TritonLife Looking to Expand a Healthy Business

Private healthcare in Hungary was growing by more than 10% year-on-year on average between 2012 and 2018, with its total revenues estimated at HUF 282.5 billion in 2018, according to statistics from the business portal portfolio.hu. Although the market has shown signs of consolidation lately, the most recent news-worthy development actually featured a new opening.

As Lajos Fábián, co-owner of TritonLife Group, explains to the Budapest Business Journal, there are no more small-sized businesses on the market that appeal for acquisition; they are simply not mature enough from the business or professional perspective.

“Of course, certain undertakings may become suitable targets with time, but for now, ever-stronger market demand should be met by cautious expansion of existing capacities,” he says.

According to 2019 figures, TritonLife was the fourth local private healthcare provider in Hungary, with the second-highest revenue growth rate of 44% and staff of 350. That also makes it one of the biggest employers in the industry.

The latest manifestation of the above-mentioned capacity expansion is the launch of TritonLife Duna Private Hospital. The facility provides both outpatient and in-patient services, the latter showing the dire need for quality hospital beds overall, the provider says.

Locomotion

Primarily, locomotor (orthopedic, spinal, and hand) surgery will be performed in the hospital’s two new operating rooms. This and the opening of a third private hospital in the city, TritonLife Medical Center RK64, will push the company’s total number of operating rooms in Budapest to 12.

The group was initially known for its maternity wards, hosting 2% of all births in the country. Over time, other areas have been added to the portfolio of the 15-year-old organization. Fábián says that locomotor surgery is relatively easy to plan, and it has different support service needs to maternity care, so it was logical to find a separate home for it.

More physical space is badly needed despite the rise in telemedicine. True enough, it saves time for customers and staff alike, but it’s far from being a cure-all, Fábián adds.

“Just to stick to the example of the locomotor center, preliminary consultation, assessment of x-ray, CT, or MRI records, and discussion of surgery plans can be done remotely without a problem. But a 79-year-old patient with diabetes should definitely be checked for anesthesiology purposes in person, and it’s also useful if a patient is present for their knee prosthesis surgery!”

The pandemic lockdowns gave healthcare digitalization in general a notable boost. Social distancing called for alternative channels in medical care, and the government also took important steps by incentivizing digital administration and introducing EESZT, the central storage platform for health records. Artificial intelligence is also taking on more of a role in facilitating decision-making and diagnoses.

The healthcare provider says it has several ambitious projects in the pipeline. TritonLife Szt. Lukács (St. Luke) Private Hospital is up for expansion next year, with seven new medical locations in the countryside are scheduled to open from Kaposvár to Győr through 2023.

This article was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of December 3, 2021.