Trends in technology-enabled healthcare

For many reasons healthcare is even more in demand nowadays, but more and more of those who need it are turning to telemedicine and digital doctors instead of travelling to a physician’s clinic or hospital and sitting patiently for medical attention in a waiting room full of sick people. Speed, convenience, accessibility, cost savings… these are some of the advantages that digital and mobile technologies are offering to both those who seek and provide healthcare today. Here we look at some of the amazing ways that technology is transforming the way healthcare providers can reach out to patients.

Imagine patients could search for a good doctor and book an appointment with the click of a button. Or consult a specialist for a health problem and get medical advice in minutes without having to visit that doctor’s clinic. Or buy their medicines from the comfort of their own home. Or even arrange for professional home care for an ailing relative without having to pay costly hospital stay charges. Sounds impossible? Not any longer. Welcome to the digital age. Where to reach out to one another, patients and healthcare providers need to just reach for their smart phone or tablet. As a medical professional, if you don’t want to miss out on the benefits offered by modern technology, then it’s time you discovered how
the digital age is transforming the world of healthcare.

The dawn of technology-enabled healthcare

It is not just the development of new technologies that is making people turn to digital healing. A large aging population, migration of younger members of the family to foreign shores, old parents having to manage their own healthcare needs, greater complexities in health problems, and the rising cost of traditional healthcare – all these have led to the increasing popularity of technology-enabled healthcare services.

Today, physicians and other healthcare providers need not provide in-clinic care to each of their patients. Providing remote care to those who opt for such services frees them to give more time and attention to the ones who are more ill and require personal attention more urgently. Now thanks to technology people who are unable or too old to make frequent visits to doctors’ clinics, or need immediate attention for a minor medical problem could choose to see an on-demand tele doctor by clicking on an app on their mobile. Modern technology is thus providing opportunities for doctors to connect with patients in amazing new ways unheard of before.

In addition, computerization of patients’ records and diagnostic tests, the ability to easily consult other doctors who are treating similar cases, are other advantages that healthcare providers can avail of in the digital age.

Nowadays there are a number of
such online health services platforms or digital healthcare companies to choose from, and a whole range of health apps for doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, lab technologists and others who provide health-related services. Here are a few for you to check out.

Integrated Healthcare Services

These are integrated technology enabled healthcare platforms that connect hospitals, doctors, clinics, diagnostic centres, and pharmacies with the people who need such healthcare services.

Such platforms let people look for a doctor in their city or locality, book an appointment, choose a diagnostic lab for getting lab tests done, and even order their medicines online.

Practo – www.practo.com Practo is also available as a downloadable app. It has profiles of around 1.25 lakh doctors and helps customers find allopathic doctors specialising in different areas, in addition to homeopaths, and ayurvedic doctors, and helps them book appointments with them. Other services include options for
diagnostic labs, spas & salons, and fitness centres. It has branches in around 35 cities in India and also has a presence in the USA, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Kare4u – www.kare4u.in This company has a wide range of doctors, pharmacies, and diagnostic labs to choose from. It offers discounted health packages and has a digital locker for storing all their customers’ medical records for different types of ailments. Its services cover Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar, Pune, Kolkata, Cuttack, Kurnool, and Gobardanga. Patients can access the company’s services from the website or through its health app.

Lazoi – www.lazoi.com
Formerly known as HelpMeDoc, this company assists patients in selecting the right doctor according to their needs and budget. It has four kinds of paid health cards for different categories of customers – individuals, families, corporates, and senior citizens, and also offers health packages at discounted rates. This is a Delhi-based company catering to Delhi – NCR, with over 6,500 doctors and 70 diagnostic centres. It is planning to extend its services to Punjab, Kerala, Chennai, Mumbai, and Pune.

S10Health –  ttps://www.s10health.com/
S10 Healthcare Solutions, a Chennai-based company, has tied up with 25 medium-sized clinics and has 1.5 lakh registered users. Most of its member clinics are speciality service providers in the areas of dental, eye, reproductive wellness, dermatology, and sports. The platform also provides wellness packages that are a combination of two or three related health treatments offered at a competitive rate. Around 60% of its customer base opts for such packages. The services, currently available in Chennai, will be expanded to Tiruchi and Madurai.

HealthyYou – http://www.healthyyoucard.com/
This mobile app helps people search for doctors, hospitals, diagnostic centres and pharmacies, and make online appointment bookings. But for a nominal annual fee, it also helps users put their different medical records in order and make them instantly available
at one place. It maintains health records which can be conveniently made available to doctors of their choice by patients. At present, the company offers services in Mumbai and Pune.

Home Care Services

Companies offering home care services not only let patients receive quality medical care from experienced doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, and other healthcare providers at home, they also make it possible to arrange for a hospital set-up in the homes of patients. Families who opt for this model of healthcare find that it works out to be much cheaper
than paying for a stay at a nursing home or hospital. Such companies can help people have a Fowler bed (that can be adjusted into different positions as per the health condition of a patient), oxygen cylinders and breathing apparatus, ICU infrastructure, etc. in their homes.

Home care services are a boon to those who need long term healthcare, such as senior citizens, aged parents of NRIS, those who are bedridden, people with mobility problems, and physically and mentally challenged children, as well as patients who are recovering from major surgeries or are undergoing treatment for different stages of cancer. Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals offering services to such people are given tablets to find out about their visit schedules and patient addresses. The company in turn can track the location of these professionals from the smart phones provided to them and also the GPS in their tablets.

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Nowadays some hospitals are also entering into the business of offering home care services. In India, Apollo Hospitals has established a subsidiary – Unique Home Healthcare – to offer such healthcare services in Chennai.

Portea provides home care services to around 35000 households in 25 cities across India

Portea – www.portea.com
This Bengaluru-based company currently provides home care services to around 35,000 households in 25 cities across India. Besides offering the services of doctors, nurses, and physiotherapists, and attendants, the company helps customers in having lab tests done at home, and renting or purchasing medical equipment as well.

India Home Health Carewww.indiahomehealthcare.com
Besides offering medical care at home to individual households in Chennai and Bengaluru, IHHC is also a home healthcare provider to all the major hospitals in these two cities. The company is planning to expand its services to 10 more cities over the next three years, including Delhi, Mumbai, and tier 2 cities such as Coimbatore, Mysore and Vishakhapatnam. In 2013 IHHC formed a partnership with BAYADA Home Health Care, USA.

Health Care at Homehttp://www.healthcareathomeindia.com
In addition to doctors, nurses, and physiotherapists equipped with smart phones and tablets, HCAH also offers the services of nutritionists. The company is backed by the promoters of Dabur and the founders of Healthcare at Home, UK. It currently provides services in Delhi- NCR, Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana, Mumbai, Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.

Homital Medcarewww.homital.in/
The New Delhi based company offers hospital care at home for those who need it. It has tied up with hundreds of healthcare specialists and around 30 hospitals in New Delhi. Besides healthcare, it provides medical equipment, and ambulance, laboratory and pharmacy services, and can also arrange for urgent house visits by doctors in the Delhi- NCR area (in the capital city and surrounding urban areas in Haryana, UP, and Rajasthan). The company is planning to cover Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru soon.

Emergency Healthcare Services

Medical emergencies can occur at any time and to anybody. Often it is the medical help delivered within the critical golden hour after an emergency situation arises that makes all the difference to the condition of the sufferers or even to saving their life. This time is crucial for stabilising the affected persons or rushing them to a hospital if necessary. But it is not always possible to get an immediate help in case of any emergency. So, now there are private companies who have entered the business of ensuring timely medical attention to those who need it urgently.

MUrgencywww.murgency.com

This is a global medical emergency mobile app which works along the lines of online taxi services such as Ola and Uber, where an app helps in locating the closest taxi for the people who need one. The company offers a life-saving app backed by an extensive ground response network comprising hospitals, nursing homes, ambulances and healthcare professionals like doctors and paramedics. The app also alerts the user about the 108 free ambulance facility offered by the government.

Once a distress call is sent via the app from a mobile phone, it is relayed to every enrolled institution within a five km radius through an
alert beep. The doctor or the hospital responding to the call presses the ‘accept’ button when the alert sounds. The app reduces the response time to emergencies to just a few minutes. It currently offers services in Mumbai and around half a dozen cities across the world including Dubai.

Digital Doctors/Online Consultation

Every medical problem does not really need a visit to the doctor’s clinic. Also, there are times when people want answers for a minor problem or a quick consultation with a specialist without having the hassle of booking an appointment and travelling to the specialist’s office which could even be out of town.

That’s when it is convenient to have an easily accessible digital doctor who will be available for an online consultation. The companies offering such services verify the credentials of the specialists before having a tie-up with them. For an affordable rate, these doctors can then be consulted at any time on any day from your home or from anywhere else in case you’re travelling and are in some other part of the world. That way, say, if a person is in the US, he or she could still consult their doctor in India and avoid paying high American consultation fees.

Online consultations are not meant to be used in times of emergency. Such services are best suited for information and advice on minor problems, second opinions for larger problems, the occasions when people don’t have the time to actually go and see their doctor, or if they live in a place with limited medical facilities. Seeing a digital doctor is also a convenient way of reducing hospital visits for patients with diseases like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. Such persons could opt to receive remote care from specialists most of
the time, keeping physical visits to the doctor to the minimum.

MediAngels www.mediangels.com

This is a Mumbai-based ehealthcare firm providing medical advice, second opinions, and online consultation with reputed doctors from around 17 countries across the world. Patients can receive a medical second opinion from doctors and specialists from over 93 specialties. The super-specialists with whom the company has a tie-up can be consulted 24×7.

MediAngels also offers services like making bookings for blood tests, and getting home deliveries of test reports and medicines. It plans to introduce regional language based portals in India beginning with Hindi, Marathi and Bengali.

RingMDhttps://www.ring.md

Singapore’s RingMD is an online platform that lets patients from anywhere in the world seek the advice of respected qualified doctors from across the world via video conferencing or smartphone. This is an innovative solution available on a computer, smartphone or tablet and people can use it for consultation for an acute problem or just general health advice. The company’s services represent 17 specialities for around 543 different medical conditions.

Once patients sign up on the platform using the web or mobile app, they are asked to type a medical topic or a description of their symptoms, their medical history, and payment information. They then select a doctor of their choice and provide three suitable times for their call from the doctor. On being notified, the selected doctor responds by picking the most suitable time for him or her. A reminder email is sent around an hour before the call or video conferencing time. Once the consultation is over, patients are billed according to its length.

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All clinical data, audio and video data, and digital images are stored on the patient’s computer or mobile device and transmitted securely to the doctor.

Top Doctors Onlinewww.topdoctorsonline.com/

The company has a health and wellness app that can be downloaded from their website. Their in-house team of doctors is available online as well as on call. For directly talking to a doctor a person has to hit the call button on the app. The company’s doctors are also available for live chats from 9 am to 9 pm. The company says that due to unrefined laws on online prescription medicines in India, their doctors only recommend over-the-counter medicines.

The Mumbai-based company offers travel insurance, and also facilitates quick appointment bookings with local doctors, hospitals, and pathology labs, and arranges for getting blood tests done at home at discounted rates in 10 cities across India.

The evolving doctor-patient relationship

One thing health providers need to remember though is that the emerging new technologies are also disrupting traditional doctor-patient relationships. Gone are the days when doctors could expect their patients to blindly accept the treatment they suggest, assuming that the doctors are recommending what’s best for them (their patients). In today’s age, when patients are more aware about links between doctors and diagnostic labs, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies, they are no longer so trusting.

Their doubts about a particular doctor could be misplaced but the fact is that patients expect more transparency about what they’re being treated for and want to be told what their options for treatment are. Otherwise, they could suspect they’re being taken for a ride and will almost certainly look for another doctor. After all, they know that finding a suitable doctor in a convenient location is only an app click away.

With a surfeit of information available on the internet on every conceivable health problem, and forums for patients to share information with one another, today’s patients are more informed. They will therefore no longer tolerate being kept in the dark about their own health or that of their loved ones or agree to be passive users of healthcare. In other words, this is an age of patient-centred care.

The foundation of patient-centred care is healthy and honest communications between patients and physicians. Ultimately, a relationship based on honesty and transparency will work to the advantage of both doctors and their patients, and such an approach assumes even more importance in a technology driven age.

It’s time to discover how remarkable advances in digital and mobile technologies are making vital health-related information available at our fingertips. People can choose the best fitness options, get medicines at the best rates, and find out where medical loans are available without hunting for these high and low, and doctors can be empowered to treat their patients more effectively – all with a few
clicks of the mouse or a few taps on their smart phones or tablets.

Diagnostic Lab Options

These online aggregating businesses have a network of diagnostic laboratories to choose from for undergoing medical tests. They offer special discounted rates and encourage people towards preventive healthcare by going in for routine health check-ups. They don’t charge any fee from the users of their services.

Healthians www.healthians.com

Backed by cricketer Yuvraj Singh’s company YouWeCan, the Healthians.com network covers diagnostic labs in Delhi-NCR and 22 cities, including labs in hospitals. It aggregates thousands of neighbourhood non-branded diagnostic labs that have hi-tech medical equipment and offer services matching those of larger reputed labs, but don’t have the funds to advertise their services adequately. These labs are re-branded as Healthians and offer cheaper rates as compared to large hospitals and branded diagnostic labs.

Online Pharmacies

These offer quick online access and home delivery of medicines, most of them offering both prescription and non-prescription medicines, and nutritional supplements.

NetMedswww.netmeds.com/

An Indian online pharmacy, it makes it possible for customers to conveniently buy and send medicines from any corner of the country. It offers home delivery for a range of prescription and non-prescription drugs and health products even to second and third tier cities and rural areas. It thus makes the latest medicines available even in the remotest parts of India. This online pharmacy also offers generic alternatives to most medicines, and therefore online buyers can opt to buy these lower priced products and save money. For ordering prescription medicines, the prescriptions can be uploaded to the website or on a smartphone through the mobile app.

mChemist www.mchemist.com

Only prescription drugs can be ordered from this platform or through their mobile app. They do not dispense Schedule X, Schedule H1 Medicines, Antibiotics and Psychotropic Substances. They however offer a range of health and wellness products including orthopaedic products and medical devices, and herbal medicines of reputed brands.

The company undertakes pan- India delivery of medicines and products, offers free shipping for orders above `1000, and provides the facility of a free live chat with a diet consultant.

Zigy www.zigy.com

The online medical shop offers attractive discounts on prescription and over-the-counter medicines, ayurvedic medicines, homeopathic medicines, motherhood and pregnancy care products, health products for women, baby care products, and other health and wellness products.

It also offers a mobile app for download from its website. Healthcare records and prescriptions can be securely stored online by using the Zigy HealthVault accessible through the website or app. The company offers delivery of prescription medicines in five cities-Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad, and personal and healthcare products all over India.

Internet drug store concept doctor holding prescription medicine through a laptop screen

1mgwww.1mg.com

This online pharmacy has a downloadable health app; so people can order medicines from the website or their mobile phone. It deliver prescription and OTC medicines, ayurvedic medicines, and health products in Delhi-NCR, Chennai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Agra, Indore, Bhopal and Bengaluru only, and services orders 7 days a week. It also offers cost-saving discounts to customers besides enabling them to search and buy medicines, informing them about side effects and suggesting possible substitutes, and also helping them find a suitable doctor and diagnostic lab.

Fitness & healthcare products

With an increasing number of people becoming health conscious nowadays, many people look not just for medicines when they are sick, but for suitable options for staying fit. Online fitness stores fulfill this need by offering a range of options in different localities for customers to choose from.

Fitternitywww.fitternity.com

This an online fitness services platform offering fitness options in Gurgaon, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, and Delhi. It helps customers avail of membership discounts at gymnasiums, fitness centres, and fitness studios for learning yoga, dance, Zumba, Pilates, aerobics, kickboxing, crossfit, and more. It also helps people find out about deals and discounts at fitness centres near them.

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HealthGenie www.healthgenie.in/

It is an online product catalogue company offering over 6000 healthcare products available for ordering from their website or health app. Headquartered in Delhi, the company caters to around 20,000 PIN (Postal Index Number) Codes in India including tier-2 and tier- 3 cities. Its catalogue features the latest health, fitness, and nutrition products, healthcare devices, baby care, beauty care and personal care products, besides products for diabetes
patients and the elderly from reputed brands. The company has over 1 lakh members.

Medical Loans

Very often, for those who don’t fulfil the formal criteria laid down by banks, it becomes impossible to get vital financial aid in time for solving their health problems. But
help could be available for such people through the online portals of non-banking financial companies. Doctors and other healthcare providers could guide their patients regarding
the availability of this facility.

Arogyawww.arogyafinance.com
This is a Mumbai-based nonbanking finance company registered with the RBI. It provides loans to those from the informal sector who lack documents like proof of salary or  collateral.
Arogya’s medical loans can be obtained without any collateral or income proof, and unlike insurance, have a fixed tenure. After a patient’s family meets an Arogya counsellor, a decision is taken within 3 to 24 hrs. If approved, the hospital is paid directly and treatment can begin right away.
The company Arogya Finance has a tie-up with hospitals and other healthcare providers to help affected individuals and their families get medical loans. Patients who get a loan repay Arogya Finance directly.
To date, the company has disbursed loans to people in West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi-NCR, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. The company also offers a pre-approved loan card – the Arogya Card – for medical loans of up to Rs 2 lakh for card holders and their families. The card is valid for a year and is renewable.

Research Labs

These carry out advanced research work in various medical fields for different pharma companies who fund them for benefiting from their research.

Medgenomewww.medgenome.com
This is a genomics-based diagnostics and research company that decodes genetic information contained in an individual’s genome. The company is a pioneer and market leader in genomics-based diagnostics and research in India and South Asia, and provides genomics research services in San Francisco and Boston as well. It also plans to set up a research lab in the US because of the difficulties involved in transporting samples to India. It will therefore work with American pharmaceutical companies for carrying out research on new drugs for treating chronic medical problems.

Tools specially designed for Doctors
The world over, doctors are harnessing new technologies to manage their practice more smartly and treat their patients more successfully. Technology is also changing the
dynamics of the way doctors interact with their patients directly and remotely. And doctors in India are not lagging behind in any way.
Smooth transition of information between medical experts across geographical locations is becoming increasingly fundamental to the quality of healthcare given to patients. In the old days, doctors would call or email each other to exchange treatment-related information. Now there are online platforms and mobile apps that facilitate extensive collaboration between medical specialists. Different types of software are also available today to help doctors manage their various practice-related tasks more efficiently.

UpToDatehttp://www.uptodate.com
This is an evidence-based, physician-authored support resource focused on helping doctors make the right decision while offering patient care. Thousands of renowned physicians from across the world scrutinise and put together the latest medical information for offering evidence-based suggestions to doctors. The doctors linked to this platform do not receive any funding from pharmaceutical companies or medical device manufacturers, strengthening the integrity of their recommendations.

Users can access UpToDate through the web or mobile apps. Offering subscribers useful tools, graphics, and complementary patient information articles, this digital information tool is widely acknowledged as a primary source of medical knowledge at the point of care. It saves valuable time for
doctors by eliminating the need to make frequent visits to the library and browse through thick medical tomes for the information they’re looking for.

Curofy www.curofy.com
This app helps doctors in India exchange medical information, discuss and refer cases, seek and offer second opinions, and stay abreast of the latest medical news and job openings. Over 50,000 doctors from more than 300 cities are its members currently.

Figure1https://figure1.com/

This is a free app available for download on the App Store and on the Google Play™ Store. It can be accessed from over 100 countries worldwide. It helps medical professionals share details and photos of cases as well as their medical history with their global counterparts.

Figure 1 connects physicians, nurses, dentists, medical students and other healthcare professionals, and is currently used by over 5 lakh healthcare providers and students. It has around 20,000 users in India, of which 75% are doctors.

DocPracticewww.lazoi.com

This a software for doctors offered by the Delhi-based company Lazoi to help them efficiently manage their patients, their treatments, accounts, and billing status. Doctors have the facility of managing their appointments and maintaining patient records at their fingertips and also better understand their patient’s health problems for treating them more effectively. They can also receive requests for online consultation through this software. DocPractice subscription is offered in two versions – Free and Premium.

practo raywww.practo.com

Practo Technologies offers doctors a range of useful softwares including practo ray that is a convenient technology-enabled solution for easy practice management. It is currently used by around 10,000 doctors from about 100 cities across the country to manage their appointments schedule, patient records, and fee payments. Once an appointment is scheduled by a doctor, a reminder is sent to the patient, thus reducing the number of no-shows. The software comes at a monthly fee, varying from around `1,000 to `5,000.

More transformations ahead!

With new technologies revolutionizing the way the healthcare industry is functioning in India and across the world, we suddenly have a whole new range of exciting healthcare options. And this is not the end. Health management, patient monitoring, doctor-patient communications – all these could evolve in unimaginable ways in the future. So stay tuned and you won’t miss out on the advantages offered by emerging technologies for helping your patients stay healthy.