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Abu Dhabi's private healthcare provider, Burjeel Holdings, achieved solid financial results in 2023, with AED 4.5 billion in revenue and a net profit of AED 540 million, marking a 52% YoY increase. The company aims to build on this success by focusing on operational efficiency and expanding its presence in the Gulf and MENA region.
In an interview with Zawya Projects, Burjeel Holdings’ CEO, John Sunil, underscored the commitment to elevating patient experiences, outlining a strategic vision that integrates technology, network expansion, and specialized care to establish the company as a premier healthcare service provider in the MENA region.
Sunil underscores the company's commitment to patient-centric care, talent development, and emphasizes that long-term goals in Saudi Arabia and beyond are at the forefront of their strategic vision.
“Burjeel Holdings saw remarkable progress on its strategic ambitions to ramp up the group’s high-growth assets, expand its healthcare infrastructure and drive patient yield through the provision of highly specialized complex care,” said Sunil.
He said the Group maintains its focus on the expansion of its medical network and enhancing operational efficiency through economies of scale and continued digitization.
Excerpts from the interview:
Can you provide insights into Burjeel Holdings' FY23 financial results, considering the Q3'23 report indicated a 23.8% YoY revenue growth driven by increased inpatient footfall and patient yield?
Burjeel Holdings saw remarkable progress on its strategic ambitions to ramp up the group’s high-growth assets, expand its healthcare infrastructure and drive patient yield through the provision of highly specialized complex care. The group maintains its focus on the expansion of its medical network and enhancing operational efficiency through economies of scale and continued digitization.
Our dedicated and professional team remained committed to improving operational efficiency and cost optimization, enabling the group to deliver an impressive net profit growth rate and set a new record in profitability in 2023.
Additionally, our capability to onboard highly qualified doctors and world-renowned consultants has enhanced patients’ trust in Burjeel Holdings.
Burjeel has made significant progress in healthcare. How does it evaluate its market position and what strategies drive further growth?
The UAE and Saudi Arabia continued to experience favorable macro tailwinds, with strong predicted mid-term GDP growth, rapid population growth and increasing demand for added healthcare capacity.
In this context, Burjeel experienced considerable demand for its differentiated specialty healthcare offering. Furthermore, with a substantial in-patient private market share of 19% in the UAE, Burjeel has consolidated its position in the Emirates’ healthcare system, particularly in areas of highly complex healthcare.
Burjeel is very well positioned to continue its growth trajectory, given the quality of the healthcare we provide in the region. We will remain consistent with our strategy, to increase our asset utilization, patient yield and operational efficiencies.
Could you share details about Burjeel Holdings' recent business initiatives and any noteworthy milestones achieved in the past year?
Our network served more than 6 million patients in 2023, reflecting the trust patients have in its healthcare system and its ability to add new services to increase patient footfall. The group’s total patient footfall saw substantial increases of 9%, primarily due to our investment in super-specialties and ability to drive cross-group referral. Bed occupancy reached 61% during 2023, reflecting both impressive improvement in utilization as well as the significant untapped capacity across Burjeel’s 16 hospitals.
Burjeel Holdings has continued to rapidly expand its partnerships with world-class specialists. BMC — Burjeel Medical City, our flagship facility, opened the Paley Middle East Clinic, specializing in orthopedic care for musculoskeletal conditions and complex procedures.
We also began our affiliation with Northwell Health, the largest healthcare provider in New York State, to launch a highly advanced Neuroscience Institute in Abu Dhabi.
Furthermore, we launched the Advanced Gynecology Institute at the BMC, in collaboration with the Franco-European Multidisciplinary Institute of Endometriosis Academy (IFEM Endo).
Lastly, we formed a partnership with Digipharm, a UK-based healthcare solutions innovator, demonstrating the group’s commitment to enhancing its research and development capability and its use of technology to greatly enhance patient care.
Can you share recent expansion plans and growth strategies for Burjeel in Saudi Arabia?
Since announcing our plans in 2022, we’ve made significant strides in our expansion efforts. Within just two years, we’ve successfully launched PhysioTherabia, a network of physiotherapy, rehabilitation, and wellness centers, in collaboration with Leejam Sports Company, the owner of Fitness Time – the largest chain of fitness centers in the Middle East. This joint venture has laid a strong foundation for our presence in the Kingdom.
In March 2024, Burjeel launched eight new centers in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Al Khobar and Yanbu, significantly scaling its geographical footprint across the Kingdom. We plan to grow our PhysioTherabia offering with a target to open 60 centers by the end of 2025.
Our investment strategy extends beyond PhysioTherabia. The introduction of our new Day Surgery Centers is a testament to our commitment to providing accessible, high-quality healthcare services. These centers are part of our ‘capex lite’ approach, which allows us to expand our footprint efficiently.
With our established complex care capabilities and a network of internationally affiliated centers, we seek to replicate our success in Saudi Arabia’s competitive healthcare market. Our Specialized Day Surgery Centers, fully owned and operated by the group, will offer a distinct service portfolio tailored to the Kingdom’s growing demand for specialized healthcare services.
We also plan to introduce internationally affiliated centers, ensuring that patients in Saudi Arabia have access to cutting-edge technologies and expertise, including state-of-the-art robotics solutions. We believe this strategic approach will help us gain sizeable ground in the Kingdom.
Currently, the two specialized Day Surgery Centers we have announced in Riyadh represent our initial foray into this innovative healthcare model within Saudi Arabia. We believe that day surgery centers hold immense potential due to their advanced offerings and the quick recovery times they provide for patients.
Parallel to this, we have already announced our ambition to make our PhysioTherabia network the largest of its kind, with centers spread across the Kingdom.
Can you share details about the recent collaboration with Abu Dhabi Airports for a clinic and outline how Burjeel Holdings aims to enhance passengers' healthcare experiences?
The state-of-the-art clinic at Zayed International Airport will ensure the health and wellness of passengers and employees in one of the world's most dynamic airport environments while also aiding medical tourists and international patients.
Under BMC, the clinic will offer 24/7 high-quality medical care, ensuring guests have immediate access to healthcare without needing to leave the airport, maximizing safety and minimizing potential travel disruptions for those seeking treatment.
How does Burjeel prioritize and improve the overall patient experience, and what measures ensure patient satisfaction?
Patient satisfaction serves as a pivotal metric in delineating the efficacy of healthcare delivery, underpinning operational excellence, and demonstrating Burjeel’s commitment to providing world-class patient-centric care.
Patient satisfaction surveys are carried out annually by the Department of Health across Burjeel’s Abu Dhabi hospitals. In 2022, the Group’s patient satisfaction metrics aligned with sector standards, with 87% inpatient and 73% outpatient satisfaction average rates, respectively. Our target is to conduct regular patient satisfaction surveys to ensure a patient satisfaction rate of 85% or higher.
Investing in patient-oriented training and consulting fosters a culture of empathy-driven care, optimizing patient satisfaction and enhancing clinical outcomes. We are partnering with national and international institutions to train and improve specialized skills in nursing. Additionally, data analytics and AI-led solutions are being harnessed to optimize patient care processes and enhance operational efficiency.
How is Burjeel leveraging technology to enhance patient care, streamline operations, and stay at the forefront of medical advancements in the healthcare sector?
Technology is at the core of Burjeel’s patient-facing and back-office strategy. We are implementing Oracle’s state-of-the-art Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system to deliver transformative clinical, commercial, and operational efficiencies across Burjeel’s healthcare facilities. EMR will enable improved digital outreach, process automation and the better use of patient insights to drive excellent outcomes.
We also announced a new strategic partnership with e& enterprise, which is bringing advanced technology into the healthcare sector and transforming how we deliver care to our patients. By integrating sophisticated telehealth and remote patient monitoring systems, we are set to enhance patient access, improve care quality, and streamline healthcare delivery.
Our vision is to establish a patient-centric, technology-enabled healthcare model that sets new industry standards and meets the needs of our society and environment.
Another technological advance is the new Da Vinci Xi robotic system at BMC, allowing surgeons to perform intricate, minimally invasive procedures with exceptional precision. The group will continue to invest further in such technology over the coming years to drive efficiency and improve patient experience.
What are the long-term goals and vision for Burjeel Holdings, and how does the company plan to navigate the ever-evolving healthcare landscape in the future?
Burjeel has invested in an innovative system and is set to grow going forward, advancing healthcare across the region with world-class experts, practitioners and technology.
Our specialized healthcare segment in the Saudi market is strategically pivotal and I expect considerable growth in the Kingdom. We will grow our position as the most trusted and respected healthcare service provider in the MENA region and continue delivering exemplary innovation and research, which will help us fully leverage high-yield O&M capabilities.
I am fully confident that our geographic expansion strategy and focus on complex and super-specialty care, supported by our growing referral network, will yield improved asset utilization and lead to revenue and margin growth, providing greater appeal to investors.
(Reporting by Syed Ameen Kader; Editing by Anoop Menon and Dennis Daniel)
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