Telemedicine app 'VISIT' launches doctor on call service

Hyderabad, Sep 13 VISIT, an on-demand healthcare service provider, has partnered with Spice Digital to launch a doctor on call service on BSNL network and plans to tie-up with other telecom players to go national.

The service, called 'JIYO Behtar Expert Talk Health Line', has already been made live in North Zone with state-run BSNL as the first telecom partner. VISIT is a platform that connects patients with practitioners anytime, anywhere through smartphone or computer.

The telemedicine app was launched earlier this year by four BITS Pilani graduates -- Anurag Prasad, Vaibhav Singh, Chetan Anand and Shashvat Tripathi. Spice Digital is a mobile value added service (VAS) and financial technology (fintech) service provider.

"We are now doing over 500 telehealth consultations on the BSNL network on a daily basis. These are people from Tier 3 cities and villages in North Zone. Soon we will be launching in West Zone, South Zone and East Zone," Prasad told PTI.

"We will also be launching the service on Idea and Airtel very soon," he said. The states covered under North Zone include Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu& Kashmir, Rajasthan, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. The doctors signed up for the service primarily belong to the same zone.

The service was launched keeping in mind the challenges faced by people while they want to consult a doctor in case of a medical emergency, VISIT and Spice Digital said. Also, long waiting hours, distance of hospital/clinic can take a toll on the patients' health, they said.

Using the platform, users can now reach qualified doctors to discuss health-related issues. It can also be used for solutions to issues like women's health, nutrition, baby care, skin disorder, stress, anxiety, relationship, parenting and chronic diseases, they said.

According to VISIT and Spice Digital, studies have shown over 70 per cent of the health issues faced by people can be managed over a phone call or via text messaging.

"This service would help patients avoid long hours of travelling time for health consultations, especially for those living in rural areas where the nearest doctor could be 200km away," they said.

PTI