In today's challenging world, the real drivers of change and innovation are people with bold and pioneering ideas. They change other people's lives for the better. "Life's most persistent and urgent question is what are you doing for others?," says Martin Luther King. Preetpal S. Sindhu, CEO, Solaris Diagnostics is one such entrepreneur who through his venture is trying to contribute to the betterment of healthcare services around the world.

Let's go back to the days when Covid-19 was at its peak and the pandemic had spawned healthcare crises that revealed deep underlying problems in the health care systems the world over. At that time, Solaris Diagnostics, a Nicholasville based medical testing company, increased testing production more than 260 times to keep up with the demand of coronavirus testing. The company came to the rescue of not only the US, but India as well. It sent help in the form of 1000 oxygen concentrators to India.

Solaris Diagnostics focuses on supporting physicians in delivering the appropriate treatments and improving patient outcomes through advanced diagnostic testing. The company is on a mission to deliver industry leading laboratory services, backed by continuous research and resulting in improved patient care. In fact, the world needs more of such healthcare organizations to make living healthier. Below is an excerpt of the CEO Insights' exclusive interview with Preetpal, the man behind Solaris Diagnostics.

Define Solaris Diagnostics as an organization. What are the unique propositions that it offers to its customers?
I started Solaris Diagnostics in the year 2018, after working as CLIA Laboratory Director for a span of four years. My experience as an independent consultant helped me to understand the business aspects of the diagnostics industry in the US. We started with a team of six employees and now we are a company of more than 200 members. Our focus is always on providing quality clinical results. Today we service around 2500 hospitals, LTCF and clinics, of which more than half of our business is from client referral. Solaris provides diagnostics services in the area of molecular diagnostics, microbiology, Chemistry, Hematology and Immunology. We use cutting-edge technology to provide the best-in-class diagnostics testing. Our biggest strength is the loyal employees who always stood with the company.

How does your vast experience in this segment help you to chalk out business operations for Solaris

Diagnostics?
My experience as CLIA Laboratory Director and as independent consultant positioned us well in the beginning days. Handling the laboratory operations was easy and were set up to scale up quickly. Being a scientist, our focus was always on science and quality rather than on marketing aspects. We have a very small marketing team compared to the market share we serve. When Covid started, we were well positioned to handle the Covid testing. We were able to scale up 200 times in a period of three months. At the peak of Covid, Solaris was processing over 40,000 samples per day.

We have a great team that is always working on optimizing and validating new techniques and assays

How is Solaris Diagnostics positioned in the market and what are your strategies to leverage this vast opportunity? Also, tell us about your plans to further innovate your offerings?
We have a very strong and talented team. Our team is well trained to handle any difficulty and optimize the operations in a very short period of time. We invest heavily in our team and provide all available resources. We also invest in R&D to not only adapt to new technology, but be at the forefront of the innovations. We were one of the first laboratories in the US to start commercially testing for Covid. We have a great team that is always working on optimizing and validating new techniques and assays. Our goal is to always stay step ahead and recognize the need.

What are the opportunities you see in the market and the steps that you take to stay industry ready? How are you aligning with the certifications to meet the requirements of the US government?
The Healthcare sector will see significant growth for the foreseeable future not only in the US but worldwide as well. My second R&D based startup, BioPathogenix, is working on finding new technology and assays to improve the diagnostics testing. Both Solaris and BioPathogenix were placed to be ready to adapt based on the needs of the future. Solaris Diagnostics provides CLIA certified facilities. Our operations are set on the highest compliance standards provided by CLIA and CMS, two government agencies regulating the healthcare sectors. We have hired the external compliance officers to perform regular self-audit to ensure compliance with all federal and state regulations.