With an increase in digitization, the health sector has made a gradual shift in the online space. From consultation to providing medicines on prescription, it has made everything a lot easier for those who are tech-savvy.
This new method of medical treatment is not only effective but it also saves people from hour-long queues and tiring procedures at a doctor’s clinic.
There are a number of startups in India that are making a mark for themselves in the online market and delivering their best healthcare services on the go. One of the best examples of this is LiveHealth. LiveHealth works as an intermediary between healthcare providers and patients.
“Once a patient decides to do some diagnostic tests with one of the 135 health providers the startup has tied up with, the system does the following: it registers the patient with the provider; generates a unique barcode for the sample; tracks the status of the sample; and collects the results directly from medical instruments in the lab. Using the barcode generated earlier, the test results are then automatically fed into corresponding reports of patients, and verified by doctors via the app itself,” explains Abhimanyu Bhosle, co-founder of the Pune-based startup.
The Delhi-based startup Lybrate, provides instant support from doctors to the people in need. It builds a network of doctors nearby by detecting the person’s location. This was founded to eliminate the problem of pharmacists handing out medicines without prescription and proper expertise.
E-pharmacy Is Inevitable:
Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel said, “India has less than one doctor for every 1000 population (0.62:1000) which is far less than the World Health Organization standards.”
While our nation’s huge demography is facing a serious challenge on the availability of primary health services, the online services fulfill all requirements in a better way from every prospect ranging from pricing, privacy of patient, easy appointments, maintaining health reports to recommending experts from their nearest locations and arrangement of services based on requirement of patient.
Therefore, to fight evils hindering healthcare, it is crucial that the majority of the population adopts online facilities. This will not only make the process of treatment faster but also ensure that care is taken of the patient’s needs timely. As far as distribution of drugs without a prescription is concerned, the Delhi High Court has made it completely illegal. Websites like NetMeds and MedLife continue to function under the law of the court, i.e, they only provide medicines after verifying the prescription themselves. Thus, technology and digitization have redefined the name of healthcare in India.