India’s First Phygital Service Hub Launched in MP

Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has inaugurated India’s first integrated phygital service centre in Umri village, Guna district, Madhya Pradesh, under the Department of Telecommunications’ Samriddh Gram Phygital Services Pilot Initiative. The centre combines physical and digital access to healthcare, education, agriculture, banking, and government services, marking a major step toward rural digital empowerment.

Key Highlights of the Launch

• Location: Umri village, Guna district, Madhya Pradesh
• Date of Launch: March 15, 2026
• Launched By: Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia
• Initiative: Samriddh Gram Phygital Services Pilot by the Department of Telecommunications
• Objective: To provide integrated access to essential services (healthcare, education, agriculture, banking, and government schemes) through a hybrid physical-digital model.

What “Phygital” Means Here

• Physical + Digital Integration: Villagers can walk into the centre for in-person assistance while simultaneously accessing online platforms.
• Service Coverage:
  • Healthcare: Telemedicine consultations, health awareness programs
  • Education: Digital learning modules, skill development courses
  • Agriculture: Online crop advisory, market price updates
  • Banking: Digital financial services, UPI-based transactions
  • Government Services: Access to schemes, certificates, and grievance redressal

Strategic Importance

• Digital Empowerment: Bridges the digital divide in rural India by offering both offline and online access.
• Holistic Development: Encourages rural communities to adopt digital tools while ensuring inclusivity for those less tech-savvy.
• Pilot Model: If successful, the initiative could be scaled across other districts and states, transforming rural service delivery nationwide.

Comparison: Traditional vs. Phygital Centres

Feature	Traditional Rural Centres	Phygital Service Centre
Service Access	Mostly physical, limited digital	Hybrid (physical + digital)
Healthcare	Local clinics only	Telemedicine + local support
Education	Schools, limited resources	Digital learning + skill hubs
Agriculture Support	Offline advisory	Real-time digital updates
Banking	Manual transactions	Digital payments, UPI, online banking
Government Services	Paper-based, slow	Online portals + assisted access

Challenges & Risks

• Digital Literacy Gap: Villagers may need training to fully benefit.
• Connectivity Issues: Reliable internet access is crucial for success.
• Scalability: Pilot success in Guna will determine feasibility for nationwide rollout.

This launch positions Guna as a testbed for rural digital transformation, with Scindia emphasizing that the initiative will “bring the world to Umri” by placing opportunities directly in villagers’ hands.

Infosys Partners Japan's Dispensing Pharmacy Chain Nihon Chouzai and Develops Telemedicine Mobile App

Infosys has partnered with Nihon Chouzai, Japan's dispensing pharmacy chain, to enhance healthcare access in Japan through innovative digital solutions. As part of this collaboration, Infosys has developed a mobile application called NiCOMS, which serves as a telemedicine service enabling patients to receive remote medication guidance from registered pharmacists. This eliminates the need for physical visits to the pharmacy.

The mobile application, NiCOMS, allows patients across Japan to receive medication instructions, consultations, and make payments during video calls with pharmacists. It provides a convenient and efficient way for patients to manage their medications remotely.

Nihon Chouzai in collaboration with Infosys launched the web version of NiCOMS in September 2020. With an existing registered userbase of over 1,800,000, the mobile application will now integrate with OkusuriTechoPlus, Nihon Chouzai’s digital medication notebook, by merging the account and authentication processes. This ensures a seamless experience for users.

Infosys adopted an agile approach to develop the NiCOMS mobile app, allowing the company to nimbly adapt to evolving requirements driven by deregulation and COVID-19. The online medication guidance service on NiCOMS allows patients across Japan to receive medication instructions, consultations, and make payments during video calls with pharmacists.

NiCOMS offers a responsive user interface compatible with various terminals, operating systems, and browsers, making it accessible to a wide range of users.

This collaboration aims to make a significant impact by increasing access to quality pharmaceutical interventions and enhancing online medical services in Japan. It's exciting to see how technology can transform healthcare delivery.

Remote Hilly-Areas or Udhampur, J&K Gets AI-backed Telemedicine Mobile Clinic

A state-of-the-art, Artificial Intelligence (AI) supported Telemedicine Mobile Clinic "Aarogya-Doctors on Wheels" for remote hilly areas of Ramnagar region in Udhampur district of J&K has been launched, this Sunday, by Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh.

The latest upgraded Tele Clinic is Artificial Intelligence-driven to provide healthcare facilities in far flung areas of the region, where such facilities are either not available or inadequately available.

The mobile clinic functions on the latest methodology wherein a patient can narrate his illness or complaint in his native language and the AI doctor understands the language and responds to the patient in the same language.

Thereafter, the patient is connected to one of the leading super specialists in the country as this telemedicine hospital has been tied up with some of the leading hospitals in the country. Later, the patient's entire body profile and investigations are done. Within about 40 to 50 minutes, a patient is provided with the prescription. Dr Singh said the patient is provided free-of-cost treatment.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has made a firm resolve to provide healthcare facilities to the remotest parts of the country, harnessing the latest technological developments. The present initiative is also inspired by that, he said.

The Minister informed that the first phase of this facility was conducted in the far-flung Gandoh area of district Doda where it spent three months. The second phase was conducted along the Zero Line villages of the International Border, and the third phase was held in the upper reaches of Bilawar. The fourth phase in the next few months will be conducted in Dudu Basantgarh in the upper reaches of Ramnagar block of Udhampur.

Dr Jitendra Singh appealed to local people to avail the facility, saying that through this latest super speciality hospital, doctors are coming to their doorsteps.

"This campaign, through funds raised from voluntary sources, was started in Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency one year back and it is possibly among the rare parliamentary constituencies to have initiative such a high tech mobile healthcare facility. For local assistance, a physician is also physically available inside the van, " said Dr Jitendra Singh. 

Bharat Health Index 2023: Bharat Spends An Average of 15-20% of Household Income on Medical Expenses; 32% Interested in Telemedicine Consultation

On the occasion of India’s 76th Independence Day, PayNearby releases its first edition of ‘Bharat Health Index’ - a study of healthcare awareness in Bharat

• 15-20% of yearly income spent on medical expenses in Bharat households
• 55% of those surveyed have never heard of insurance
• 70% did not have a health insurance cover
• 23% relied on informal loans or borrowing to take care of hospital expenses
• 45% travelled more than 10 kms to avail doctor services
• 35% of respondents expressed interest in online medical purchases
• 32% have shown interest on telemedicine consultation

Only 25% of the semi-rural and rural population in India have access to modern healthcare within their localities, highlighted a survey titled Bharat Health Index (BHI) 2023, released by PayNearby, India's largest branchless banking and digital network. The accessibility index saw a major dip as one moved from urban to rural India, with only 10% of the rural respondents citing that they had access to healthcare within a 10km radius.

These findings are based on survey responses of 10,000+ retailers across semi-rural and rural India over a month.

Lack of skilled healthcare providers at the last mile pose a significant challenge for accessibility. Only 15% of respondents confirmed having a doctor's clinic or healthcare facility within a 5 km radius. In terms of medical practitioners available, while 25% had access to general physicians in their area, 92% lacked specialised doctors, such as cardiologists, gynaecologists or paediatricians, impacting medical care.

For specialised treatment such as cancer, neurological or blood disorders, 90% needed to travel to a different location for treatment. 5% reported loss of a loved one due to unavailability of specialist doctors at the local healthcare facility. The survey also evaluated the accessibility and convenience of medical stores at the last mile. A notable 52% of respondents had a pharmacy within 5 km radius of their residence, making essential medicines relatively accessible. However, 85% of the respondents had to travel more than 10 kms to obtain specialised medicines, indicating potential challenges for those with specific medical needs.

Interestingly, 47% of the respondents possessed a thermometer at home, while only 7% had instruments to check blood pressure and blood sugar, suggesting room for improved self- monitoring and prevention.

The survey also examined the funding mechanism for medical expenses and how affordability could be improved at the last mile. The report indicated that an average household in Bharat spent approximately 15-20% of their yearly income on medical expenses. 23% relied on informal loans or borrowing for hospital expenses, while 6% resorted to selling assets to pay off their medical bills. A significant 53% utilised some form of savings to cover these expenses.

Given the dependence on out-of-pocket expenses for medical costs, the survey emphasized the urgent need for setting up a financial funding mechanism to address the escalating medical expenses at the last mile. The penetration of financial products such as insurance emerged as crucial for enhancing healthcare affordability and accessibility. However, the report highlighted the abysmally low insurance awareness among Bharat’s last mile. A substantial 55% of the respondents had never heard of insurance. Among those aware of insurance, only 32% had opted for insurance at some point, with a mere 28% possessing health insurance for themselves or their families. Among those with insurance, 88% obtained it from government or state sponsored schemes, while less than 10% obtained it from private insurance providers.

For those without insurance, reasons varied. A substantial 38% cited affordability as a major hindrance, while others mentioned uncertainty about where to buy insurance (36%) or its benefits (24%). Respondents identified limited availability of health insurance providers and lack of information (32%) as the primary challenge. This was closely followed by high premiums (28%), complex documentation processes (15%), limited coverage for specific healthcare needs (18%), and language or literacy barriers (7%).

To improve overall accessibility of healthcare services, the survey also evaluated the affinity for online medicine purchase and teleconsultation among this population. 35% expressed interest in online medical purchases, 32% favoured telemedicine consultations, and 32% showed keenness for online awareness programs and diagnostics/lab tests- online appointments. The encouraging response towards digital adoption highlights the need for tech-led innovations and distribution models to broaden healthcare reach across the country.

Commenting on the findings, Mr. Anand Kumar Bajaj, Founder, MD & CEO, PayNearby said, “Over 70% of India resides in rural and semi-rural regions. This survey reinforces the urgent need to scale healthcare services for the masses. More than 80% of doctors, 75% of dispensaries, 60% of hospitals are concentrated in urban India, leaving out marginalised population in SURU to fend for themselves. While infrastructure scaling takes times, leveraging technology for distribution breakthroughs is crucial to cater to a wider audience. Reliable tele-consultation platforms and easy to use online pharmacy modules can greatly contribute. Our recently launched Health Correspondent program, is a step in that direction. Together with our retailers, the mission is to spread medical awareness and create local health hubs, ensuring the reach of critical primary health services through technology."

The survey also highlights the low penetration of insurance among our populace. To address this, more dialogue and action are needed to facilitate better insurance penetration in the country. This Independence Day, PayNearby has introduced Risk se Freedom Pao campaign, to not only build awareness but also eliminate roadblocks that keep people from availing insurance products. It’s critical that people perceive health insurance in the right light for a safer, better future for themselves and their families."

Commenting on the report findings, Jayatri Dasgupta, CMO, PayNearby, said, “As India celebrates its 76th Independence Day, an important yardstick to measure the health of the nation is to understand the state of health infrastructure and awareness among the country’s last mile. Affordable and accessible healthcare is pivotal for country’s progress. PayNearby’s Bharat Health Index (BHI) 2023 initiative addresses gaps in existing healthcare infrastructure and outlines ways to enhance it. The survey highlights the need for more trained medical professionals in rural areas, a better financial support system for medical expenses, accelerated insurance penetration, and the strategic use of technology for distribution breakthroughs.”

About PayNearby:

Incepted in April 2016, PayNearby is a DPIIT-certified company and India’s leading branchless banking and digital payments network. PayNearby operates on a B2B2C model, where it partners with neighbourhood retail stores and enables them with the tools to provide digital and financial services to local communities. PayNearby’s mission is to make financial services available to everyone, everywhere. The company aims to simplify high-end technology so that it can be easily assimilated at the last mile while transforming the lives of its retail partners and customers.

Today, PayNearby, through its tech-led DaaS (Distribution as a Service) network, serves 75% of India and is enabling services like cash withdrawal, remittance, Aadhaar Banking, bill payment and recharges, savings, travel, digital payments, insurance and more. Currently, PayNearby’s 50 lakh-plus micro-entrepreneurs across 20,000+ PIN codes assist 20+ crore customers across the country to the tune of more than ~7500 crores GTV per month.

To know more: www.paynearby.in

Some Trending Telemedicine Apps for e-Consultations

Most individuals can recount consulting their doctor on a phone or using a network or video links like Facetime, WhatsApp, or Zoom at some point. It has been prevalent for a while now and is not a new concept in India. Nevertheless, it is not a sustainable mode of consultation at a scale that India needs, mainly due to the lack of a proper teleconsultation platform and modularity of patients’ data.

There are thousands of health care apps available for people. Some related to appointments and medicines, some related to mental health or fitness, or teleconsultation. Numerous wellness apps for various purposes. But people get confused when it comes to choosing the right app for themselves. Patient-centric healthcare apps aid users to stay updated regarding their medication schedule and provide information such as the number of calories consumed, dehydration level in the body or also help them to consult a doctor online.

Below are some telemedicine apps which can help people: -

1) Navia: Navia is a health technology company with a special focus on patient care. We believe in healthcare with simplicity. Our tools enable users to manage their health on their fingertips. Navia Life Care's Mission is to improve the lives of people through innovative products and services. We aim to provide simple tools enabling better management of a person's health in the most convenient way. The company was founded in 2016 by Kunal Kishore Dhawan, Gaurav Gupta, and Nupur Khandelwal.

2) Aayu: Aayu is a health-tech platform founded by Shreyans Mehta, Co-founder which provides teleconsultation services and allows its users to order medicines from nearby medical stores and get them delivered at their doorstep in the quickest time i.e. 2 hours. Also, it lets users store their important medical records like prescriptions and reports, and eliminates the hassle of maintaining easy-to-lose hard copies. One can order medicine by uploading a prescription or by searching the names of the medicines on the app. Aayu app is connected to a hyper-local network of more than 25,000 medical stores across India in states including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chattisgarh, West Bengal, Assam, Karnataka, Kerala, and Telangana. It gives the users an option to select the nearest and trustworthy medical store from the list available on the app.

3) Medlife International: It is an Indian online platform, which provides pharmacy, diagnostics, and e-consultation in India. It was founded in 2014 by Prashant Singh and Tushar Kumar. The company has a central laboratory based in Bangalore and delivers daily to 29 states. Medlife has brought together doctors, pharmacists, path labs, and consumers on a single platform. Medlife has a lot more to offer than just buying medicines online.

4) NetMeds: It is an online pharmacy based in Chennai, India. Netmeds prescription medications. Netmeds and additional Indian online pharmacies began operation in 2015, Indian consumers had no choice but to travel at times long distances to buy their medications, and to wait in queues at pharmacies to make their purchases.

SGPGI, Lucknow and IIT Kanpur Join Hands To Set Up the CoE in Telemedicine and Healthcare Robotics

SGPGI, Lucknow and IIT Kanpur sign an MoU to set up the Centre of Excellence in Telemedicine and Healthcare Robotics

The CoE will facilitate an interdisciplinary approach to public health and strengthening health systems.

Medical and engineering professionals will be able to pursue courses in digital health to nurture a nuanced skill set.

The initiative aims to make affordable healthcare accessible and blur borders in the pursuit of innovation in healthcare.

Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow and IIT Kanpur signed an MoU to advance innovation in accessible healthcare through indigenous solutions. Under the MoU, the institutes will set up a Centre of Excellence in Telemedicine and Healthcare robotics to nurture smart healthcare with an overarching objective of strengthening healthcare systems. areas.

The MoU signing ceremony, held on 29th June 2021 was graced by key members from both institutes, including Prof. R. K. Dhiman, Director, SGPGI and Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Director, IIT Kanpur.

Prof. Abhay Karandikar while addressing the gathering stated --

Through this initiative, two leading institutions of India will join hands to uphold their vision of a robust, indigenous healthcare system, focused on promoting interdisciplinary innovation. The MoU is a timely step in the right direction to enable an exchange of ideas across engineering and medicine, as professionals from IIT Kanpur will receive the opportunity to collaborate with specialized doctors at SGPGI, Lucknow.

Through this MoU, IIT Kanpur and SGPGI Lucknow have agreed to establish an R&D set up for promoting telemedicine aided by ICT and 5G, and point-of-care testing and diagnostics. An integrated network of mobile health vans in rural areas and smart kiosks in urban locales will ensure last-mile connectivity to ascertain availability of emergency healthcare services.

Commenting on the initiative’s vision, Prof. R. K. Dhiman said --

We will jointly launch courses in various fields of Digital Health which is not available in any engineering and medical educational institutions in the country at the moment. Current Corona pandemic has made telemedicine technology very popular and useful tool to bridge the gap between care providers and citizen so there is a need to develop indigenous technology platform and systems in large scale which can be affordable and made available widely. This will promote entrepreneurship and develop a rural health system which can be deployed far and wide to strengthen the health system. The future holds the key for hybrid healthcare system for which the bond between engineering and medical discipline needs to be strengthened. In that context the timing of handshake between the two major institutions is appropriate which is going to yield immense benefit to the society.

Role of IIT Kanpur

Any telemedicine system is about creating a network of expected beneficiaries and medical experts and integrating them together in a digital platform. A cost-effective platform consisting of hardware sensors and IOT controller devices needs to be developed for collecting patient health data. The system has to be integrated with cloud servers and mobile apps. In this regard, the role of IIT Kanpur will include:

Development of such portable IoT enabled health care systems along with point-of-care testing and diagnostics.

Designing customized mobile vans and kiosks equipped with AI-based diagnostics.

Integrating multi-lingual avatars with systems to give patients the feel of the presence of a doctor or a care giver. The avatars would especially be essential for patients with mental health disorders and elderly care.

Role of SGPGI, Lucknow

SGPGIMS, Lucknow has set up a School of Telemedicine & Biomedical Informatics in the year 2006 with the objective of teaching and training healthcare personnel and clinical engineers tools and strategies of ICT-enabled health care. It has received a major Grant-in-Aid from Ministry of Electronics & IT, Govt. of India in 2007 to elevate the school to a National Resource Centre in Telemedicine & Biomedical Informatics which was continued for five years.

Later from the year 2007 till date the facility and trained technical human power has been supported by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India to develop and manage the National Medical College Network as the national resource centre.

With the collaboration with IIT Kanpur & the Centre of Excellence, the engineering aspects of clinical application of digital technologies can be addressed. Backed with two decades of experience in application-oriented telemedicine research, development, and deployment, SGPGI’s collaboration with IIT Kanpur will foster synergies to cultivate an ecosystem at the intersection of technology and healthcare through capacity development.

COVID-19 - Veteran Defense Doctors Come Forward To Provide Free Online Consultation Services, Launches e-Sanjeevani OPD Platform

In order to mitigate the criticality of inadequate availability of specialized medical manpower, veteran defense doctors have come forward answering the call of the nation to provide free online consultation services on the e-Sanjeevani platform. This will help on making the invaluable experience of veteran defence medical professionals available to fellow citizens of the country.

All citizens are urged to utilize this unique facility by logging on to esanjeevaniopd.in.

e-Sanjeevani OPD is a Govt of India flagship telemedicine platform, developed by the C-DAC, Mohali under the aegis of MoHFW, Govt of India. It facilitates free online medical consultation to all citizens of India, as well as provides for online prescription of medicines.

‘Ex-Defense OPD’ was launched on 07 May 2021 in a phased manner by Defense Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar and Surgeon Vice Admiral Rajat Datta, Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services. Initially available for Uttar Pradesh, it was extended to Rajasthan on 10 May and Uttarakhand on 11 May as more veteran defense volunteer doctors came onboard. As of today, 85 veteran defense doctors are providing their services on the portal and have provided online consultation to more than 1000 patients.

After the successful roll out in 3 states, Ex-Defense OPD, now renamed as Defense National OPD, has been rolled out pan India on 14 May 2021 and is available on www.esanjeevaniopd.in.

Availability of veteran defense medical professionals on this Govt of India platform has provided additional impetus to the STAY HOME OPD. Their vast experience and expertise is being optimally utilized by patients across the country. This initiative will go a long way in obtaining necessary medical advice and consultation in the safe environment of patients' homes, avoiding unnecessary visits to hospitals and increasing the risk of getting infected with COVID and overburdening the limited health resources.

Alodokter Raises Series-C Extension Funding from MDI Ventures

Suci Arumsari, President Director of Alodokter

JAKARTA, Indonesia , Nov. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Alodokter , Indonesia's leading telemedicine superapp, announced today that it has successfully raised funding from MDI Ventures, a corporate venture capital initiative by Telkom Indonesia. This funding is an extension of the USD33M Series C raised in 2019 by Alodokter. Former investors such as Sequis, Golden Gate Ventures, Heritas and Hera Capital also joined this extension.

Donald Wihardja , Chief Executive Officer of MDI Ventures stated ," As a Corporate Venture Capital arm of Telkom group, MDI has always seen our role as a bridge to bring excellent innovations from the best and proven startups to partner and grow with telkom. With the new, larger, funding we received from telkom this year, we are also tasked to bring such innovative partnership to other state-owned enterprises, especially in such critical sectors like Healthcare. With the rise of the adoption of telemedicine, and the leadership of Alodokter, we look forward to help spread the impact of such solution throughout Indonesia ."

Suci Arumsari, President Director of Alodokter ,  stated, "MDI's investment into Alodokter proves our commitment towards improving millions of lives across Indonesia . This funding brings together Telkom Indonesia's public service mission for Indonesians and Alodokter's business approach to supporting general healthcare. We will utilise this funding to scale up our ability to deliver on the expectations of Indonesian users and enhance our digital health platform to be more robust, accessible and affordable."

The platform connects more than 30,000 doctors and 1500 hospitals and clinics with millions of Indonesian patients. It also arrays a wide array of services around telemedicine such as offline doctor booking, insurance services and digital healthcare content. Alodokter is also set to launch new epharmacy services in the next few months. The company is building one the world most complete 1-stop solution for people to fully manage their health.

According to Similarweb and apptopia, Alodokter is the most used healthcare platform in Indonesia both in mobile web and app. The company currently boasts over 27 million monthly active users or more than 10% of all Indonesian population using at least once a month Alodokter services. This fast trend towards digital health is today mostly driven by young female adults that account for more than 70% of its app users.

"Our secret sauce has always been our deep focus on medical excellence. We created Alodokter to provide reliable and trustworthy medical services for all Indonesians. We always believed that if providing high quality medical services at a very affordable price was the key to attract millions of patients. This strategy is paying out and we are very proud to support millions everyday," says Nathanael Faibis , Alodokter CEO.

MDI Ventures is the corporate venture capital initiative of Telkom Indonesia. This announcement paves the way for a long-term strategic collaboration between Alodokter, MDI Ventures and Telkom Group, as the telemedicine platform expands to serve the Indonesian population's rising needs better.

About Alodokter

Alodokter is the leading Indonesian healthcare superapp created in 2014 by Nathanael Faibis and Suci Arumsari. Alodokter provides an end-to-end digital solution to patients including telemedicine, doctor booking, medical content and health insurance services. As the leading telemedicine platform in Indonesia , Alodokter has more than 27 million monthly active users, and more than 30,000 certified doctors on the platform.

EnableX.io empowers Modern Family Doctor (MFD) to Provide Telehealth Services

~With advanced communication capabilities of EnableX.io, MFD witnessed 30% decrease in no-show and last-minute cancellations~

New Delhi, 28 July 2020: Modern Family Doctor (MFD), that runs a chain of primary healthcare clinics and pharmacies, has partnered with EnableX.io, Asia’s leading Cloud Communication Service provider, to bring remote healthcare access to patients. While it previously allowed patients to schedule or book appointments and make payments via its telehealth app, it now also offers doctor-patient Video and Audio consultations powered by EnableX.io.

Virtual care has become a must-have for doctors, nurses, clinicians and patients especially in a world impacted by COVID-19 pandemic where patients visiting a doctor becomes challenging. With EnableX.io carrier-grade platform and scalable APIs, MFD could easily and quickly integrate high quality and secure video and audio calls within the MFD telehealth app, allowing patients to seek medical consultation remotely. The compliant platform comes with encryptions for added layers of security. 

Through the one-stop telehealth app, patients can now access more than 100 MFD medical specialists and doctors. The one-stop experience allows patients to seamlessly use the app to check doctor’s profile, book appointments, receive virtual face-to-face consultation and get doctor’s prescription all within the comfort of their homes, on any device.  

Furthermore, with remote Video Consultations, MFD is able to reach beyond its current presence and address patients from different regions. The overall engagement between the doctors and patients has significantly improved with MFD  witnessing a 30% decrease in no-show and last-minute cancellations. This is simply because factors that cause no show such as traffic jams and difficulty to take time off from work did not happen with video consultations.

Commenting on the partnership, Pankaj Gupta, CEO & Founder of EnableX.io stated, “Telehealth has played a pivotal role in current times and is now being seen as a permanent part of the healthcare ecosystem. We take pride in working with Modern Family Doctor to ensure that no patient is denied healthcare in such challenging times. With in-person outpatient visits becoming impracticable, the use of video has proven to be a game-changer for Modern Family Doctor. With Video Consultations transforming the face of healthcare services worldwide, it is imperative for healthcare providers to embrace this change and provide a safe and seamless experience to patients in India as well.”

According to Suresh Babu, COO, Modern Family Doctor, “EnableX’s communication platform has made it simpler for the patients to connect with doctors using our app. The scalable, easy-to-use EnableX API and toolkits together with comprehensive documentation made it convenient for us to embed the video/voice channel within our app in a week’s time, without us needing to create our own infrastructure.”

“In an effort to offer users the flexibility to choose their preferred communication channel, we aim to host omnichannel communications with EnableX’s proficiency. Moreover, we also look forward to adding multi-party calls for cases that require multiple healthcare specialists or patient’s relatives from a different geography to be present during the consultation., thereby ensuring better care for the patient”, he further added.

Urban Company partners with Pristyn Care for Telemedicine and COVID-19 Testing of Service Partners

• The partnership enables Urban Company’s 30,000 service partners get free telephonic consultation and COVID-19 screening with Pristyn Care’s super specialist doctors


• The partnership is part of Urban Company’s healthcare program for its service partners, which includes paid sick leaves, COVID-19 health insurance and income protection plans


• Urban Company will utilise Pristyn Care’s network of 50+ ICMR approved partner laboratories across 20 cities for COVID-19 testing of its service partners based on the recommendations of empaneled doctors 


• The partnership has been live for a few weeks and all integrations around electronic prescriptions, real time assessment results and test booking have been fine tuned

Urban Company, India's largest home services aggregator has partnered with Pristyn Care, a reputed Gurgaon-based healthcare platform. Through this partnership, Urban Company will offer its 30,000 service partners free telemedicine consultations and help with COVID-19 testing wherever needed. 

There are three ways in which Urban Company identifies a service partner for doctor consultation. Either the service partner self reports herself as sick, or their body temperature is above 99-degree Fahrenheit in the daily check-ups, or their Aarogya Setu app status is "at risk" or “unwell”. Thereafter, a free doctor consultation is facilitated by one of Pristyn Care's super specialist doctors, trained in COVID-19 assessments. If advised by the doctor, the service partner is tested for COVID-19 through Pristyn Care's network of 50+ ICMR approved partnered labs across 20 cities. These tests are mostly done through home collection of samples by trained phlebotomists equipped with PPE kits. Till the test results are declared, partners are required to self quarantine, and can avail benefits of Urban Company's paid sick leave program. 

In case the test result is positive, Urban Company has a COVID-19 health insurance and income protection plan which comes into effect. As part of this plan, the service partner's hospitalization expenses are covered upto INR 25,000, and income protection is provided upto INR 14,000. Post discharge, partners are required to self quarantine for a minimum of 28 days before they can resume work on the platform. Urban Company has created an INR 1.5 Cr. relief fund to help all such affected partners with monetary support while they are sick and recovering. Further, all negative and positive cases are reported to ICMR and local government authorities.

Talking about the partnership, Urban Company's Co-founder Abhiraj Singh Bhal said, “We have put in place several safety protocols to combat COVID-19. These include distribution of over a million masks & gloves, daily temperature checks, 7-day hygiene training program, use of disposables & single use sachets, mandatory use of the Aarogya Setu app etc. Our partnership with Pristyn Care is a step in this direction. It offers all our service partners free telemedicine consultations, and wherever needed, support for COVID-19 testing. Timely testing based on the advice of medical practitioners is key to curb the spread of COVID-19.  We strongly believe in proactively fighting against COVID-19, and also reducing the stigma associated with the disease. Our association with Pristyn Care will go a long way in helping our service partners."The company said this provision is part of its overall healthcare program for service partners, including COVID-19 specific health insurance and income protection, paid sick leaves and a COVID relief fund. Further, the company also offers free life and accidental insurances for all its service partners. Such programs encourage service partners to self-report their poor health and take necessary precautions without worrying about lost earnings. This facilitates early diagnosis and curbs the disease spread.

Pristyn Care Co-founder Harsimarbir Singh said, “One effective way to fight COVID-19 is through thoughtful testing and not ignoring the symptoms. Through Pristyn Care's partnership with Urban Company, we are enabling the community of service partners to get access to healthcare services. This will empower them to seek timely treatment post early detection of the symptoms. All of Pristyn’s clinics and partner hospitals across its 20 cities follow strict Covid protocols of social distancing, temperature checks and hygience. Every treating Doctor and frontline medical staff is not only Covid screened but also equipped with PPE kits and other safety gear. This joint effort accentuates our efforts and allows us to contribute to the larger community in these trying times”

About Urban Company

Founded in Nov 2014, Urban Company (formerly UrbanClap) is a home services aggregator offering services such as beauty and spa at home, cleaning, plumbing, carpentry, appliance repair, painting, etc. through its mobile app and website. It operates in 22 cities across India, UAE,  Australia and Singapore. The company has 30,000 service partners on its platform. It helps them with training, credit, product procurement, insurance, technology etc. As a result, many of its professionals earn 2-3x more than the industry (E.g. Average Urban Company beautician earns INR 40-50k per month vs. INR 15-20k per month in salons). This full-stack approach helps the company live up to its promise of delivering high-quality, delightful services at home.

Mumbai-Startup Transpact Enterprises Develops COVID-19 Telemedicine Screening, Testing Solution

As India grapples with a rising number of COVID-19 cases, a Mumbai-based startup Transpact Enterprises has developed a telemedicine solution and mobile app that it hopes can help manage the spread of the pandemic. The COVID-19 Online Screening and Evaluation Telemedicine Services (COSETS) will allow monitoring and engaging with patients remotely in their homes by use of a computer or smartphone. It facilitates a line of communication between quarantined people and health care services, and helps maintain visibility of those recently discharged.

The mobile application uses questionnaire-based classification suggested by the World Health Organization for suspected COVID-19 patients, it will allow users to do the initial screening remotely without needing them to travel to primary healthcare, thereby maintaining social distancing.

The data captured through the mobile application is stored on a common cloud repository accessible by telemedicine the system at primary as well as secondary healthcare distributing the diagnosis workload, The app captures authenticated information and grid location. The company expects the platform will use Artificial Intelligence (AI) overtime to allow providers to identify patients at risk of deterioration and optimize their care.

Aslam Khan, Founder and Managing Director of Octaware Technologies “In India, COVID-19 test and treatment cases are assigned to designated public and private hospitals and diagnostic centres. Our primary objective is to help public health authorities at the national, regional and community levels by identifying who is most vulnerable,” He added that the solution could help the government plan containment strategies and prepare necessary resources to tackle any emergent the situation on a war footing.

He also said “We have developed the complete architecture and prototype of mobile app and telemedicine for COVID-19. The solution is the design of a telemedicine system integrated with a personal assistant mobile application to manage the possible spread of the pandemic. our company’s solution integrates the personal assistance mobile app with telemedicine system into a centralized data storage on the cloud. The other apps just allow you to self-test with no provision for storing or pooling that data. Whereas, our application allows data to be collected and stored on the the cloud that can be accessed by health professionals for further analysis and treatment” said Khan,

The company is taking the service of Dr Suleman Merchant, a former dean of SIO Municipality hospital and Dr Zahoor Patanker from (KEM Hospital).

About Transpact Enterprises

Transpact Enterprises, a company under Octaware was the first start-up to be listed on the newly launched Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Start-up Platform for IPO (Initial Public Offering) investments in August 2019. Being a healthcare-focused tech firm, with three intellectual properties under its belt, Octaware products already had essential features of a telemedicine platform such as audio/video for live patient engagement, clinical documentation management, Electronic Medical Record (EMR), scheduling and collaboration.

Octaware bootstrapped the products and now expects an investment of 5 million rupees ($66,000) to roll out the complete solution.

The company has submitted the proposal to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Ministry of Science and Technology and Department of Biotechnology (DBT) to collaborate in promoting the solution.

The project was shortlisted in top 300 solutions among 2,500 entries and 15,000 participants in the recently held hackathon – Garage48 “Hack the crisis in India” organized by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.