An Internet-based doctor to doctor consultation service under the brand `doctoranywhere.com' has been launched by Ruksun DoctorAnywhere.Com Pvt Ltd. The B2B e-commerce service offers general practitioners all over India access to medical super-specialists around the country. While subscribers can offer patients better healthcare from their own clinics, the specialists can expand their practice online and patients in smaller towns and cities can benefit from easier access to superspecialists, cost savings and reduced stress.

The company has been promoted by Pune-based Ruksun Software Technologies Pvt Ltd and Mumbai-based Alchemy Ventures, which has a 30 per cent stake in the company. Ruksun Software is a seven-year-old IT company which has received venture funding from ICICI Ventures. The company is into mobile computing and embedded systems and Internet/web collaborative systems. With a team of 110 in Pune and Seattle, the company had a turnover of Rs 6 crore last year and was evaluated at Rs 100 crore nine months ago.

Chetan Shetty, CEO of the company, said that 67 doctors have already installed the special software while there are 140 odd waiting for getting the software. The target is 2000 consultants and 20,000 subscribers by end of the year and break even in 18 months time. Though the level of PC penetration and net usage among doctors was not high he expected numbers to go up soon. Shetty's business model is to earn revenue from the transactions between doctors and handling the financial transaction.

A dealer network is being put in place to handle the logistics of collection from across the country. At present, the company is not considering revenue from advertisements or using the clinical database. Subscribers can select any super-specialist of their preference from a panel of super-specialist and consult them, thus seeking expert opinion on the internet.

To start with, the site has begun with services of a cardiologists and will soon be extending services to neurology, gastroentrology and radiology. Local doctors will examine patients and gather clinical data which they will enter on the site in a structured format and attach relevant investigative reports .