Giving 25 million consumers access to doctors and healthcare is a difficult task but the payoff is equally rewarding.
Virtually working in stealth for the last year myZindagi has launched commercial operations targeting the much neglected healthcare segment in Pakistan, offering doctor consultation via video (telemedicine) and the largest range of doctors in 40 cities across Pakistan.
Talha Akram Bhatti the product visualizer says:
Imagine a doctor devoted to you & your family that is available to you anytime, anywhere! myZindagi achieves this goal via instant live video consultations, online appointment bookings and home delivery of medicines & lab tests through a single service.
That’s exactly what myZindagi is and it claims to be the most comprehensive healthcare platform till date in Pakistan. The UI & App rivals any international healthcare company. The services for patients include:
- Video Consultation with Doctors
- Online Appointments & Doctor Search
- Free Doctor Advice via forum
- Delivery of Pharmacies and Labs
- Digital Medical Records
- A Comprehensive Health Blog
Health tech is a hot vertical and in Silicon Valley over 10 billion dollars have been invested in healthcare startups in 2016 alone. However, developing economies lag in this regard but are catching up quickly as they introduce indigenous solutions to handle their own healthcare systems.
Health startups in Africa & Asia are raising multi-million dollar rounds of funding by providing alternative solutions to their broken healthcare infrastructures.
This is exactly the case in Pakistan where the governmental infrastructure is so weak that private healthcare providers are essentially providing services that the government should. The space is ripe for disruption. Traditional methodologies have not been able to meet the demand & technology is set to intervene.
Haseeb Sattar the COO quotes:
Access to quality healthcare is a basic human right. Unfortunately the health system is very broken in Pakistan. myZindagi aims to provide quality medical care via all touch points to people; be that via our app, website or a simple phone call.
You really should try our service. We are dedicated to providing the best guidance to our patients. Evidence of this is available from the number of repeat consumers and the traction we have gained in a matter of weeks.
myZindagi is great news for patients around Pakistan, but it is great for doctors & healthcare professionals too. This is a chance for under-appreciated physicians to shine. myZindagi is a great platform for medical practitioners and specialists to expand their outreach and generate long-lasting impact. A list of services for doctors are available on this link.
Instead of being restricted to a specific locality, doctors are now able to extend their profiles across the country. This results in them getting better exposure, increasing their appointments and generating better revenue.
myZindagi also provides doctors with a complete profile, ability to promote their services via technology and customized services. Doctors who are just starting to establish their practice can also gain tractions by bringing in new patients that will convert to loyal customers in the future.
Verdict
The myZindagi team seems to have a deep understanding of market fundamentals (the service is extremely useful for Pakistani consumers) & it is completely developed within Pakistan. They are tackling healthcare issues that are specifically from & for Pakistan.
The broken healthcare eco-system poses a lot of challenges but consumer healthcare startups like these are a great step forward towards fixing it.Â
So, this means MyZindagi allows for patients to call the doctor of their choosing? Last time I tried, that didn’t happen. They just connect with a random doctor.
myZindagi can make appointment (physical) with doctor of your choice. (if that doctor is available and his/her office confirm appointment) Live consultation is only available for in-house doctors. myZindagi has team of experienced doctors (General/family physicians to be exact) who are available from 09:00 AM to 08:00 PM.
So essentially this negates the claim that it offers the largest range right? There are services like Ring a Doctor, I was reading about it here the other day, they offer live consultations with doctors that are registered on the website 24/7, apart from free consultations with panel doctors, again 24/7.
Do you think an orthopedic can examine you over the phone? Even ring a doctor does not offer live consultation with every doctor. myZindagi never claims it offer live consultations with every doctor. it claims, online appointment with doctors across 40 cities of Pakistan. (Doctors listed at myZindagi.pk)
Also myZindagi has open door policy and it welcomes all type of feedback. you are free to setup a meeting and visit their office. (You can setup a meeting via email at [email protected] or their FB page)
i am seeing so many startups like this in medical industry but none of them continue providing services in longer run. There should be huge promotion and marketing required to make these startups successful plus public awareness. I hope this company continue their service as this is the need of time and have potential in market but its a long term process.
Thanks for sharing your concerns. myZindagi’s team every decision based on long term goals. that is why they were in shadows for almost one year. your feedback is appreciated!
I agree. Massive marketing campaigns are required to run these companies. The telehealth startups, though awesome, will take time to establish strong footholds in Pakistan.
No Needs Apps We Need Professional Doctors on Each AREAS