Understanding the Practo Business Model – How it Works and Generates Revenue?

Key Takeaways (or TL;DR)

• Practo makes healthcare services easily accessible and convenient by allowing patients to book appointments, consult online, and order medicines.
• The Practo business model works as a digital platform that connects patients with doctors, hospitals, diagnostics labs, and pharmacies.
• Patients can schedule appointments and lab tests, and order medicines while doctors and hospitals get high reach, along with a dedicated dashboard to manage health records.
• The Practo revenue model is based on multiple streams, including subscription fees, commissions, and paid advertising.
• Practo’s strengths include strong brand presence and diversified revenue streams, while its weaknesses include intense competition and rapidly changing regulations.
• In the future, Practo is aiming to become a leading global healthcare navigation platform, and for this, it has stepped into the US market.

The digital healthcare industry is growing rapidly, and Practo is leading this shift by simplifying accessibility to healthcare services for patients. It allows users to book appointments, have video consultations with doctors, order medicines online, and even store and manage their health records in a dedicated dashboard.

Understanding the Practo business model helps businesses know how a technology-driven platform can streamline healthcare operations and generate multiple revenue streams.

This article will give you a detailed glimpse of how Practo works, its business model, and revenue streams. Besides, you will also get to explore the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities of its business model along with its future outlook.

What is Practo?

Practo is a digital healthcare platform that connects patients with healthcare providers, including doctors, pharmacies, and diagnostic labs. It allows users to find nearby doctors, schedule appointments online, consult with experts via video calls, order medications, and book diagnostic tests.

For patients, it provides convenience, while for doctors and clinics, it becomes an effective medium to extend their reach and manage appointments and health records more efficiently.

Practo Facts & Statistics: A Dive into the Company

Company Overview:

Founded in: 2008

Founders: Shashank ND and Abhinav Lal

Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Services: Doctor discovery and appointment booking, medicine delivery, online video consultations, and diagnostic tests

Key People: Shashank ND (Co-founder and CEO)

Total Funding: $228.2 million

Annual Revenue (2025): ₹234 crore (Around $28 million)

A Look into Practo’s History, Funding, and Acquisitions

• 2008: Was launched by Shashank ND and Abhinav Lal as a cloud-based clinic management software “Practo Ray” for doctors
• 2012: Launched Practo.com to allow patients to find doctors and book appointments online
• 2015: Acquired 4 companies, FitHo (web-based weight program), InstaHealth (Hospital management software), Qikwell (doctor appointment platform), and Genii (mobility company) to expand its services.
• 2016: Stepped into the international market by expanding its services to Brazil, Indonesia, and Singapore
• 2017: Raised $55 million in funding from Tencent for global expansion and product development
• 2021-2022: Launched Practo Care Surgeries to offer end-to-end secondary care services in major Indian cities like Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, and more.
• 2023: Included e-pharmacy and diagnostic test booking in its services
• 2024: Achieved its first profitable quarter (Q4 FY24) by reporting 22% revenue growth
• 2025: Launched its operations in the UAE and reported rapid onboarding of over 31,000 doctors, 3,000 healthcare facilities, and 50,000 monthly users.
• 2026: Practo launched its smart care navigation platform in the US market.

Practo’s Reach and Impact

With its mission to make quality healthcare affordable and accessible, Practo has created a huge impact across the world.

• Geographic Reach: The company is operating in more than 20 countries, with India, UAE, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Brazil, and the US being its key markets.
• Userbase: Since its launch, the platform has been successful in serving more than 300 million patients worldwide.
• Healthcare Professionals: By expanding its operations in different countries and cities, Practo has built strong partnerships with more than 100,000 verified doctors.

Witnessing Practo’s success, many entrepreneurs are now exploring similar digital healthcare business ideas, such as launching an on-demand medical consultation business.

How Practo Works?

Practo works in a simple way where patients search for nearby doctors, schedule appointments, or book video consultations. At the same time, doctors use the platform to manage the clinic operations. Here’s a detailed glimpse of how Practo works.

For Patients

• Users initially sign up on the Practo app and create a basic profile.
• They find doctors based on specialty, location, fees, ratings, and availability.
• Patients can also book in-clinic appointments or video consultations according to their needs.
• The app also allows patients to order medicines by uploading their prescription and book lab tests.
• The platform offers a centralized place for patients to store and manage their prescriptions, lab reports, and other essential health records.

For Doctors

• First, doctors register on the platform and create verified profiles.
• Then they list their expertise, fees, availability, and clinic details.
• The in-app notification feature notifies doctors about scheduled consultations and new appointment requests.
• Doctors can consult patients either in person or through online consultations, according to the type of appointment booked.
• After each consultation, they can share the digital prescriptions via app.
• Doctors can easily manage their appointment schedules and health records through Practo Ray.

Understanding the Practo Business Model

The Practo business model acts as a digital healthcare platform that connects patients with doctors, hospitals, and diagnostic labs through a single app. Here’s the breakdown of the business model’s important components.

Key Partners

The platform collaborates with various partners to deliver efficient healthcare services.

• Independent doctors, hospitals, and diagnostic labs that want to offer online healthcare services.
• Corporate organizations are to deliver employee wellness programs.
• Pharmacies and medicine distributors to provide medicine delivery services
• Payment gateway providers need to ensure secure online transactions between patients and healthcare providers.
• Technology service providers to build and maintain the digital healthcare platform
• Insurance companies that want to extend their reach

Key Resources

The platform relies on numerous resources to ensure smooth functioning.

• A well-designed mobile app and website to connect patients, doctors, hospitals, labs, and pharmacies.
• A strong network of reliable healthcare professionals and hospitals
• Strong brand reputation in the healthcare market
• Data analytics tools to evaluate performance regularly
• Customer support teams are to provide 24/7 support to users

Key Activities

The platform’s core activities revolve around managing and improving its digital platform.

• Maintaining the mobile and web application with timely technology updates
• Onboarding and verifying doctors, hospitals, labs, and pharmacies.
• Creating strong marketing strategies for user acquisition and retention
• Staying up-to-date with data security measures and regulatory compliance

Customer Segments

Practo serves different users, including:

Customers:

• Patients are looking for convenient ways to connect with healthcare providers and labs
• Companies offering healthcare benefits to their employees
• Users who prefer online consultations and digital healthcare services

Healthcare Providers:

• Independent doctors and small clinics who want to extend their reach and visibility
• Large hospitals need an effective way to manage patients and health records.

Value Proposition

Practo creates value for patients by simplifying access to healthcare services while expanding opportunities for doctors and hospitals to extend their reach.

For Patients:

• Easy access to trusted doctors and hospitals
• Appointment booking helps reduce waiting time
• Offers a convenient way to order medicines and book lab tests
• In-app management of health records and prescriptions helps in quick access whenever required
• Corporations get easy access to health checkups for the workforce, along with complete data management

For Doctors and Clinics:

• Get access to a large patient base
• Practo Ray simplifies the management of appointments and health records
• Generate additional revenue through online consultations

Channels

The healthcare software has been able to create a large user base through different marketing channels.

• Mobile and web apps act as the primary marketing channels
• Email marketing and push notifications to notify users about different offers
• Digital marketing through search engines and social media platforms
• In-app advertising of different healthcare services
• Partnering with local hospitals, clinics, and corporate organizations

Cost Structure

Practo undergoes several operational expenses to ensure smooth functioning

• Mobile and web app development and maintenance costs
• Salaries of medical teams and customer support teams
• Marketing and customer acquisition costs
• Continuous expenses for medicine delivery, diagnostics, and logistics operations

How Practo Makes Money - Practo Revenue Model

The Practo revenue model is based on multiple streams like subscriptions, commissions, medicine delivery, and more. Let’s have a detailed glimpse of how Practo makes money.

SaaS Subscription Fees - Practo Ray

Practo charges doctors and hospitals a fixed recurring fee for using its practice management software, Practo Ray, on a monthly or annual basis. This creates a steady and predictable revenue source for the platform.

Online Consultation Commissions

When patients book online consultations or in-person appointments, the platform takes a small percentage of commission from the fees paid to the doctors. This commission-based model allows Practo to earn from every appointment made through it.

Practo Prime - Paid Doctor Listings

Many healthcare providers and hospitals are ready to pay extra for higher visibility in search results. Practo takes advantage of this by charging listing fees for premium placement. This helps doctors extend their reach while Practo generates an additional income.

Medicine Delivery - Margins on E-Pharmacy Orders

Practo earns considerable revenue by charging a commission for each medicine order placed through its e-pharmacy services. Medicine delivery is considered to be a steady revenue source for Practo, as patients often place repeat medicine orders on the platform.

Diagnostics Test Booking - Commissions from Labs

The platform also generates revenue through diagnostic test bookings. When patients book lab tests through the app, Practo charges a set percentage of commission from its partnered labs. This generates income from every lab booking.

Corporate Health Plans - B2B Wellness Services

Besides appointment scheduling and management, the app also offers corporate health plans that mainly include services like employee wellness programs, teleconsultations, and regular health checkups.

Companies pay a considerable amount to Practo to manage the healthcare services for their workforce. This creates an additional revenue channel for the platform.

SWOT Analysis of Practo Business Model

The SWOT analysis allows you to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the Practo business model. Besides, it also gives you a complete idea about the potential opportunities and threats that could hinder its growth.

Strengths

• Practo has a strong brand presence, which makes it a trusted healthcare platform among millions of users worldwide.
• It involves a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for both patients and healthcare professionals.
• The platform offers end-to-end healthcare services that include consultations, appointment booking, medicine delivery, and management of different health records.
• The Practo revenue model is diversified, which allows it to generate income from multiple sources instead of relying on a single service.

Weaknesses

• Practo mainly operates in metro and tier-1 cities like Bangalore, Pune, and Delhi. However, a large part of India’s population lives in semi-urban and rural areas, due to which its reach becomes limited in underserved areas.
• Maintaining healthcare software requires constant updates in technology and compliance, which increase the overall operational costs.
• The platform heavily relies on the internet and technology, which makes it vulnerable to internet failures, technical glitches, and data security risks.

Opportunities

• The growing acceptance of virtual consultations creates strong growth opportunities for Practo in the market.
• With companies increasingly investing in employee wellness, corporate health plans allow the platform to create a stable revenue source.
• With the Practo business model already tested in the Indian market, the company can easily step into the international and emerging markets where digital healthcare is still developing.

Threats

• Platforms like MFine, Lybrate, and Apollo 24/7 offer a similar kind of service, which creates intense competition for Practo.
• Regulations for e-pharmacy and telemedicine keep evolving with time, which makes it challenging for the platform to stay compliant at all times.
• Less tech-savvy people prefer offline consultations, which can reduce Practo’s adoption.
• Large hospital chains are launching their own apps. This can reduce the dependency of hospitals and clinics on Practo.

Practo’s Future Plan and Strategy

Practo’s future strategy is strongly focused on global expansion, with the US being its important international market. The company has recently launched its smart care navigation platform in the US. It onboarded over 200,000 doctors of multiple specialities.

The platform witnessed rapid adoption in the US market with more than 300,000 monthly active users in dental and mental health services. This highlights Practo’s potential to succeed in a highly competitive market.

In the future, the platform is planning to expand its services to specialist discovery, surgical pathways, and AI-powered healthcare services. For this, the company has started strengthening its provider network by onboarding more independent practices, healthcare chains, hospitals, and clinics.

So, Practo is looking forward to strengthening its position as a global healthcare navigation platform for long-term sustainability.

How Elluminati Can Help You Build an App Like Practo?

Understanding the Practo business model becomes important for businesses considering entering the digital healthcare space.

Its end-to-end approach of connecting patients, doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, and labs in one platform makes it a profitable model for healthcare services. However, the real success lies in having a system that can easily streamline healthcare operations and ensure smooth experiences for patients.

That’s where Elluminati becomes your effective partner. With 14+ years of expertise in developing on-demand applications, we help businesses launch faster while enabling long-term scalability with our Practo clone. Our ready-to-launch platform simplifies interactions between doctors and patients through dedicated apps for patients, doctors, and admins. This ensures efficient appointment management and higher patient engagement with ease.

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