KOCHI: Time is a constraint for most youngsters who work round the clock. They do not have time for their health, let alone visit a doctor. Here enters the DocsApp, an online consultation mobile app that connects doctors to patients through chat or calls.
Friends and founders of the startup, Satish Kannan and Enbasekar Dinadayalane came up with the idea to launch the app in 2015 after they noticed the uneven distribution of specialists in the country. Satish, an alumnus of IIT Madras, realised this when he was developing a cardiac surgery machine for an MNC. “In India, out of seven lakh doctors, only a lakh specialise in a field. Of them, 10 per cent work in tier I cities, and this results in a shortage of specialists in small towns,” says Satish.
The app’s launch was preceded by a year-long research. DocsApp is an overall health consultation platform, which aims to provide quality healthcare facilities to people in small towns. It has self-evaluation tests through which the users can know their potential health hazards. It has an internal panel of doctors who help in the selection of nearest specialist in gynaecology, oncology, dermatology.
“We follow a three-step process to select doctors. We verify their MCI (Medical Council of India) registration number followed by a round of interview with our doctor panel. We also visit the doctors in person to avoid taking quacks onboard,” he says. He adds that most of the specialists are from Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai.
The app also points to the nearest National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories for tests. “The app will send reminder texts to the users if they fail to undergo the test or consult doctors within three days after the test,” Satish says. But getting people to connect with doctors online was a task for them. “It was difficult to convince people to go online to consult doctors. It was hard for them to trust the authenticity of the information provided through the app,” he says.
The developers wanted the app to be user-friendly. “As most smartphone owners use WhatsApp, we decided to have a similar interface. Our app also supports 16 local languages,” he adds. DocsApp has raised $8.4 million so far.
“Till date, we had two rounds of funding. We raised around $1.2 million (Rs 8+ crore) from a Japanese company, VC Rebright Partners, and other Indian investors during the seed funding stage,” he shares. Then they raised around $7.2 million from Bessemer Venture Partners and Japanese investors as their Series A funding. They charge a percentage of the online payment made by the users to earn their revenue.
Satish has a team of 120 in Bengaluru. “We also have two or three members in each state to look after the functioning of the app,” he adds. DocsApp users are equally divided in tier I and tier II cities.
“We use Google and Facebook to advertise in tier I cities. But in tier II cities we follow a referral method where a user recommends the app to his or her friends and family,” says Satish. The app currently caters to 75,000 patients and aims to reach three lakh patients in a year and 10 lakh patients in three years.
In Short
Founders:
Satish Kannan and Enbasekar Dinadayalane
Members:
120 in Bengaluru and two or three members in every state
Funding:
$8.4 million till date from Indian, Japanese and US investors