Now, doc-to-doc consultation on doctoranywhere.com

Now, doc-to-doc consultation on doctoranywhere.com
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

MANGALORE, MARCH 29: Doctor to doctor consultation service has now entered the website with the launch of doctoranywhere.com. The service, which is new to India, was launched by chairman of Ruksun DoctorAnywhere.com Pvt Ltd (RDPL) S Goverdhan Shetty on Tuesday.

After the launch, at a press meet, Shetty explained that the company, an internet-based doctor to doctor consultation service, was a business to business e-commerce portal that would act as a medium for medical practitioners all over India to access medical super specialists around the country at a modest subscription fee. Practitioners requiring expert opinion on any aspect in cardiology could now obtain it by just logging on to the website. The e-commerce model will cater to a vertical niche of practicing doctors with clear revenue streams and access could be obtained by paying an annual subscription of Rs 9,000, he said.

Goverdhan Shetty further explained that the website doctoranywhere.com that was currently providing services only to cardiologists, would gradually extend to neurology, gastroenterology and radiology.

Ruksun, which also has an office in Seattle, has over 15,000 sq ft of development centres with 110 employees spread across three locations in Pune and the company which was formed seven years ago, has already registered a turnover of Rs 60 million during the fiscal year ending March '99, Goverdhan added.

RDPL's chief executive officer Chetan Shetty said in a country of one billion people, it was sad to note that there were only a few super-specialists. In cardiology, for instance, there are a mere 3,000-3,500 super specialists and almost all of them are in 25 major cities.

The situation now is so lopsided that patients in other cities, `B' towns and district headquarters who need their expertise will have to travel to the bigger cities involving a lot of expenditure on treatment and stay. But, doctoranywhere.com seeks to eliminate this hitch in treatment facilities by offering expert opinion to wanting practitioners at their convenience either from their clinics or their homes, he noted.

Chetan added that the company has developed the technology especially for India. The system is suitable even in areas with poor telephone connections and dial-up internet access, as it allows for incremental uploads of data if the line disconnects in the middle. "We have focussed on the ease of use for even those minimum exposure to computers," he added.

Noted cardiologist Dr A V Shetty said the concept was a landmark development in the field of medicine in India as it brought about the fusion of advanced medicine with information technology.

He said the website would improve the quality of medical treatment as the local doctors would be provided with a host of solutions to a specific problem from a wide list of eminent super specialists. "What we are looking at is a scenario in the future where patients across the country will have access to better healthcare and medical treatment and it would be a significant achievement in the field of medicine in India," he added.