MeraDoctor
Approach
Target geography
Target Population
Target income level
- Lower-middle income (20-40%)
- Middle-income (40-60%)
- Higher middle-income (60-80%)
- High-income (80-100%)
Health focus
- Primary care
- Secondary/tertiary care
Summary
MeraDoctor lets people chat directly with a trained, licensed doctor through an Android app (like WhatsApp with a doctor). We are the #3 ranked medical app in India. Our patient base is growing 10% per week. Doctors are now joining the platform to earn extra money and build their reputation.Program goals
MeraDoctor is building India's #1 platform for health answers. By 2020 there will be 520 million smartphone users (Ericsson) including from low-income households, with an evident appetite for on-demand health advice. Yet today there is no single app on mobile phones in India that provides this type of advice. The idea of an instant, easy-to-use app for health questions and answers from licensed doctors builds on examples such as Chunyu Yisheng in China (30 million users, 40,000 doctors and 50,000 health questions asked daily). MeraDoctor's model initially is to offer WhatsApp-like chat sessions between patients and licensed doctors to answer questions.
Key program components
MeraDoctor gives people across India access to immediate health advice via an Android app and a platform of doctors carefully screened and trained to give advice via instant message conversation.
Android apps
MeraDoctor's patient app is the #3 medical app in India, with nearly 50,000 downloads in less than 3 months since launch in late Feb 2015. The app offers an ultra-simple, patient-friendly WhatsApp-like interface and quick chat appointments with qualified doctors.
Careful screening and training/monitoring of doctors selected for platform:
All medical staff selected for the MeraDoctor platform are trained MBBS doctors. MeraDoctor has strict quality standards and monitoring systems to ensure that doctors effectively advise patients. Doctors are not permitted to prescribe Schedule H drugs (non-OTC) since certain medicines should only be prescribed after a physical examination.
Confidentiality and privacy features
MeraDoctor maintains patient medical records so that a patient’s history is known the next time they call, and advice can be tailored to the situation. Since many of MeraDoctor's users are young people using shared phones or facing pressure / scrutiny from family members, the latest app version offers a message / chat delete feature to prevent private medical information from being read by others. MeraDoctor's internal health records system protects privacy and prevents unauthorised access.
Scale
Technology
Financials
Get Connected
Increasing the Impact of Social Investing
Shama Karkal, Madhavi Jayarajan, Swasti Health Resource Centre
Parent Organizations
- mHealth Ventures India Pvt LtdFor-profit