Will Healthcare Be the Next Big Internet Business in India?

Young healthcare companies are planning on using the Internet as a tool to build the next big internet business out of India. Essentially, the companies are utilizing the web to gather data on doctors, clinics, hospitals, and other healthcare businesses to provide an easy way for consumers to access the information.

Some companies have had tremendous success; for example, Practo Ray to date has managed about 15 million records and booked 16.6 million appointments with 109,000 physicians. Practo Ray claims that their company has upgraded the customer experience because formerly illegibly written prescriptions, reminders and bills are now all electronically recorded via software. Practo is setting a goal to make doctor’s clinic mobile in the future. Practo Ray’s competition seems to be catching up, as competitors are offering lower priced services and personalized assistance. More startup companies are entering this field.

Avnish Bajaj, founder of Matrix Partners, stated, “India is mainly a cash economy for healthcare, and people have a choice of which doctor to approach unlike the West, where you're forced to choose from a predetermined pool due to insurance restrictions.” Nonetheless, getting access to doctors is not an easy task in India, which is why the online facilitators are exploring field of opportunity.

Saurabh Arora, co-founder of Lybrate, claims that her company was especially useful when she was relocated to Mumbai and needed to locate a physician. Similarly, Amit Bansal, co-founder of Helpingdoc, created his venture because people were seeking primary care in over-crowded hospitals. Instead, Bansal wanted to expose the hidden inventory of doctors. Currently, Hellpingdoc has 4,000 doctors in its database and plans to expand to 20,000 doctors in 18 months.

These companies are beginning to organize a fragmented healthcare market. The biggest challenge for these start-up companies is finding a way to create revenue for their business.

Summary by MedicalGroups.com

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