Primary Health Treatment Set For Digital Disruption In India

India provides the lowest priced data service in the world resulting in online connectivity gaining precedence over physical presence, across all sectors including banking, retail, etc. and healthcare is no exception to the same.

With each PHC’s- primary health centres serving an average population of minimum 25,000, the burden is excessive on the doctors to provide primary care to these individuals. This burden can be reduced by consulting a doctor online.

In several underdeveloped states of India including Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand, a PHC covers as many as 45,000, 49,000 and 76,000 people respectively, as per government data. In a state like Rajasthan, the dispersed rural populace has to travel 10-20 km to reach the nearest PHC.

However, reaching a PHC is also not enough, as there is a shortage of about 9,000 doctors in about 25,000 PHCs across the country while 2,000 PHCs do not have even a single doctor. According to a study undertaken by US-based Centre for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP), there is one government doctor for every 10,189 people in India.

Amid all these constraints, online doctor consultation platforms are a boon to all those far and wide seeking guidance and advice for health ailments. With our online platform DocsApp, we have witnessed a substantial growth from a mere 100 consultations per month in 2016 to a mind-boggling 2 lakh patients consulting 5,000 specialists doctors a month.

According to a report titled `A Vision for Primary Health Care in the 21st Century’ by World Health Organisation jointly with UNICEF, new technologies are critical for both demand and supply-side efforts to improve the health and well-being through stronger PHC. Several efforts are underway to develop mHealth and eHealth platforms that expand the reach of health services and support self-care (e.g. by making information available when needed or by providing reminders for appointments or medications), says the report.

Other technologies, such as artificial intelligence and drones, are also being actively explored and may offer new avenues to improve the quality and accessibility of services. The report also makes a passing reference about the rise in mental illness in children and suicide and the approach by PHC that is needed to manage such issues.

At DocsApp, 27 per cent of monthly online consultations are by men with psychological issues, as online consultations bring in an element of trust and privacy.

According to a Delhi-based PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Indian healthcare market is expected to grow to 280 billion US dollars by 2020 with substantial investments in tertiary hospitals, medical devices and applications, clinical trials & health insurance among others.

However, primary healthcare clinics in distant rural areas do not figure in the investment landscape so far. This gap can be addressed by online consultations for the time being overcoming the lacunae of the shortage of doctors as well as narrowing the distance for the patient, till the country does not achieve its coveted healthcare budget expenditure target of 2.5 per cent of the GDP from the prevailing 1.15-1.5 per cent.

Satish Kannan

Guest Author Satish Kannan is the Co-founder and CEO of DocsApp, a one-of-its-kind app that connects doctors with patients on the go and provides efficient and convenient diagnostic services and medicines at their doorsteps.