Building a cardiology testing service

Dr Rajesh Kanna could see the potential of starting a cardiology testing service. Two years later, he’s running four centres. 

  5.5 minutes

Even though he opened his first practice with one secretary and his wife as the business manager, cardiologist Dr Rajesh Kanna had grand plans of expanding. Dr Kanna opened his first cardiology testing service, Global Cardiology in late 2015. Now he’s planning to open his fifth venture early next year.

His first testing service at Wexford Medical Centre in Murdoch, Western Australia, was immediately successful. “We expanded to be one of the busiest practices in this field,” says Dr Kanna. “It was mainly because I have a great team, the technology works efficiently, and we have a lot of support from the GPs.”

Specialising in interventional cardiology, he performed more than 500 interventional procedures when working at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, Canada. The cardiologist has also studied in his home country of India, as well as the UK but eventually settled in Australia more than a decade ago. After working at Fremantle Hospital, WA, he became a partner with the cardiology practice Hearts West in 2006 but before too long, he had the idea of opening the state’s first cardiology testing service.

Visions of the heart

“We wanted to make cardiac testing easily available to all people,” says Dr Kanna, who graduated from Bangalore University in India in 1996. 

“While it’s very expensive and people often have high out-of-pocket costs, there was usually a long wait period to perform the testing. So we wanted to offer testing at multiple sites. 

"It meant there were many overheads to be covered, including leases, personnel costs and the purchase of specialised cardiac equipment.

“At the same time, what we want to provide is a quality service offering the best technology operated by the best people in that field. Obviously, all of these factors come at a cost. We spoke to various banks but they didn’t share our long-term vision.”

It was while Dr Kanna was working as a partner at Hearts West in 2006 that he and his wife talked to BOQ Specialist about buying their first home.

When BOQ Specialist consultant Richard Curia discovered Dr Kanna’s vision of opening a series of cardiology testing services, he could see the potential. Richard recalls: “Dr Kanna’s biggest problem was that he had just immigrated and could not find a financial institution that was willing to assist him in Australia.” When Dr Kanna expressed the difficulties he was having with the major banks, Richard happily offered much more than just a home loan package. “We deal with many medical specialists, so we could see where he was going to finish.”

A big heart

By the time Dr Kanna opened Global Cardiology in late 2015, he had become much more than a cardiologist—he was also a well-versed businessman. “We [Dr Kanna and his business manager wife] had to do everything ourselves, including looking after super, worker’s comp and intermediary insurance sites, as well as paying staff and our contractors,” he says. “I also had to source efficient software for the reporting of tests. It meant we were constantly thinking outside the box. It was a challenge but it was worth it.”

Dr Kanna now runs four Global Cardiology sites, covering North, South, East and West Perth. “All the sites are run to capacity,” he says. “We started off running Murdoch five days a week and the other sites two days a week. Now all the sites are running five days a week, as well as some weekend and after-hours work.”

While Dr Kanna is looking at new practices next year, the next stage is consolidation. He admits it’s been a steep learning curve but he's relieved that Richard Curia is always there for him. “I usually work late at night, but I’ll always get answers from Richard quickly. Although I’m working hard, I’m really enjoying it. It's very rewarding.”

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