BBJ: How was the 2023 business year for you, and how have things been in H1 2024?

Péter Haraszti: 2023 was a year of expansion and growth for us. We doubled our revenue, positioning TritonLife as Hungary’s largest private healthcare provider. Last year, our group achieved net sales of nearly HUF 35 billion, up from HUF 17.5 bln the previous year. HUF 13 bln from this growth was attributed to the acquisition of Fresenius, a significant dialysis company we have already sold. More importantly, we invested in developing several new healthcare sites, amounting to over HUF 5.3 bln. We built a new hospital in Miskolc, opened a heavy imaging radiology center in Veszprém and launched the most modern laboratory in the CEE region. The oldest private clinic in Budapest and the biggest outpatient center in the countryside also joined our network. 

Regarding specific areas of growth, the number of surgeries across various specialties increased to 12,000 from 9,600 in 2022. We also increased our doctor-patient encounters to half a million, compared to 400,000 the previous year.

BBJ: Do you have specific investment plans for Hungary in the immediate or near future? Is further expansion on the table?

PH: We founded TritonLife Group to establish a nationwide healthcare provider. By now, we have almost covered the whole country with our services, but there are still some areas where we want to set foot in the countryside. Furthermore, our main objective for the near future is to enter the corporate healthcare market and become a significant player. We are also investing large amounts in digital healthcare solutions such as patient route management, telemedicine, digital patient data monitoring with IOT devices, and so on.

BBJ: What plans do you have for stepping beyond Hungary’s borders? Are there concrete plans for becoming a regional player?

PH: I believe every successful company with a robust business plan and efficient operations should consider expanding beyond its borders. However, private healthcare presents unique challenges when exporting services internationally. These challenges include varying regulatory environments, differences in healthcare infrastructure, cultural differences in medical practices, and the need for significant local market knowledge. We are actively considering rolling out several digital health, telemedicine, prevention and screening projects internationally.

BBJ: You started working for multinational companies before becoming an entrepreneur and moving into the healthcare field in 2018. What drew you to doing business in this sector?

PH: The Hungarian market was immature and fragmented; I saw business potential in consolidating the sector, and healthcare is, worldwide, a rapidly growing business. I also wanted to be involved in an area where I could help people heal and live healthier lives.

BBJ: What are the developing trends for healthcare in Hungary?

PH: Healthcare systems worldwide mainly focus on healing and treatment, just as in Hungary. However, there is an ongoing revolution in medicine internationally that aims to prevent diseases before they occur. The latest evidence-based, personalized prevention and lifestyle practices help us to extend our healthy lifespan by 10, 20, or even 30 years. Our role is crucial in educating our doctors, medical staff, and patients about these prevention practices and personalized screening solutions. These proven practices are effective and can make a real difference in combating the alarming trend in death rates from cancer, cardiovascular diseases or diabetes.

We have developed a unique, personalized prevention and lifestyle program. We study our patients’ individual health status and parameters, genetic information and parent’s health history. Based on this information and adopting a holistic approach, we advise the necessary screenings and follow that with personalized prevention and lifestyle advice. After that, we don’t leave our patients alone; rather, we measure the results and follow their progress every half a year.

BBJ: Health is, first and foremost, a personal issue. As individuals, we are responsible for our bodies. But should employers do more to promote and encourage healthier lifestyles among their staff?

PH: Many people are not mindful enough about their personal health, often neglecting preventive measures and regular check-ups. However, there are encouraging trends towards increased health awareness and proactive wellness practices. For obvious reasons, employers should care about the health of their employees, but this has become more of an expectation and a benefit.

BBJ: Hungary has a good reputation for training and producing healthcare workers. Do you find it easy to recruit staff in the quantity and quality you need?

PH: It is not easy to find skilled staff in any profession now, but in healthcare, it is even more complicated; by 2030, about 10 million healthcare professionals will be missing from healthcare systems globally. There is also a trend for young doctors to leave their countries of education for more developed countries. I believe that technology, digital health, AI and new preventative measures can help solve this problem in the long term; at least, this is our only hope.

TritonLife offers competitive packages, a pleasant working environment, excellent team spirit and the latest equipment and devices for our colleagues. We are the only private provider that has rights given by the state to train doctors and nurses in eight different professional fields. We have impeccable quality standards and operate centers of excellence in six different areas of medicine. We experience that Hungarian professionals with 20-30 years of experience coming home from abroad want to work for TritonLife. That is promising!

This article was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of July 12, 2024.