Thiruvananthapuram : Hospitals turn to tech, lure patients with apps

Forget long waiting hours outside a doctor’s room in the company of sick patients and old magazines. Now with the click of a smartphone, you can schedule doctor appointment, pay and ask for tests and even consult a doctor online. Hospitals in the state are increasingly adopting technology to increase patient comfort with some developing in-house apps for online appointments and consultancy and others tying up with start-ups.

And it is not just the corporate hospitals. Even smaller hospitals are adopting technology to stay competitive. “While independent service providers offer the choice of price comparison between hospitals, an in-house app has more features - contact information, emergency dialling with location sharing for easy pick up,” said Dr Mohan Leslie, Neurologist and app developer, Baby Memorial Hospital, Kozhikode.

Though the hospital has an in-house app, they have also tied up with independent mobile app, BookmyOPticket, to attract more patients. Started in January 1, 2017 with one hospital from Thiruvananthapuram, now the mobile app covers more than 26 hospitals in Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Kollam, Thrissur and Malappuram.

“We are now in talks with hospitals in Kochi to extend the service. It helps avoid long and painful waiting time at hospitals. Book appointment, pay online and head straight to doctor's chamber at hospital. If any change happens, the patient will be alerted,” said T Jayakrishnan, founder, BookmyOPticket.

Hospital authorities said that the service is popular with the youth and children of aged parents who stay away from home. “We see that many of the online booking and payment in our hospital is done by children for their parents. Many of them stay far away but they want the best possible treatment options and convenience for their aged parents,” said Anoop Chacko, manager (relations), SK Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram.

“The new generation of patients are tech savvy and hospitals need to invest in technology. It helps to reduce the waiting time for patients,” said Dr Harish Pillai, president, Association of Healthcare Providers (India), Kerala chapter.

Many hospitals now have their doctors offering online consultancy for a price. “Patients from any part of the world can connect for an opinion. Most are looking for a second opinion,” said Dr Kuldeep Chulliparambil, senior consultant, cardiothoracic & vascular surgery, Renai MediCity, Kochi. He is part of healthcare start-up Connect2MyDoctor.com, an online platform serving patients and doctors.

“Doctors from more than nine speciality and multispecialty hospitals in Kerala are part of the team,” said Pramod Kutty, founder, Neev Labs which launched the platform.

However, there are limitations. "While we welcome the use of technology, online consultation is not really advisable as there are severe limitations and chances for errors in diagnosis and treatment. Moreover, patient's confidentiality cannot be ensured," said Indian Medical Association president Dr V G Pradeep Kumar.