Tech-driven startup in Bhubaneswar takes COVID care to doorstep

A five-year-old startup has been taking care of medical needs of COVID and non-COVID patients in Bhubaneswar.
A nurse of Tech Tricks with a female patient. (Photo| EPS)
A nurse of Tech Tricks with a female patient. (Photo| EPS)

BHUBANESWAR: Former Principal of Ravenshaw College Prof Niranjan Sarangi was admitted to SUM COVID Hospital after he tested positive for COVID-19 on April 25. After a 20-day hospitalisation, he finally returned home on Saturday. Although Prof Sarangi (80) stays alone in Bhubaneswar, he was not unattended.

His daughter who resides outside the State, had hired an attendant from a city-based healthcare startup Tech Tricks who took care of him all throughout, beginning from arranging a hospital bed to shifting him and then getting all his tests done to regularly monitoring his condition. And now his daughter has hired a nurse from the firm for Sarangi's post-COVID care.

"We were worried about how to manage things as it was difficult for us to immediately rush to Bhubaneswar. I came to know about the startup from some sources which came to our rescue. The team took care of my father just like a family member and it is because of their service that he has come home safely now," said Prof Sarangi's daughter Dr Leni Choudhury, South-Asia in-charge of University of Chicago, who resides at New Delhi.

Not only the COVID patients, the startup has also been providing home-care to non-COVID patients in the city. "I have hired a nurse for my father-in-law. She is staying at our home and takes care of him. At least he is protected from COVID so far due to the home-care provided by Tech Tricks," said Anita Mohapatra, a senior executive of a PSU.

"With the risk of infection lurking at the health facilities during the COVID crisis, this healthcare service at doorstep is best suited for working couples like us," she added.

When COVID patients in home isolation find it difficult to get required medical attention, emergency care and even drugs delivered at doorstep, the start-up has come forward to lend a helping hand.

From digitisation of patient records to attending patients at home, connecting them with doctors, supplying medical devices and drugs and helping lab tests done, it has been bridging the huge demand-supply gap in the health sector.

The startup has tied up with patholabs and ICMR accredited RT-PCR testing labs for helping patients get their tests done apart from pharmacies for delivery of drugs round the clock. It has been providing home nurses, medical nursing attendant, doctor on calls, medical transportation, part time staff nurses and physiotherapists at a reasonable cost.

The 450-odd staff of the health-tech firm has so far provided service to more than 100 COVID patients and received bookings from 600 patients this month.

"We have a team of doctors and around 400 nurses for non-COVID patients and 60 nurses for COVID patients. Divided in groups, they are working in three shifts. The demand is rising every day as we have been getting more than 200 calls a day for the service. We are in the process of hiring more nurses," said founder Rashmi Ranjan Mallick, a management professional.

Launched as a recruitment firm in 2016, it was converted to a technology-driven healthcare platform a couple of years back with an aim to provide medical care to patients at their doorstep by making primary healthcare affordable and accountable as per requirement.

Mallick (31), who belongs to Cuttack, decided to shift to COVID care after his friend found it difficult to arrange a bed for his father during the first wave of the pandemic last year.

"It took us a day to find a bad after searching several hospitals in the city. That day we decided to launched the service. We have been mainly focusing on bedridden patient care, tracheostomy care, old age care, critical patient and also baby care. We hope this initiative will improve access to healthcare services and help home isolation patients fight off COVID-19 in a better way," he added.

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