Medybiz, which pioneered athome disease management services in the country, is in talks with several NGOs active in this field, said a person familiar with the development who did not want to be named.

Among these are the All India Senior Citizens Confederation, Aarzoo, Dignity Foundation, HelpAge India, Silver Innings, Agewell Foundation and Age Care. It is also tapping senior citizens’ associations in various states for information access to a pool of elderly population.

Medybiz will also partner with at least four key NGOs, which have a pan-India presence, this person said. The company is expected to announce its business plan by November. Medybiz officials declined to comment.

As part of its old age or geriatric care programme, the company will focus on health management and rehabilitation of the elderly population and senior citizens. The programme development team is said to be formulating a customized health care intervention model to provide customers regular and personalized services to meet their individual health care needs.

According to industry estimates, there are about 80 million people over the age of 60 in India; almost 80% of this group does not have adequate medical or financial support. A 2007 study by the Union ministry of health and family welfare shows that 12 million elderly people in India are blind and that over 33 million have diabetes.

Industry estimates say the elderly population is likely to grow from the current 18% to 21% by 2026. Driven by an increasing aged population, nuclear families, increased proportion of working women and a rise in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, osteoporosis, arthritis etc., the demand for geriatric care services is expected to rise to $1 billion (Rs 4,580 crore) by the end of 2012, and to over $2 billion by 2017.

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