In a rapidly evolving global landscape, few stories stand out like that of Praava Health—a patient-centered, tech-integrated healthcare model born not from the halls of medical academia but from the crossroads of law, international development, and personal crisis. Founded by Sylvana Quader Sinha, a Bangladeshi-American lawyer and policy expert, Praava Health has quickly emerged as a beacon of innovation in Bangladesh’s health sector. With over 800,000 patients served, Praava represents not just a business, but a mission to redefine healthcare for an entire nation.
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A Personal Crisis That Sparked a National Vision
The story of Praava Health begins with Sylvana Quader Sinha, a Bangladeshi-American lawyer, policy expert, and development practitioner. Raised in Virginia and educated at Wellesley College, Columbia Law School, and Harvard Kennedy School, Sinha spent her early career working in international development, law, and U.S. foreign policy, including stints with the World Bank, UN agencies, and Barack Obama’s campaign team.
The idea behind Praava Health was born in 2010 during a family trip to Dhaka when Sinha’s mother fell seriously ill. Despite access to top-tier private hospitals, the care her mother received was inadequate, culminating in a botched surgery and a series of international medical interventions. This deeply personal experience raised a fundamental question: How could a country of 170 million lack a reliable, high-quality healthcare system, even for those who could afford it?
That question became a mission. With a background in international development and a passion for social impact, Sinha set out to build something radically different—a healthcare company grounded in integrity, patient trust, technology, and access.
Building the Foundation: Learning, Listening, and Leading
By 2015, Sinha had compiled a 100-page business plan for a “click-and-brick” vertically integrated healthcare model that would combine primary and specialist care, diagnostics, telemedicine, and e-pharmacy services—all under one roof. But before launching, she embarked on a global listening tour, learning from healthcare models across Asia, the U.S., Latin America, and Europe. She met with patients and providers, studied successful emerging market models, and documented systemic flaws in Bangladesh—like poor diagnostic accuracy, unnecessary treatments, and inadequate regulation.
She discovered that the problem wasn’t just lack of access—it was lack of trustworthy care. Public systems were overburdened, while private ones were costly, fragmented, and often driven by perverse incentives.
Healthcare Reimagined: What is Praava?
Launched in February 2018, after nearly four years of research, planning, and team-building, Praava Health is a “click-and-brick” healthcare network. It combines high-quality in-person services with robust digital tools—a model designed to solve two of Bangladesh’s biggest healthcare problems: lack of trust and diagnostic reliability.
Key features of Praava’s integrated care model include:
- Family doctors and diagnostics under one roof
- A focus on preventive care and chronic disease management
- Six international-standard labs capable of performing over 250 unique tests
- Bangladesh’s first PCR lab for molecular cancer diagnostics
- A fully integrated hospital information system, the first of its kind in the country
- A patient mobile app offering full access to health records, appointment booking, and direct communication
A Tech-Enabled, Human-Centered Solution
In 2018, after securing $1.4 million in initial angel investment (eventually raising over $15 million), Praava Health launched its flagship facility in Dhaka, offering:
- 19 consultation rooms
- An advanced in-house laboratory
- Imaging services (basic to advanced)
- A tech-enabled pharmacy
- Bangladesh’s first patient mobile app
All supported by the country’s first fully integrated Hospital Information System (HIS). The platform ensured 15-minute consultations, a staggering improvement in a system where average visit times were under one minute.
This “one-stop shop” became an oasis of trust in an uncertain system. Praava didn’t just provide services—it redefined expectations, earning a Net Promoter Score (NPS) above 80, rivaling some of the best brands in the world.
Core Values That Drive Excellence
Praava’s remarkable success can be traced back to its strong internal culture. Guided by the acronym SMILE, its five core values include:
- Service – Delivering respectful, safe, and warm care
- My Praava – Encouraging ownership and constant improvement
- Integrity – Promoting transparency and trust
- Listening – Practicing empathy and compassion
- Excellence – Striving to exceed patient expectations
These values aren’t just words on paper—they’re the foundation for all employee interactions and patient care protocols. All team members, from security guards to doctors, undergo intensive hospitality training based on real stories of medical trauma and misdiagnosis. The focus is clear: treat patients the way we want our loved ones to be treated.
The Tech Advantage: Healthcare in Your Pocket
Praava’s innovation extends beyond the clinic walls. Its mobile app gives patients access to medical records, diagnostic results, prescriptions, and appointment scheduling—anytime, anywhere. It’s Bangladesh’s first app of this kind, built to put control back in the hands of patients. Once registered, users can simply connect their Praava ID and manage all their healthcare needs remotely.
This digital-first approach was crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Praava became:
- The first private provider to offer telemedicine in partnership with the government
- A licensed COVID-19 testing lab
- An early provider of e-pharmacy services
- A grant recipient for developing remote care tools, helping to reduce hospitalization rates by two-thirds
Meeting Challenges Head-On: COVID-19 Response
Praava’s commitment was tested during the COVID-19 pandemic. Facing a cash crunch that delayed salaries for two months, the team doubled down on innovation. It became:
- The first private telemedicine partner with the Bangladeshi government
- One of the first private COVID-19 test processors
- A pioneer in e-pharmacy solutions during lockdown
- A recipient of a public grant to develop a remote care management tool that slashed hospitalizations by two-thirds
These achievements weren’t just business pivots; they were lifelines during a national health emergency—and proof that the company’s culture could weather any storm.
Scaling with Purpose
Today, Praava is more than just a flagship clinic:
- Its lab serves over half of Bangladesh’s 64 districts
- It has 2,000+ corporate clients, including Chevron, Mastercard, the World Bank, and several UN agencies
- Over 20% of its revenue comes from corporate partnerships
- It is nearly cash-flow positive, a rare feat in healthcare start-ups
- Physician attrition is 0%, signaling high satisfaction and institutional trust
Most importantly, data show that Praava patients are significantly less likely to be hospitalized, a strong indicator of effective primary and preventive care.
Looking Ahead: From Dhaka to the World
As Praava continues to scale across Bangladesh, its model is already being studied by MBA programs and replicated by larger healthcare players. Sinha welcomes the competition: “If it helps patients get better care, it’s a win for everyone.”
The company remains focused on maintaining its patient-first philosophy as it explores growth into more districts and potentially other emerging markets with similar needs.
Why Praava Health?
In a country where healthcare can often feel impersonal, confusing, and rushed, Praava Health has emerged as a game-changing solution—providing patient-first, tech-enabled, and trustworthy medical care in the heart of Dhaka. Here are the key reasons why Praava stands out in Bangladesh’s evolving healthcare landscape:
1. Doctors Who Listen
At Praava, medical consultations are designed to foster trust and understanding. Unlike the national average of just 48 seconds per patient, Praava’s doctors offer guaranteed 15-minute appointments, ensuring that patients feel heard, respected, and supported.
Praava’s medical professionals come with a wealth of both local and international experience, and many have advanced training in family medicine, women’s health, pediatrics, and chronic disease management. Patients aren’t rushed in and out—they’re treated as partners in their own healthcare journey.
2. Diagnostics Patients Can Trust
One of the biggest challenges in Bangladesh’s healthcare system has been diagnostic inconsistency. To counter this, Praava built one of the country’s most advanced diagnostic infrastructures, including:
- Six fully equipped labs performing over 250 unique tests
- Bangladesh’s first PCR lab for molecular cancer diagnostics
- Rigorous quality control aligned with international standards
- One of only six internationally accredited diagnostic labs in the country
By keeping all testing in-house and using cutting-edge protocols, Praava minimizes turnaround time, reduces diagnostic errors, and eliminates the need for costly testing abroad.
3. Healthcare Anytime, Anywhere
Praava is pioneering digitally enabled healthcare in Bangladesh, offering a seamless experience that combines convenience with continuity. Through Praava’s fully integrated hospital information system and mobile app, patients can:
- Book and manage appointments online
- Access prescriptions, test results, and medical history
- Consult with doctors via telemedicine
- Request home visits from Praava’s clinical team
This patient-centered use of technology ensures that healthcare is available when and where it’s needed, whether at home, at work, or on the go.
4. A Culture of Care, Like Family
What truly sets Praava apart is its values-driven culture. Every patient is treated with empathy, integrity, and accountability. The team invests deeply in relationships—with patients and with one another.
Praava’s internal values—Service, My Praava, Integrity, Listening, and Excellence (SMILE)—guide every interaction. The company conducts quarterly hospitality and empathy training across all staff levels to uphold its high standards.
Through this culture of compassion and professionalism, Praava builds long-term, trust-based relationships that many patients say they’ve never experienced before in the local healthcare system.
Home Care and Membership Plans: Healthcare Beyond the Clinic
Praava also offers home care services, with trained doctors and nurses visiting patients in the comfort of their homes. This is especially beneficial for elderly patients, chronic illness sufferers, or those recovering from surgery.
Another innovation is Praava’s membership model, a first-of-its-kind offering in Bangladesh. Starting at BDT 4,500 and going up to BDT 28,000 annually, the membership plan isn’t just a discount scheme—it’s a values-based healthcare concept:
“We’re betting on keeping you healthy,” says Sinha. “If you visit us less because you’re healthier, that’s good for both you and our business.”
By aligning its incentives with patients’ well-being, Praava flips the traditional fee-for-service model on its head. The result? A sustainable healthcare model that prioritizes prevention over profits.
5. Transparent, Preventive & Membership-Based Care
Praava also challenges the traditional model of care by promoting value-based healthcare through its membership programs. These annual membership plans are designed to keep people healthy—not just treat them when they’re sick.
Plans range from BDT 4,500 to BDT 28,000 per year, and allow unlimited consultations, regular check-ups, and diagnostic services. This approach creates a financial and ethical alignment between the provider and the patient: Praava benefits when its patients stay healthy.
The logic is simple—invest in prevention today to avoid costly treatment tomorrow.
6. A Modern, World-Class Facility
Praava’s flagship Family Health Center in Banani, Dhaka, reflects its commitment to international quality. Designed with patient comfort and operational efficiency in mind, the facility includes:
- 19 consultation rooms
- A state-of-the-art diagnostics lab and imaging suite
- A pharmacy with direct sourcing from reputable manufacturers
- Comfortable, private spaces to ensure a dignified care experience
Visitors to Praava often remark on how different the environment feels from traditional clinics—cleaner, quieter, and more respectful of each patient’s time and privacy.
Final Thoughts: A Revolution in Care, Rooted in Humanity
Praava Health isn’t just a healthcare company—it’s a revolution in access, dignity, and compassion for a country long plagued by mistrust in its medical systems. Its founder, Sylvana Quader Sinha, didn’t begin her journey as a doctor or a health executive, but rather as a concerned daughter and a committed changemaker.
Her story, and Praava’s success, remind us that transforming healthcare doesn’t always start in hospitals—it starts with vision, values, and a deep belief that everyone deserves care they can trust.
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