In order to cater for the huge demand of access to quality and safe healthcare , as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare, businesses and the economy continues to mount, with public and private healthcare institutions in Nigeria and around the world leveraging technology to best serve their clients, MeCure Smart, a smartphone app (msb.ng) that allows remote online consultations has partnered HelloDocApp, the largest online community of doctors in Nigeria, to bring over 10,000 doctors on its platform.
Online Consultation or Tele-Medication services have been around globally for more than a decade and various scientific studies conclusively prove that they are a great first channel for primary healthcare.
The demand for these services, however, has picked up exponentially ever since the pandemic took over. The change in behaviour has been nothing short of dramatic. Now, patients prefer remote consultations and visit clinics only if absolutely necessary for tests . This allows both the doctors and patients a very safe and effective environment to manage healthcare.
“Access to quality and safe healthcare is quite simply the most important need not just for Nigerians but citizens of every country in the world. But, if you have a cough or a fever, how safe would you feel visiting a doctor’s clinic today? How do you diagnose and treat diseases while maintaining social distancing guidelines? The answer is Tele-Medicine or Online Consultations,” said Ajinkya Shelar, product manager who heads MeCure Smart.
According to him, the scale and demand for tele-medicine services is overwhelming today. Hence, we decided to tie up with HelloDoc. This partnership will allow us to onboard 4000+ doctors across every specialty ranging from General Physicians to even Neurosurgeons on our MeCure Smart app immediately and we intend to further expand it to up to 10,000+ doctors by end of 2020.
“We hope that through this initiative anyone in Nigeria will immediately have access to quality and affordable healthcare that is also COVID safe.
“The pandemic has also forced businesses to rethink their strategy and make favourable and long-term changes. Consumers have also shown an overwhelming interest in placing the health and safety of their families first and are adopting innovative ways to interact in these unprecedented times,” Shelar said.
He further explained that the MeCure Smart – HelloDoc partnership works as a pure marketplace. Which means customers can browse doctors by specialty and compare them by prior customer feedback, ratings and even pricing. Each doctor on the platform has a verified MDCN certificate and is vetted through a rigorous background check.
“As businesses continue to grapple in these unprecedented times, if there is one thing needed more than anything else to keep going, its innovation. And MeCure Smart seems to be innovating in the right direction,” Shelar said.
