Thanks to Uber’s on-demand business model and the mass consumption of all forms of tech, many traditional service providers have injected new life into their business models by hopping onto the “on-demand-service” wave.
BP Healthcare Group released its Uber-like platform called Doctor2U yesterday on both iOS and Android that lets you make “on-demand” house calls, and Doctor2U will ensure that a doctor shows up at your doorstep in less than 60 minutes.
The platform was founded by Garvy Beh, the IT vice-president of BP Healthcare Group, and he said that by bringing back the old-school traditional house call techniques and combining it with mobile technology, healthcare service is optimised in a different level.
You can request a doctor simply through a tap of a button and the visiting doctor will diagnose, treat and prescribe required medication at your convenience. You will even receive a follow-up call or a message from your doctor the following day.
He also said, “We have a panel of licensed medical officers and specialists aimed at helping to attend a patient’s sickness and provide immediate medical attention. If need be, for critical cases, Doctor2U will admit the patient to a hospital.”
Once you download the app, you can sign up either through Facebook, Google or your email. After you do, the app will require your credit card information and it will verify your account through a verification code that it will send to your hand phone number.
It’s important to note that this app is not suitable for use when you’re having a life-threatening medical emergency, you should rather call 911 to request for medical assistance.
Once you select the category that you require treatment for, you can select whether the doctor is required for an adult, add in your location and even select the gender of the doctor that you’d prefer to attend to you.
And a doctor from their panel of doctors should be well on the way to assist you.
It’s just that simple. You may be wondering, what’s the catch?
At the moment Doctor2U charges a flat rate of RM300 for visits between (8am-8pm) and RM500 (8pm-8am), which is on the pricier side. Then again, can you really put a price tag on-demand healthcare?
However, these rates are inclusive of basic medications for symptomatic relieve, for example, fever, pain, cough, runny nose, headache, diarrhea, gastric pains and allergy for up to 3 days.
The attending doctors may charge separately for any additional prescribed medication.
On the brighter side, you’re always aware of the breakdown of the fees that you’re paying electronically through the app. After every service, you will even receive an email of your receipt and a medical summary report that you could use to keep a track of all your medical expenses.
Through Doctor2U you could request treatment for common infections and illnesses, minor injuries, health checks, minor skin conditions, common non-life threatening illness and minor injuries for children 6 months and older.
They are only operational in Kuala Lumpur at the moment but they are looking to expand their services to other areas as well.
Verdict: 4/5
Doctor2U is a great tool that people can use to get medical assistance when they are too busy or sick to actually travel to a clinic to consult a doctor. We live in time where it’s incredibly difficult to take time of our busy schedules to consult a doctor to keep our health in check.
The situation is made even worse when you’re a single occupant and you need to make arrangements to visit a doctor when you’re sick. In such cases, it’s incredibly useful to have an option where a certified doctor can visit you and provide you with the required medical assistance.
Since the app was only launched yesterday and I didn’t fall sick within that time frame, I was unable to test out the platform thoroughly. But if you’re living in Kuala Lumpur and you need medical assistance, you can give this app a try and let me know how efficient it is.
You can download the app on both iOS and Android.
