Bridging The Gap Between Rural Patients, Urban Doctors

Serving as a link between the doctors in urban areas and the patients in rural areas, The Good Doctor Project is now making the services of well-qualified doctors available in rural and semi-urban areas in India. This app aims to link technology and connectivity so that doctors don't have to leave the city to build a rural practice.

Talking about why this initiative was started, Suhas Misra, co-founder of The Good Doctor Project said, 'The complexity of the healthcare problem in India encouraged me to make a small investment in a telemedicine company. Seeing patients from villages, finding remote consultations to be a viable alternative to travelling to the city made me realise that the healthcare and technology intersection can be very powerful, and so Tardigrade HealthTech came about.'
Along with providing remote consultations, this app also helps in booking appointments and facilitates conversation between the doctor and the patient. Additionally, it enables the doctors to look at the reports while communicating with the patients thus, leading to informed clinical decisions.

While the app benefits patients in rural areas, will it not add to the burden of the doctors? Suhas Misra doesn't agree with this. He adds, 'The Good Doctor Project provides chat functionality, helps keep all patient records in one place and connects doctors to the patients thereby, ensuring better quality care.'

He believes that this app is relevant for the population living in urban areas as ideal technology play in healthcare is one that is holistic. Mishra who wishes to have 10,000 doctors using the app and have 10 active patient connections per doctor on an average over the next year believes that building a strong team and being clear and consistent in the marketing communications helps in marketing the app.

Furthermore, talking about the investment strategies Misra stated, 'Apart from promoters' capital, we raised money through friends and family around, and both of my fellow co-founders from my earlier startups (Sundeep Holani of ChannelPlay, and Neeraj Kakkar of Hector Beverages) participated in that round among others.' He also added, 'We are expecting to raise approximately $3 to 4 million, over the next six months.'

As technology is moving at a very fast pace, every field is undergoing a revolution. It is thus believed that AI might replace doctors in the future. However, Misra is of the opinion that good care will get delivered through the deployment of technology which will serve the doctor-patient relationship. He also considers tech and smartphone revolution to be a boon for people living in areas with inadequate access to healthcare.

Gopika Bhat

BW Reporters The author is a student of Multimedia and Mass Communication (MMMC) at IP College for Women, University of Delhi.