Healthcare Startups have revolutionized the healthcare delivery process for better patient experiences. The Indian healthcare ecosystem is witnessing innovative developments that are solving big healthcare challenges of affordability, availability, and accessibility. Through the start-up series, Medicircle aims to raise awareness about the impact of these initiatives, the latest developments on this front, and the areas in which there is scope for improvements.

Atul Jagadish is the Vice President at Alserv. Atul ensures business continuity and sustained operations at the organization. Alserv is headquartered in Chennai and is a part of the Allsec Group of companies. With a passionate team of individuals who are truly invested in senior welfare, Alserv aims to assist seniors in living a fully independent life within the comfort of their own homes and not having to leave for Senior Citizen Retirement Homes. Armed with a PGPM from the acclaimed ISB, Hyderabad, and having previously founded a health and fitness company, Atul has a special interest in building businesses for the contemporary world. His previous business development experiences in Spark Capital, SunEdison, and IndusInd Bank have given him considerable exposure in managing teams and bolstering successful ventures. Atul is an avid sports enthusiast, with laudable achievements in running marathons, playing golf, and rowing.

Alserv - non-real-estate-based assisted living services for eldercare in Chennai 

Atul informs, “Alserv is an assisted living services platform for elderly people who are in their homes and do not want to move into any kind of retirement community. There are more than 40 million elderly people, over the age of 62 in urban cities, but not all of them want to move into a retirement community. The reasons for that may be that they have friends in the area they have been living in or they are just accustomed to a certain place and do not want to move away from their comfort zones. These people might not be needing continuous care, but they need some kind of support. That is the space in which we are able to help them.

Alserv provides all the services, which are required for an individual or a household right, from buying fruits, vegetables, and groceries to healthcare-related services or services like that of a plumber, a carpenter, or need of setting up of CCTV camera, or even cooked food supplies, etc.”

Atul emphasizes, “Every family who is a subscriber of Alserv has a dedicated manager like there is a bank relationship manager, but he or she is part of their extended family, who speak to them once or twice a week to understand what their requirements are, and how things are going on with them. They help them with all the services like arranging blood test facilities or a doctor’s consultation or if they need a companion for a day or two just to hang around with them or take them to a shop nearby or for an event.”

Alserv App and Services

Atul informs, “The app is available both on Play Store and iPhone store. We have one phone number for all our customers and there is always a human being on the other end whenever they call on the number. The elders can reach their own Relationship Manager, whenever they want. People can download the app and request a service on the app. Alternatively, they can use the phone for calling if they are not comfortable with the app and speak to the RM asking for just anything like, “I need lunch tomorrow or breakfast tomorrow.” Though they are able to share their customizations over a phone in a better way, records of all their requests and services provided are there on the app, with transparency of the amount spent. All the people catering to different requests are experts in that industry. We have verified and made sure that there are over 150 service providers in Alserv who ensure that there is complete perfection in the services provided. Since we are an aggregator, we negotiate for better costs of all services and products for the elders who have subscribed to Alserv services.”

Alserv’s Journey 

Atul informs, “Alserv was founded at the end of 2019. We went commercial in January 2020, right before the pandemic. The journey has been nothing more than full of surprises because in March 2020, we had lockdown and we had to reinvent our whole model in less than three months; understanding that this is how it will go for the next year and a half. We made sure that we were available all through the pandemic for all the elders who were part of us or otherwise. Though we essentially work on a subscription model, during the pandemic, we felt the need to be able to help people more than anything else. So, we gave our subscription for free to all the elders in the city of Chennai. We were there for whatever they wanted, and whenever they wanted. We had migrated to a work-from-home culture and with the same phone number, with the same kind of a setup, and with the same app, we were able to help people through the period of lockdown, during their isolation. We made sure that they did not go out even to buy fruits or vegetables. We were there on one phone call. We made sure that all fruits and vegetables were available for elders on time with all customizations.”

Atul further mentions, “People who were not affected by Covid, still required a lot, like regular health checkups, consultations with doctors, physiotherapy services or some kind of companionship since they were alone and were not able to meet people. So, we were very helpful to people in all these things, mostly catering to food needs and healthcare needs.”

(Edited by Amrita Priya)