Consult the doctor through your smartphone

There are now smartphone apps that enable one not only to make an appointment with the doctor, but also allows video visits by doctors while the patient remains at the comfort of his/her home.

Looking at how ICT is transforming the healthcare landscape, a local start-up has come up with a novel smartphone app, BookDoc, that is going to change the way how people choose and make an appointment with their doctor.

This app incorporates healthcare into the e-commerce platform and rolls out great convenience not only for consumers, but also for the doctors and employers.

BookDoc has incorporated the ideas of highly experienced entrepreneurs to seasoned healthcare and insurance professionals, banker, regulators as well as ICT professionals in providing a comprehensive healthcare solution.

The doctor is just a smartphone button away

Datuk Chevy Beh, the founder of BookDoc, simply puts the app as the convenient Airbnb equivalent in healthcare and it effectively improves public access to healthcare through the ICT platform.

With BookDoc, one can make appointments 24/7 with the doctor from anywhere with just a push of the smartphone button, the innovative entrepreneur added.

All one needs to do first is scroll to find the nearest doctor or the doctor of their choice, then select an appointment slot and finally complete the user profile.

After making the appointment, one can expect timely reminder on the appointment via e-mail or SMS. The app actually helps to reduce the waiting time for an appointment.

As time is of the essence in finding a remedy for one’s health woes, BookDoc may well be the saviour for many.

Conversely, the app enables doctors to list their practice online, optimise appointment schedule and reduce no show with patient appointment reminder and allow 24/7 appointment scheduling even after consultation hours.

More convenience on the way

He said more features would be added for the convenience of the users along the way with users would one day benefit from features like doctors on demand, online symptom check and even initial online diagnosis.

That’s not all, for businesses the app simplifies information distribution to the employees on their medical health coverage, the panel clinics and etc.

Through the same app, employers can substantiate medical certificate, compile analytical data to monitor their employee benefits and channel resources for preventive care and wellness programme for the employees.

A timely venture

The BookDoc app is a timely venture to capitalise on the fast changing healthcare landscape in Asia and the app is set to be officially launched in Malaysia in early October 2015.

Subsequently, within six months, it will be launched in another five countries/territories in the region – Singapore, Indonesia, The Philippines, Thailand and Hong Kong.

Initially, BookDoc will focus on corporate clients connecting and uniting their employees with panel clinics and hospitals to help improve workforce productivity, optimise health benefit cost, automate HR processes coupled with data analytics for better management of staff.

Companies can also directly update panel clinics/hospitals in-app, saving time (since employees no longer need to seek HR's assistance for panel doctor information) and reducing chances of employees’ claims not being reimbursed due to changes in panel providers.

At the same time, companies will be able to update their list of employees entitled to such medical benefits in a timely manner, reducing the likelihood of inaccurate claims.

By this way companies could also reallocate funding or insurance coverage where it is most required. In a nutshell, this is one of the best facility that a company could adopt for its employees.

Good take up of the app anticipated

Beh anticipates a significant take-up for the app that could be downloaded for free on handheld devices or computers.

BookDoc holds huge potential as inevitably it will become part of the healthcare ecosystem in the country and across the region. Moreover, the app has generated lots of interest right from the start. It raised a significant pre-seed funding, 7 digits in US dollars and today the company is valued at 8 digits in US dollars.

BookDoc is a startup founded in June 2015. Chevy Beh, an innovative entrepreneur who was the former CEO of BP Healthcare, and co-founder Joel Neoh, who founded Groupon Malaysia and was the former Vice President of Groupon Asia Pacific.