Healthcare Startup: Gear Up To Fight Pandemic
Over 1,03,796 people (as of 11 April) died worldwide in the blink of an eye from the Coronavirus pandemic. Streets and playgrounds have long become a ghostly spectacle. Nobody knows what the future holds. Experts are still trying to comprehend where the Covid-19 scenario is headed and how to mitigate it. A recent piece published on the World Economic Forum website emphasised the concern to control the epidemic without a wellresourced and equitable health system and supported workforce.
Alarmingly, according to the World Health Organisation’s stats, Indian medical infrastructure are far below the appropriate standards. As per the government shared data, as of March 17, there is one isolation bed per 84,000 Indians, one quarantine bed per 36,000 Indians, one doctor per 11,600 Indians and one hospital bed per 1,826 Indians.
Startups in Action
The situation calls for an immediate action from every player in the medical field. The Indian healthcare startups have been aggressively taking up the burden in filling the gaps in India’s medical infrastructure. A collaboration of 200 entrepreneurs, who are tentatively calling themselves as ‘Founders against Covid-19’, have set targets to devise innovative solutions to counteract the epidemic’s outrage. Reportedly, they are building a Quarantine app, which will live track patients tested positive whether they are in-home quarantine and those who have tested positive.
Automobile startup Droom has developed an antimicrobial surface protection shield for cars and twowheelers called Corona Shield, designed to prevent the growth of microorganisms on the surfaces. The firm claims that the shield is effective against SARS coronavirus and similar droplet-based viruses for up to four months.
Another startup from Gurugram Staqu Technologies has launched a new thermal camera that detects individuals through body temperature within a range of 100 meters. The Bengaluru-based digital healthcare platform Practo has developed its Covid-19 tests, which is available on its website. For this, it has partnered with Navi Mumbai company Thyrocare to conduct the tests, with samples to be collected from the patient’s home directly. Practo claims the tests, which are now available in selected cities, have been granted authorisation from the government of India and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Telemedicine: Gamechanger?
Startups obviously can’t do much without the support from the government. Giving a boost, the Health Ministry finally approved the longpending – over 10 years – guidelines for telemedicine. Telemedicine is the practice of providing clinical services to patients without an inperson visit i.e. through electronic communication and software. Its need is in sharp contrast with the fact that the access of resources has been a major challenge in Indian societies, particularly to distant villages. According to a survey that analysed the Healthcare Access and Quality Index ranks India 145 out of 195 countries.
The Government’s flagship Digital India ought to, as many experts would agree, include vast sclerotic sections of Indian healthcare. The telemedicine law allows any registered medical practitioner can treat Covid-19 patients remotely or by using telemedicine tools.
Practo, on its website, has started selling ‘unlimited online consultations’ during this outbreak at less than Rs 400. Kota-based Medcords, which is said to target Tier-3 cities and below, has online portals to connect patients, doctors, and pharmacies.
Not just startups, major private players in the sector, which have long shielded themselves from making large investments in telemedicine due to lack of clear policy and legislation, could change their gears in the coming future. Several questions beg concerning the legal ramifications of the provided guidelines.
Kartik Ganapathy, Partner, IndusLaw, shared: “The issue in telemedicine revolves around consent, data use and privacy, rights of the patient and malpractice.” On the specifics, he further added: “These guidelines at least don’t dwell on the hardware or software or system standards, instead provides norms and protocols covering the key issues identified above.” He advises startups to make use of the provision: “Start-ups in the healthcare business should address the supply chain for medicine, as well as, see if they can advance telemedicine by offering easy to use platforms.”
Sales growth figures, on the other hand, have never been better. The Bengaluru-based e-healthcare platform Medlife is witnessing a spike of 200-300 per cent in terms of overall orders, while specific categories such as hand sanitisers and masks have witnessed a 4X to 5X surge in orders. Ananth Narayanan, CEO & Co-Founder, Medlife, shared: “To ensure that people do not indulge in unnecessary bulk buying, we have capped the number of masks and sanitisers to five each so that existing customers with chronic conditions are not impacted in any way.” Despite increased demand, like every other sector relying on their e-commerce supply chain, healthcare startups are facing fall-backs in meeting the needs in all efficiency.
The Mumbai-based online B2B aggregator Medikabazaar spokesperson, shared: “These are the times when our operational efficiencies and scale are getting tested and helping us contribute to the sector in a major way. There is a huge gap in demand and timely supply, and we are putting up a robust and large scale supply chain infrastructure to address this issue.”
