Innovation in healthcare is changing quickly, and Vectramind Health is at the forefront of this shift. During a special interview with MedEdge MEA, Dr. Murali Krishna Vakalapudi discussed how the business continues to expand, from improving human experiences to developing AI-powered healthcare solutions. Vectramind has almost 20 years of experience in the region with plans to solidify its presence in KSA, while currently working with partners in Qatar and Kuwait in 2025 with firstpass, its Al-native platform. firstpass will aim to revolutionize patient care by promoting individualized, value-based results and the latest innovations. 

MedEdge MEA: Vectramind has built a strong foundation over nearly two decades. How does the company plan to expand its vision into healthcare in 2025 and beyond?

Dr Murali Krishna Vakalapudi: Looking back at our early origins as a ‘transformative human experiences’ company, we have always ensured that we stay ahead of the curve in our offerings. From our inception, we launched Synapse, our proven messaging and conversational-AI platform that continues to be trusted among our growing roster of clients across multifaceted industries, from automotive to retail including healthcare. 

Our experience in healthcare with Synapse helped us realize a lot could be done to make things better, like developing a single unified platform so that experiences and service recovery could be managed in real-time. So, when you look back, we didn’t just step into healthcare in 2025, it was a natural process of evolution stemming from our core belief: to ‘adapt and evolve’. 

As we navigate through the transformative year of 2025, our dedication to advancing patient care through innovative technology remains Vectramind Health’s core mission. Our pioneering AI-native platform, firstpass, exemplifies this commitment. It offers data-centric insights and flawless integration across its suite of modules, tailored to address the unique challenges faced by our expanding network of healthcare partners.

ME: How will Vectramind Health’s investment in R&D, technology, and best practices contribute to strategic goals and patient engagement?

Dr. MKV: Being a product-driven organization, R&D plays a vital role in constantly bringing out innovative products for our customers, which then translates into the intended outcome of helping patients. 

To get this going, we have created a separate R&D Team within our organization to identify trends, focus on key issues, study patterns and deliver insights. This will help us create and spearhead new initiatives on Cloud & AI, which in turn can unlock innovative features and functionalities. Our AI-focused approach, helps us develop modules that will support our healthcare providers with forecasting and potential challenges, to improve patient experience and engagement. 

Talking of engagement, we are developing modules that will help healthcare providers maintain constant communication at every level of the patient journey while taking care to create customised and relevant content, not just generic ones.

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ME: What factors are driving Vectramind Health’s expansion into Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and how will you strengthen your presence?

Dr. MKV: While our headquarters are in the UAE, apart from having well-established offices in Hyderabad and Tanuku in India, we are conscious of our potential to strengthen and spread our presence within the Middle East, especially with respect to KSA and Qatar.

A recent report showed that the healthcare market across the GCC, grew from $185.5 billion in 2021 to $243.6 billion in 2023, pointing to a market that is highly receptive to innovation and further growth.  

KSA has had a significant presence in digital health, post the COVID era, across a population of nearly 35 million. It’s a figure that would be growing, given the liberal policies introduced in the country and the expansion into larger investments in retail, real estate and of course, healthcare. Based on research, there would be a demand for 40,000 beds by 2035, due to its increasing population and life expectancy, and increased incidence of lifestyle-related diseases, making it a growing market in healthcare.

Having our presence in Qatar is crucial, given the country ranks at among the top 5 in the world in healthcare with the market expected to reach an estimated net worth of $12 billion by 2024. The government also prioritizes the quality of patient-centric care to be delivered at top quality so that it also works as a world-class healthcare ecosystem aiming to attract medical tourists.

Our current presence in KSA, Qatar and Kuwait are built on strong partnerships that are key to developing our growing client base. To ensure they continue to function seamlessly in our regular operations, we have hired local talent that understand the unique needs of our clients, and meet and exceed their expectations at every stage with our offerings. It also reflects our belief in ‘being global, while acting local’.

As we navigate through the transformative year of 2025, our dedication to advancing patient care through innovative technology remains Vectramind Health’s core mission.

Dr Murali Krishna Vakalapudi, MBBS, Founder and CEO of Vectramind Health

ME: How would you focus on the patient experience going forward in 2025?

Dr. MKV: We always champion a ‘seamless patient experience that is personalized and error-free’

So, my advice in this respect, would be to:

• Focus greatly on adopting AI.
• Leverage technology for efficiency. 
• Keep ‘patient-centric care’ as your top priority: this is a key attribute that can make or break your reputation as a healthcare provider.
• Ensure you constantly focus on personalization and engagement in gaining maximum patient satisfaction.
• Prioritize value-based care, one that will drive innovation and constantly improve your quality of care.
• Invest in R&D: It helps you constantly study your patient journey so that you can always better your technology when mining for unique insights and arriving at innovative solutions to challenges.