakti Vedanta Hospital. Also tie-ups with Air India, Indian Airlines, ONGC, Bombay Port Trust and various insurance companies.

USP of the lab: Histopathology tests more than 18,000 specimens per year, infertility tests from majority of IVF setups in Mumbai, majority of patients are walk-in customers with personal relationship of more than 20 years.

Skilled Manpower: Talented pool of histopathologists and clinical pathologists. Total eight qualified MD pathologists working in the laboratory. No staff turnover at senior level in last 10 years.

Turnaround time: 90 per cent of routine and specialised tests daily, 10 per cent of specialised tests in three days, microbiology and histopathology tests in four days.

Test Pioneered in the Country: Various sperm function tests, sperm morphology tests and sperm viability tests.

Use of IT: Extensive network of 60 computers on LAN, barcode-generated unique ID for all patients. Bidirectional interface with instruments.

Kind of Quality Measures: Participation in various external quality control programmes, Interlab QC Programme, daily internal quality control programme and achievement of CV less than three for 90 per cent of the tests.

Qualification of operational In-charge: Dr Avinash Phadke, MD pathology from Tata Memorial Hospital, Gold Medal, DPB from KEM Hospital with more than 25 years of operational experience.

Future Plans: Starting many hospital-based labs, newer tests in oncology and microbiology and continue to maintain the same quality standards.