New app helps patients get docs’ advice online

Making quality healthcare more accessible through smartphones was the mantra behind an app-based service called Mfine. Former Myntra co-founder Ashutosh Lawania and fformer chief business officer Prasad Kompalli came up with the idea in December last year.

It has been six months and they say the response has been encouraging. Prasad says they were looking at healthcare as the next space where technology could play a big role. “We wanted to come up with a product that would make it easier for consumers to access healthcare providers. Looking at how technology has matured in the country and the mobile penetration, we saw this as a huge opportunity,” he says.

Patients sign in using the mobile application and describe their symptoms to the doctor. If there is a lab or x-ray report, it can be sent to the doctor on the app. The consultation is just like at a hospital, the only difference being that it is online. The app also maintains profiles of patients.

“You can either chat, video call or voice call the doctor. Once the consultation is done, the doctor’s prescription comes in the form of a PDF. So far, 15,000 consultations have been done in Bengaluru and we plan to reach one lakh consultations by the end of the year,” says Prasad.

Initially, it was a challenge to tell people that doctors could give expert opinion online. “It was tough convincing people that a doctor can attend to them without a physical examination. We have had to dispel doubts in the minds of people, and this has been our biggest challenge,” says Prasad.

Younger patients, between 20 and 40, who are quick to find self-medication solutions, showed eagerness to try Mfine. “The big difference is that they could now have access to a real, qualified and reputed doctor,” says Prasad.

The company is planning to expand the doctors’ network beyond Bengaluru. “We also look forward to adding more specialties. We are thinking of long-term care programmes for chronic conditions,” says Prasad.

How it works

- About one lakh users have downloaded Mfine.

- 55 doctors across 16 hospitals like Cloud Nine, Aster CMI, Rainbow and Ovum are on board.

- App covers nine specialties like gynecology, pediatrics and dermatology.

- The fee for an online consultation is the same as the fee for a face-to-face consultation.