With half of the world’s 7 billion population projected to be online in the nearest future, health practitioners have joined the league of industries scaling up digital innovations in a bid to address the evolving needs of the end-users in terms of access to health services.
DoctorCare247, a platform that provides immediate virtual health services to patients anywhere and anytime believes that the future of healthcare will focus more on patients craving for greater convenience and speed.
The company which kicked off business operations on Wednesday, 24 April is tapping into the opportunities that telehealth presents globally. Telehealth refers to the use of digital information and communication technologies, such as computers and mobile devices, to access health care services remotely and manage health care.
“In Nigeria, telehealth as a means of delivering healthcare is an entirely new process,” says Chuks Melville Chibundu, CEO. But elsewhere in the world, like in the United States it is already becoming a phenomenon. A recent survey by Mhealth intelligence showed that 77 per cent of US respondents preferred health care practitioners who provide telehealth services. Currently, 50 million US consumers would switch providers to one that offers telehealth and the willingness to switch is highest among parents of children under 18 and 35 to 44-year-olds.
With the poor state of access to quality healthcare in Nigeria, particularly for people living in the rural areas, one opportunity telehealth could offer is bring qualified medical practitioners closer to patients without access. In that it becomes possible for any patient to access quality healthcare at any time they need from the best professionals.
Medical professionals on Doctorcare247 are subjected through a thorough vetting process during which they are tested to determine whether they have what it takes to give the best care.
On Doctorcare247, patients are provided with round-the-clock e-health consultations through doctors and specialists certified by the Nigerian Medical and Dental Council, the regulatory body for the professions of medicine and dentistry in Nigeria. Patients can easily consult their doctor via audio, video calls and text, instead of going to the hospital.
Patients can schedule consultation sessions at their convenience through their computer, laptop or mobile devices. One of the advantages is the guarantee of privacy. Most patients may not be comfortable to go to the hospital to address a particular symptom they have noticed, but with a telehealth platform like Doctorcare247, they are able to do that now. The platform also eliminates the time they waste on a queue in the hospital. On Doctorcare247 there are several doctors on queue to respond to patients complaints.
They can also get their prescription from the doctor and route it immediately to their pharmacists to make available. The platform already has a partnership with reputable pharmaceutical companies like HealthPlus and laboratories like Echo Labs all of whom are on the platform. Hence, it is easier to quickly get a doctor to give a prescription and the pharmacist to deliver.