A new report by health benefits platform ekincare has revealed a marked shift in where individuals in India are choosing to access preventive healthcare. According to the “Diagnostics vs Hospitals: Preventive Health Report 2025,” 82 per cent of individuals now prefer diagnostic centres for preventive checkups, while only 18 per cent continue to opt for hospitals.
The report draws on appointment and ratings data from Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Pune, and Hyderabad, which collectively account for 75 per cent of India’s diagnostic volumes. It compares satisfaction levels, accuracy, service quality, and speed between diagnostic centres and hospitals for services such as annual health checkups, pre-employment screenings, and lab tests.
“What we’re seeing is a structural shift in how preventive healthcare is being delivered and consumed in India,” said Kiran Kalakuntla, CEO and Founder, ekincare. “The modern health-seeker values speed, transparency, and control and diagnostic centres are meeting those expectations more consistently than hospitals. This data is a wake-up call for how India’s preventive healthcare ecosystem must evolve,” he added.
Findings from the report show that diagnostic centres deliver 71 per cent of reports within 48 hours, in contrast to hospitals, which meet this timeline in only 47 per cent of cases. Regarding report accuracy, 3.3 per cent of diagnostic centre reports required corrections compared to 4.4 per cent from hospitals—indicating 30 per cent fewer errors at diagnostic centres.
Customer satisfaction ratings also leaned in favour of diagnostic centres, with 81 per cent of visits receiving a 4-star rating or higher, versus 79 per cent for hospitals. Diagnostic centres recorded 56 per cent fewer complaints related to long wait times and 33 per cent fewer reports of unsatisfactory staff behaviour.
City-specific insights from the report include:
- In Mumbai, 95 per cent of preventive health appointments were fulfilled at diagnostic centres.
- In Hyderabad, diagnostic labs received 94 per cent higher staff behaviour ratings and scored 74 per cent better in hygiene than hospitals.
- In Bengaluru, 84 per cent of diagnostic reports were delivered within 48 hours, compared to 53 per cent from hospitals.
- In Delhi-NCR, 87 per cent of diagnostic centre reports met the 48-hour benchmark, compared to 38 per cent at hospitals. The region also reported 70 per cent fewer complaints about waiting times at diagnostic centres.
- In Pune, 0.7 per cent of patients flagged poor staff behaviour at diagnostic centres, as opposed to 6.3 per cent at hospitals.
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