As with most industries, the healthcare scene is beginning to rapidly embrace digital transformation in the name of innovating new methods for the sake of patients everywhere.
Local startup Doctor2U was one of the first in Malaysia to offer healthcare services digitally. Since October 2015, their app’s core function is to have doctors be sent to patients under 60 minutes. Currently, the platform houses 1,000 doctors with over 120,000 users since their launch.
Last year, the team expanded their services to make it more inclusive online. One addition was their live chat feature that is free-to-use and has been one of their most popular services to date.
Other features that have recently been made available on their platform include video consultation that allows patients to talk to doctors through video calls as well as a medication delivery service.
Now, they’re continuing this mission by furthering their digital transformation journey as a healthcare startup through their partnership with Microsoft Malaysia.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between ALI Health, a member of the BP Healthcare Group of companies whose primary focus is Doctor2U, and Microsoft yesterday.
Moving In Times With Microsoft
Dato’ Beh Chun Chuan, Chairman of BP Healthcare Group, mentioned that even since the first iteration of his company, they have already been making use of Microsoft’s features to improve their quality.
This trend follows into the 2nd generation with the Doctor2U platform being built on Microsoft Azure. It also uses Microsoft’s bot framework for the live chat feature.
The partnership is set to further the association among both sides by enabling Doctor2U to offer new services.
“The ecosystem around us is evolving and we are cognizant of the efforts needed today to stay ahead of the curve. It is important for us to revolutionise our technological capabilities and respond to the needs of all our internal and external stakeholders,” said Dato’ Beh in a press release.
So What Can We Expect?
Through this collaboration, Doctor2U plans on leveraging off Microsoft’s cloud services by integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning into its platform.
What this will essentially help with is allowing the startup to harness data insights from patients and in return, Doctor2U will be able to deliver more effective treatment plans for their patients.
“Microsoft’s data security infrastructure also provides our app with an added layer of trust and reliability, which is so important in the healthcare industry. As we look to expand regionally and broaden our offerings to include services such as Ambulance, Nursing and Physiotherapy, we will work closely with Microsoft to leverage their experience and solutions to improve our services,” said Keegan Flynn, co-founder of Doctor2U.
Microsoft also has plans to team up and co-promote the Doctor2U application through a series of digital campaigns.
A Tech Makeover Of The “999”
Personally, the feature that caught my interest is the one that helps patients find the nearest ambulance to them and contact them through the app. Think of it as something like a ride-sharing service where you’re requesting for an Uber or Grab, but for ambulances.
This service isn’t particularly new as Dato’ Beh shared that they used to do this manually but through digital transformation and being integrated into the app, it becomes much easier for patients to call for an ambulance so long as they have the platform on their mobile.
“You can enter in your location as well as your preferred hospital or patients can choose from the top 5 nearest hospitals within the area. We’re partnering with the top ambulance provider in Malaysia to make sure that this service will be top-notch for our patients,” said Keegan.
This feature is set to roll out early June and the rates set will vary by distance.
Seems like Doctor2U has a lot of plans lined up for the year with this partnership as a launching pad for even more digital integration to come for the healthcare scene in Malaysia.
“A large proportion of new technology adoption and use will be driven by SMEs, as they account for over 97% of business establishments in Malaysia. With Doctor2U using our trusted cloud platform of Azure, access to healthcare is bound to be easier and more efficient for all of us,” said K. Raman, Managing Director of Microsoft Malaysia.
Feature Image Credit: Doctor2U
