Center for Health Market Innovations (CHMI)

Programs

mDhil

last updated May 13, 2013

Overview

Implementation Partner(s): 
Airtel India, !dea, Reliance Communications, OnMobile
Legal Status: 
Year Launched: 
2009
Stage: 
Existing/expansion stage
Income Level of Target Population: 
All income levels

Technology

Technology Used: 
Phones › Apps/Software, Computer › Apps/Software, Computer › Internet, Phones › SMS/MMS (Text Message)
Technology Purpose: 
Facilitating Patient Communications › General Health Education

Scale

Personnel Employed: 
<10
Number of Clients Served: 
150,000 subscribers
Upscaling: 
The program has grown from 5-10 registrations a month when launched (December 2010) to over 200 registrations a month (March 2011).
Summary: 

mDhil is a for-profit company that provides basic healthcare information to Indian consumers via text messaging, mobile web browsers, and interactive digital content. It runs under the idea that access to basic information on health issues, something which the majority of the population in India doesn't have, can empower people to make positive outcomes in their lives.

Key program components: 

mDhil uses grassroots methods to determine what health topics are relevant and should be covered by mDhil's services. By consulting with university students, women's groups, local clinics, NGOs, and experienced doctors, mDhil has been able to target its services specifically to the daily needs of its consumers in the Indian market. mDhil wants its customers to feel like their content "speaks to them" - increasing the amount of attention given to what is being read and heard. It also attempts to give its subscribers a sense that the health behaviors that they promote are also socially normative (for example, getting tested for STDs).

Subscribers will receive three health messages a day on their mobile phone for a fee of just one rupee (about 2 cents) per day. The health alerts are written by public health professionals such as registered nurses and physicians, and the most popular topics are sexual health, weight management and H1N1 information. Further topics include: general health, tuberculosis, diet, stress, skin care / beauty, and diabetes. The company, which currently has 150,000 subscribers, is looking to reach 3 million by 2011.

mDhil measures user satisfaction in terms of website traffic, content views & user engagement. Of these, user engagement is critical, since it indicates how compelling & useful the content is. We have successfully used social media channels to significantly increase user engagement:
Facebook: Number of fans increased from 250 to 20,026 between February and March 2011
Youtube: We have over 22,000 views of our healthcare video channel on Youtube www.youtube.com

Additional Information

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