Five apps that revolutionised healthcare in India

The Indian healthcare sector has seen a rapid transformation, mainly on the backdrop of technological advancements of the recent past.

While the quality of healthcare Services may have gone up, the cost and complexity have seen a significant hike. In this landscape, there have been many online healthcare platforms (OHP) that have emerged to 'democratise' the healthcare system.

Within the value chain of the healthcare system that connects patients, health service providers (hospitals, clinics etc.), and doctors, we are now seeing the emergence of OHPs that are straddling very specific pieces of this chain.

Here are five such platforms that have recently revolutionised healthcare in the country:

Credihealth

Credihealth is an online healthcare marketplace that provides end-to-end services including information on various medical ailments, doctors, hospitals, treatments and their implications and post-treatment care. Their core business lies in providing its customers with detailed information about hospitals and healthcare providers. They help people to search for doctors and hospitals across major cities in India, book appointments with the doctor of their choice, also helping in getting quotes from hospitals for any treatment or surgery.

Practo

Sequoia Capital-funded Practo provides healthcare solutions for healthcare providers and consumers. Practo Search lets patients browse through doctor profiles online and book appointments, while Practo Ray, serves as a practice management solution for healthcare providers to manage patient data and digital healthcare records. The company has also added specialty-specific modules for physicians, pediatricians and dentists to Practo Ray. The platform helps people with assessing health issues, finding the right doctor, booking diagnostic tests, obtaining medicines, storing health records or learning new ways to live healthier.

Portea

The platform provides doctors, nurses, and physiotherapists for home visits who have passed their hiring standards and have had their backgrounds and medical knowledge verified by senior doctors. It also facilitates lab tests at home and medical equipment rentals.

EasyBuyHealth

This platform allows patients to choose across price and quality of service, and pay in installments if needed. All patient records are automatically digitised, thus enabling predictive, outcome-based healthcare advice to its customers.

Zoctr

Zoctr is a home healthcare aggregator platform that integrates several health services like doctor appointments, home health services, remote monitoring services, laboratory, pharmacy, medical equipment, telehealth, and ambulatory support. The platform offers supportive and palliative care and is present in Pune, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata.