In this Experts Corner, Anuj Chahal, Founder and CEO of Maverick Simulation Solutions, shares his journey, inspirations and perspective on building stronger clinical readiness in healthcare. He also reflects on the ideas and experiences that have shaped his work in simulation-based training and healthcare innovation.
- To begin, could you briefly describe your current role and the core mission that drives your work in healthcare today?
If we look at Indian healthcare today, the real challenge isn’t ambition, it’s preparedness. We are expanding medical colleges, increasing specialist seats, digitising records, and investing in infrastructure. Yet the most decisive variable in patient outcomes remains clinical judgment under pressure. That’s where systems often fall short.
In my role, I see my responsibility less as building products and more as influencing how the ecosystem thinks about clinical readiness. My core mission is to strengthen the bridge between medical education and real-world care delivery. Healthcare systems are only as strong as the confidence and competence of the professionals within them. If clinicians are trained to respond effectively in high-risk scenarios before encountering them in practice, patient safety improves, team dynamics improve, and institutional reliability improves. That foundational belief drives my work every day.
- Which specific problem in the healthcare ecosystem are you most focused on solving, and why does it matter now?
The systemic issue I am most focused on is the variability in clinical readiness across institutions. India produces a significant number of healthcare professionals annually, yet exposure to structured, high-acuity, simulation-based learning is not uniformly embedded across training environments. This creates uneven confidence levels among young clinicians entering demanding roles.
This matters because healthcare complexity is increasing. We are managing higher critical care loads, more technology-intensive interventions, and rising patient awareness. In such an environment, hesitation or inconsistency in response can have serious consequences. Standardising experiential learning, especially in emergency and critical care settings, reduces uncertainty and improves decision-making consistency.
My focus is on advocating for competency-driven preparation as a systemic standard rather than an institutional choice. When preparedness becomes non-negotiable, quality becomes more predictable.
- Can you share one initiative, product or programme from your organisation that you believe has made the most meaningful impact on patients, providers or the health system?
One product that has made a particularly meaningful impact is SIDDH, our indigenously developed high-fidelity patient simulation platform.
SIDDH was built with a clear objective: to make advanced simulation more contextual, accessible, and aligned with Indian clinical realities. Instead of relying solely on imported systems that may not reflect local workflows or resource constraints, we focused on creating a solution that integrates realistic physiology, scenario customisation, and curriculum adaptability suited to Indian teaching hospitals.
What makes SIDDH impactful is not just its technical capability, but its use in structured simulation programmes, emergency response drills, critical care training, anaesthesia preparedness, nursing skill validation, and interdisciplinary team training. Institutions using SIDDH can simulate high-risk scenarios such as cardiac arrest, trauma stabilisation, airway emergencies, and obstetric crises in a controlled environment before clinicians face them in real settings.
The downstream impact is improved response coordination, clearer communication during emergencies, and greater clinical confidence. Patients may never see the simulator, but they experience the benefit when teams respond calmly and cohesively under pressure.
- What is one innovation or strategic decision that significantly changed the trajectory of your organisation or portfolio in the last 2-3 years?
A defining strategic decision for us was investing in indigenous product development and strengthening our R&D capabilities rather than remaining dependent on imported technologies.
The launch and evolution of SIDDH marked a shift in how we positioned ourselves, from a distributor or integrator to a solution innovator. This allowed us to tailor simulation systems to Indian academic requirements, pricing sensitivities, and regulatory frameworks.
At the same time, we moved toward a more programmatic approach, supporting institutions not just with equipment, but with installation planning, faculty training, and simulation lab design consultation. This broadened our role from product provider to long-term capability partner.
That transition strengthened both our credibility and our institutional relationships.
- From a business perspective, what do you see as the biggest operational or financial challenge in Indian healthcare today, and how are you addressing it?
One of the biggest challenges in Indian healthcare is capital allocation prioritisation. Hospitals and medical colleges are expanding rapidly, but budgets must balance infrastructure, technology, manpower, and compliance requirements.
Simulation training, although critical, is sometimes viewed as supplementary rather than essential. The challenge is shifting that perception.
We address this by aligning simulation investments with accreditation requirements, competency-based medical education frameworks, and measurable quality indicators. When leadership understands that structured simulation strengthens clinical outcomes, improves audit preparedness, and enhances institutional reputation, it becomes a strategic decision rather than an optional expenditure.
We also focus on scalable lab models so institutions can build capability in phases instead of making prohibitive upfront investments.
- Collaboration is critical in healthcare. Who do you see as your most important partners (hospitals, payers, startups, government, etc.), and how do these partnerships create value?
Our most important partners are medical colleges, teaching hospitals, and clinical educators who champion simulation-based learning.
Faculty engagement is central. Even the most advanced simulator delivers limited value without trained educators designing scenarios and debriefing effectively. Therefore, we work closely with academic leaders to ensure that simulation is embedded into structured training modules rather than used sporadically.
We also collaborate with hospital administrators and quality teams, especially where simulation is used for emergency preparedness drills and interdisciplinary coordination training. These partnerships create value by strengthening institutional readiness and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
- Looking ahead to the next 3- 5 years, what one trend in healthcare, pharma or digital health do you think leaders cannot afford to ignore?
The shift toward competency-based validation in medical education and hospital credentialing will be transformative.
Degrees alone will not be sufficient markers of preparedness. Institutions will increasingly need to demonstrate skill proficiency, structured training hours, and performance validation in high-risk procedures.
Simulation will move from being a progressive addition to becoming a core validation tool. Leaders who proactively integrate measurable training frameworks today will be better positioned as regulatory and quality expectations evolve.
- What is one lesson or piece of advice you would offer to emerging healthcare leaders and founders who want to build sustainable, impact-driven businesses?
Solve for structural gaps, not surface inefficiencies. In healthcare, sustainable impact comes from strengthening the foundations, clinical preparedness, skill standardisation, and a culture of patient safety. Short-term fixes may generate visibility, but long-term credibility is built by addressing systemic weaknesses that influence outcomes at scale. Equally important is building alongside end users. Clinicians prioritise reliability, relevance, and workflow alignment over novelty. When solutions are co-designed with those delivering care, adoption becomes seamless and trust develops organically. Enduring healthcare innovation is not about disruption alone; it is about responsibility, consistency, and measurable improvement
