Bengaluru goes back to the tradition of calling docs home

With the advent of smartphones and the applications (commonly known as apps) they support, it has become convenient to get all our domestic jobs done without having to move around much. Right from food, refreshments and groceries to medicines, cabs and electricians, receiving commodities and services in the comfort of our homes has become as easy as snapping our fingers.While most of our needs are covered, one that is critical, but not that easily accessible is the healthcare sector. Bridging that gap slowly are Bengaluru-based apps that are using technology for people to go back to the age-old tradition of getting doctors to visit patients at their homes.
Essentially, these apps function like cab-hailing apps, only that they’re for doctors. ZevA, founded by school friends Srinivas Sastri and Shashi Bhushan, is one such. With services from professionals such as doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and dieticians available at the click of a button, starting the end of this month, the makers are looking to disrupt the way healthcare has been functioning. Srinivas says, “Healthcare can be divided into two sectors — primary care, which is the most prevalent form of treatment, and specialized care. Our app focuses on the former, giving patients the option to choose to be treated for common ailments and injuries by doctors in the neighbourhood, instead of relying on self-diagnosis and medication. Patients can choose from doctors based on their language preferences, distance and consultation charging” The app also has an SOS button that’s linked to the Bengaluru City Police app, Suraksha. Srinivas elaborates, “This is for the safety of both the physicians and the patients. Since physicians will be visiting private buildings, neither do we want the patients to feel unsafe, nor do we want to put the doctors in tricky situations. Since it’s linked with Suraksha, cops can be at the venue within five minutes of pressing the SOS button.”
Another Bengaluru-based home healthcare app that functions similarly is Nightingales, founded by Lalit Pai and Himanshu Shah, has been live for the past six months. Speaking about the app, Chief Technical Officer Gowtham Jayaram says, “More often than not, it’s the patient’s next of kin that requests for doctor’s services. So, we wanted to make an app that provides a continuum of patient information to the end users, be it the patient themselves or the next of kin, so, wherever they are, they know what’s happening. That’s important in today’s world, when almost all family members are away at work or college.”
What’s common among these apps is that while people can request for visitations from qualified nurses, dentists, physiotherapists and dieticians, the doctors are general practitioners and not specialists. Also, the apps’ USP is that they are hyperlocal, meaning doctors in the vicinity will be notified when someone is unwell and requests for them, making house visits much more efficient and faster. And all of the users’ electronic health records and history are quantified and saved, making it less complicated when new doctors turn up for consultation and treatment.
One area that both these apps differ is that while Nightingales employs all physicians on their payroll, in ZevA, the app is just another platform for them to provide their services — and both have their advantages. Srinivas says, “Every year, thousands of doctors and nurses graduate, and not all of them get jobs in hospitals or have the money to set up their own clinics. An app like ours, which has 2,500 doctors and 400 nurses on board, will give them an avenue to provide their services, and patients get quicker treatments.” Gowtham says, “By employing all the physicians on our payroll, we have better control over the quality of services they provide.” Healthcare has never been more convenient.