HEMAS HOSPITALS
Managing Director
Q: Against the backdrop of economic challenges and ever-changing market dynamics, how should organisations mitigate high costs while delivering value to customers?
A: Organisations must adopt strategic approaches to mitigate costs while delivering exceptional value to customers in an era defined by its challenging economic landscape, marked by rising costs and shifting market dynamics. Operational efficiency and process optimisation are fundamental, with practices such as streamlining operations, reducing waste and leveraging technology to enhance productivity.
With 141 awards, including 96 golds, from institutions such as the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Quality and Productivity (SLAAQP) and Hospital Management Asia (HMA), Hemas Hospitals embodies its commitment to efficacy.
Data driven decision making optimises resource allocation, predicts customer needs and enhances ROI. Hemas reduced discharge times and ETU (Emergency Treatment Unit) bed turnaround, introduced sustainable digital solutions like e-bills and e-prescriptions, and earned accolades such as the Award of Excellence at the HMA Awards.
Customer-centric innovation is also critical, focussing on solutions that address customer needs. Hemas has achieved the highest Google rating (4.8) for a Sri Lankan hospital chain.
Agility in business models supports cost-effective service delivery with initiatives like home care services, ambulatory care and virtual clinics. Supply chain optimisation further enhances efficiency with centralised procurement and volume-based pricing passing savings to customers. These strategies balance cost control with superior value delivery, ensuring sustainability and customer satisfaction.
Q: The need to provide holistic customer experiences is rapidly gaining importance. What is your interpretation of this?
A: The need to provide holistic customer experiences reflects a shift towards seeing customers as multifaceted individuals with unique needs rather than as transactional entities. It emphasises creating seamless, integrated experiences across all touch points, whether outpatient, inpatient or through a laboratory, ensuring consistency and personalisation at every stage of the journey.
A holistic approach involves understanding and anticipating customer preferences, building emotional connections and offering caring solutions. By aligning the brand’s interactions with customer expectations, companies can enhance satisfaction, foster loyalty and ultimately differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive market.
In this environment, a holistic customer experience is the ultimate differentiator, driving long-term success.
Q: Why should customer excellence always be a priority? And how does your organisation ensure this?
A: Customer excellence is vital as it drives loyalty, enhances brand reputation, and ensures long-term success by creating positive experiences that foster trust and repeat business. In the competitive private healthcare sector, delivering superior clinical outcomes builds a strong differentiator and lasting relationships.
At Hemas Hospitals, customer excellence is embedded into its culture and operations. The organisation actively listens to patient feedback, continuously improving services to meet evolving needs. Personalised care, supported by data driven insights, anticipates patient preferences for superior experiences.
Staff training ensures exceptional service delivery at every touch point. Hemas has set industry benchmarks by becoming the first Sri Lankan hospital to achieve international accreditation from the Australian Council for Health Standards (ACHS) International in 2011 with re-accreditations valid until 2027.
As the country’s most accredited hospital chain, Hemas also holds integrated management systems (IMS) certifications (ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001) and ISO 15189:2022 for its labs, ensuring robust clinical governance, high quality care and safe, excellent clinical outcomes.
Q: How does your organisation harness the power of data and analytics to elevate customer experiences?
A: Using data and analytics, Hemas Hospitals continues to deliver personalised, efficient and informed care, enhancing the overall patient experience. By analysing data across touch points, we gain insights into patient preferences, health trends and satisfaction levels, enabling tailored services.
Our electronic health records (EHR) system ensures accurate diagnoses and treatment plans, while optimising scheduling and reducing wait times for timely care.
Predictive analytics help identify health risks, anticipate followup needs and flag critical alerts proactively. Continuous analysis of patient feedback highlights areas for improvement, ensuring adaptive and patient focussed services. This data driven approach improves clinical outcomes, and fosters a sense of value and care throughout the patient journey.
Q: What are your organisation’s future plans?
A: Hemas Hospitals is committed to transforming lives through connected care and innovation, aiming to improve health outcomes, enhance quality of life and ensure patient wellbeing through comprehensive, patient centred services. By providing accessible and world-class affordable healthcare, Hemas strives to serve a broad section of society effectively.
We prioritise sustainability and community engagement, addressing social and environmental factors impacting health to build healthier communities and a sustainable future. Initiatives such as ambulatory care, home care services, connected primary care and home sample collection will reduce healthcare costs while increasing convenience for patients.
Backed by a robust clinical governance framework, Hemas continues to lead in quality, holding multiple accreditations and being Sri Lanka’s most awarded hospital chain. Future plans include leveraging advanced electronic health records and AI driven analytics to deliver precision medicine and personalised care, improving treatment effectiveness and patient outcomes.
Hemas also aims to enhance efficiency through digital innovations, creating ‘SMARTer’ hospitals with shorter turnaround times and advanced tools for patient convenience. Expansion plans include upgrading Hemas Thalawathugoda into a 271 bed tertiary facility, entering the cardiac space with a cath lab at Hemas Wattala and advancing Sri Lanka as a leading care hub in Asia through cutting-edge investments.
Telephone 0773 638447 | Email lakith@hemashospitals.com | Website www.hemashospitals.com
