eHealthOpinion September 13, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Healthcare, Technology , trackbackeHealthOpinion is an upcoming Healthcare IT startup by Ahmedabad-based MediSoft Telemedicine Pvt. Ltd. Launched on 24th July 2007, eHealthopinion aims to provide a platform for patients and doctors to connect remotely.
Basic idea is that patients (along with referring doctor) can initiate an online ‘case’ that can then be taken up by one of the registered ‘expert’ physicians. The service is free for the patient (and referring doctor) to submit the case, and free for the expert doctor to have a basic response functionality. The business model seems to be around a paid ‘premium’ membership for expert doctors, not sure if eHealthOpinion also takes a cut of the fee charged by expert doctor per case.
I think eHealthOpinion is a great networking tool for doctors- it a viable alternative for building professional relationships by directing referral traffic from a generalist to a specialist physician. It’s also an avenue for distressed patients to get virtual second-opinions, and can play a significant role as our healthcare economy moves online.
Having said that, the scope of clinical conditions that can be assessed just on the basis of written text is limited. Telemedicine is a spectrum of solutions- it can range from a simple phonecall/email to remote-monitoring (like ideatel or visicu) or domain solutions like PACS and robotic surgery. Even telepathology and teledermatology are on the horizon. Every one of these involves a wide array of technologies to solve clinical conditions and/or help care providers. Another issue with any web 2.0 solution is that the audience is fickle, they may start using the site in droves, but leave just as quickly when the initial enthusiasm dies. eHealthOpinion has impressive numbers for a fresh startup- 175 patients, 109 doctors and 27 hospitals from 20 countries had registered as this post goes online (official stats from the founder via email on 13th September 2007).
The website is quite professionally done with a neat design. Since it focuses on a relatively unconventional concept (of online consultations), it’d have been prudent to include a “How it works” section on homepage. Although the concept becomes clear once you click on the FAQ pages (buried in the menu), it’s still a good idea to allay the newcomers anxiety right away.
MediSoft has been operational since 2001, and besides eHealthOpinion, they have another product called ‘Tele Doctor 2.0‘ which is a desktop-based telemedicine system. Company statistics show that it has been installed in 105 locations in five countries. It’s heartening to see Indian entrepreneurs taking tangible steps in defining this upcoming market already.
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