Telehealth platform Docty launches phygital care program
Premium- This initiative is dedicated to improve digital healthcare accessibility for the rural and impoverished urban communities of India.
Global telehealth platform Docty is aiming to set up 100 digital health kiosks across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra. As part of its “Phygital Care" program “Gali Gali Mein Digital Clinic", Docty has partnered with 100+ offline stores, local pharmacies, photo-copy centres, and internet cafes in these geographies. This initiative is dedicated to improve digital healthcare accessibility for the rural and impoverished urban communities of India.
According to the firm, “Through these 100 kiosks managed by Docty’s local partners, the financially weak and non-tech-savvy residents of these states would have faster accessibility to online consultations, prescriptions, EMRs, discounted pharmacies and lab services. Additionally, these kiosks will also enable residents to consult doctors across 28+ specialties."
Docty’s “Gali Gali Mein Digital Clinic" program is presently operating in more than 20 locations. It will continue to establish 100 Kiosks to thoroughly cover a distance of 1,400 km between Mumbai and Vizag, over the next 6 months. In this Phygital Care initiative, which is focused on targeting high-density slum areas, towns, and villages, Docty Kiosks will be set-up at every 3 kms in cities, and 5 kms in villages, providing access to quality healthcare in almost ‘every Gali’.
Docty’s co-founder, CEO & COO, Ramya Subramanian said, “Digital Healthcare in rural areas is complicated due to the lack of qualified professionals, digital infrastructure, and non-tech-savviness of individuals living in these regions. To tackle these challenges, Docty identified the need for establishing local support centres that could empower people with multiple benefits of Digital Health, through a one-stop integrated platform. Additionally, Docty’s Digital Health Kiosks will also be significant in reducing digital illiteracy in India."
In 2022-23, Docty plans to further expand its digital health kiosks across Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar, covering all their surrounding villages and tier-3 cities. Aiming to extend quality healthcare accessibility to every Indian through a network of Digital Infrastructure and Physical Care Units, Docty plans to become India’s largest B2C healthcare platform reaching out to 65% of the country’s rural population, by 2025.
MINT PREMIUM See All
Ravi Kishan Akula, CTO (Global) & CGO (India) of Docty also elaborated on the company’s action plan as he said, “As per the current strategy, we have set up Kiosks in ‘high-density’ locations such as Mumbai’s slums and Hyderabad’s old cities, targeting 1,00,000 people in every 3-km-radius. Over the next six months, we will run a pilot with 100+ offline businesses across these regions and their surrounding villages such as Aaram Gadh, Shamirpet, Nanded, Warangal, Karim Nagar, Rajamundry, etc. We plan to supplement the footfalls of these offline businesses with Digital Clinic set-ups and incentivise them with various healthcare revenue streams, to complement their main source of income."