Medical emergency app helping accident victims

Vmedo, developed by a Bengaluru startup, connects medical professionals and blood donors with those who need lightning-quick attention.

A Bengaluru-based healthcare startup is trying to address the problems of medical emergencies.

Founded in 2014 with an office in JP Nagar, Vmedo has attended to about 3,000 calls so far, connecting those who need emergency medical help with those who can provide it.

Co-founders Praveen (left) and Darshan (right)

Praveen Gowda, IT professional and one of the founders of Vmedo, is the moving spirit behind the startup. Darshan, who works as chief operating officer, and an investor are his founder-partners.

“A relative was in need of medical attention. Our hands were tied as we couldn’t find an ambulance. That is when I thought about this initiative,” he says.

The relative survived with difficulty, but the incident made Gowda of how difficult it is to get help in a medical emergency.

Good Samaritans who rush accident victims to hospital are his inspiration. “When someone suffers injuries in a road accident or collapses because of a cardiac arrest or heat stroke, it’s the people around who help. Our aim is to train and empower these public heroes,” he says.

Vmedo conducts first-aid workshops open to all. It also holds sessions in schools on the importance of the golden hour in saving the lives of accident victims.

Gowda and his team have been trying to convince the government to use their services, but have made little progress. “It is so difficult even to approach the higher ups,” he says.

Rashmi N, who runs an NGO in Bengaluru, has been using the Vmedo app for a year. Hailing from Tumkur, she says it should cover rural areas too.

“My father-in-law was admitted to a Tumkur hospital and we had difficulty finding a blood donor. When a friend was in the same situation in Bengaluru, we could find donors immediately, thanks to the Vmedo app,” she says.

Swetha, art consultant, got to know about Vmedo through one of their workshops. “I have taken their first aid training. An elderly man needed attention in our apartment and I could do my bit by rendering first aid,” she says. Swetha made a video call on Vmedo and an expert helped her through the first-aid process.

Harsha, IT professional, has been using the app for two years. He got to know about it during an emergency.

“A friend’s mother was in need of blood and we couldn’t find it anywhere. This is when we approached Vmedo,” he says.

The app connected him to blood donors in the vicinity and arranged for an ambulance within minutes.

How it works
Their main source of revenue is the organisations they tie up with. It connects users to a call centre executives, who look into a database to provide phone numbers of blood donors, ambulance services and emergency medical professionals.

The startup, with an office in JP Nagar, has 15
employees. They do the back-end work of managing its databases. Initially funded by friends and family, the company is running is looking for investors. It eventually hopes to be a one-stop facilitator for everything related to medical emergencies.

Info on app
The Vmedo app gives ‘What to do now’ information during emergencies.

How to use it
Website: www.vmedo.com
App: Can be downloaded for Android and iOS.
24/7 helpline: 93431 80000.

What next?
- Vmedo plans to start bike ambulance service next month.

- It is talking to government and private hospitals on potential partnerships.

- With more call centre lines, it hopes to connect rural areas to city hospitals.

What they do
- Connect you to first-aid providers.
- Book an ambulance.
- Find blood donors in the vicinity.
- Give you advice on what to do in a medical emergency. (The Vmedo app also does this).