As Covid-19 continues to surge in the country, healthtech start-ups such as Practo, Curefit and MFine have seen a surge in teleconsultations.
Practo has witnessed 2.5 times jump in daily consultations since January 1. Similarly, Prime Venture Partners-backed MFine has also witnessed a 2.5x spike in online consultations since the onset of the third wave of the pandemic.
Metro markets
“The majority of these teleconsultations are coming in from the metros such as Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Delhi/NCR. The vast majority of cases are from users in the age range of 20-40 years,” Arjun Choudhary, Founding member and chief business officer, MFine told BusinessLine.
At 132 per cent jump, Mumbai saw the highest growth in GP-related consultations since January 1, followed by Kolkata, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad, according to Practo.
Zomato-backed Cult.fit has also seen an almost 75 per cent spike in teleconsultations, the major contributor being covid-related consultations. The majority of these consultations (80 per cent) on Cult.fit, are from metro cities such as Bengaluru, GGN, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad. On average, the age group of the Cult.fit customers seeking teleconsultations is between 25-35 yrs, a Cult,fit spokesperson added.
Non-compliance worry
“The festival season is one of the main reasons for the increase as people failed to follow Covid protocols and gatherings became a super-spreader events. As seen during the first and second wave, telemedicine will continue to be a life saver,” said Belliappa, a senior GP practicing on Practo.