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| A healthy way to success | |
| Pradipta Mukherjee / Kolkata October 19, 2009, 1:23 IST | |
Keeping up with the Internet age, Anand Anupam, an alumnus from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, and Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, put his faith and money, in online healthcare management with the launch of www.Healthizen.com.
Three years ago, Anupam realised the untapped potential in providing consumers with personalised health records where they could store, track, manage and access their health and lifestyle information from anywhere in the world through the web. His gamble paid off. The site also allows patients to find a doctor, based on location or medical specialty. Another benefit, Anupam underlines, is that users can get health alerts as emails or SMSes. “Alerts are sent 30 minutes before the designated time, so that you don’t miss your crucial appointments or prescriptions,” he says.
Today, this 28-year-old entrepreneur takes pride in the fact that although he started small, with just two people onboard, Healthizen.com now employs nearly 30 people. The portal also has a team of four doctors who give advice to patients, on the basis of their registered health details.
“We took six months to conceptualise the site,” recalls Anupam. Having soon realised there were other websites providing similar services, Healthizen had to take a different approach to cut through the clutter. “We realised that existing websites were providing simple health-related information. So, we began with personalised health information that was tailor-made by doctors and professionals for the requirements of the patients who registered online,” points out Anupam.
An impressive 200,000 subscribers have already registered on the site for an annual fee of Rs 499. On an average, the company claims to handle 400,000 users every month for various healthcare recommendations.
“We provide free services to patients who come looking for medical counselling. However, if someone wants to act upon a recommendation through one of our partner networks of hospitals or laboratories, then he has to pay for it,” explains Anupam. Healthizen’s network of 350 healthcare providers offer a 30 per cent discount on their services to patients who come through the portal.
Not the type to take the weight off his feet and sit on his success, Anupam has launched a software to manage medical records and expects it to generate additional revenues to supplement Healthizen’s income. “We license the software to about 70 hospitals and diagnostic laboratories, charging licence fees between Rs 20,000 and Rs 50,000 per annum,” he adds.
The website too, confirms Anupam, is being weathered to generate ancillary revenues. This includes tie-ups with health and wellness brands for promotional offers to targeted consumers. He cites a recent example: “One of the healthcare companies, we are working with wanted to reach out to consumers with a product designed to combat high cholesterol. So, they sponsored a diet chart that was then sent for free to all registered patients on Healthizen.”
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