Singapore-based startup MyDoc is making healthcare more accessible for patients across Asia by leveraging digital connectivity. With their 24/7 outpatient platform, they’re trying to tackle rising costs in the industry.
By 2040, healthcare revenues are projected to exceed USD 18 trillion according to data extrapolated from the WHO’s Health Spending Observatory. Especially in Asia where populations are growing rapidly, the strain on healthcare services is becoming increasingly apparent. Recognising the impending need to revolutionise Asia’s healthcare industry, MyDoc co-founders and best friends Dr Snehal Patel and Dr Vas Metupalle set out in 2012 to make personal medical care more accessible across Asia. Since then, they’ve helped 100,000 users across Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, India and Sri Lanka book medical appointments, store lab results and access prescriptions online, offering video, voice or text consultations, e-referrals, and comprehensive medical histories under one unified platform. “We noticed that the region has a lot of fragmentation when it comes to outpatient care,” explains Snehal. By connecting patients, medical professionals, and insurers all under one roof, MyDoc wants to fix that.
Partnering with industry heavyweights such as AXA Insurance, AIA Vitality, Cigna, and UST Global, Snehal has proved a compelling case for his platform, securing USD 5.2 million in Series A funding in 2017 to expand into new markets. Their new service, MyDoc@Work, allows corporate employees to seek medical services remotely through means such as video consultations. “People say that Internet technology moves fast and break things, but for us, we are taking our time and moving slowly to gradually build up our credibility and capacity to develop a sustainable product,” Snehal elaborates. “As for the next step, we are planning to expand further into southeast Asia, potentially Indonesia. We are also in the midst of forming several partnerships and developing our product further.”
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Aside from providing greater accessibility to medical consultations and prescriptions, MyDoc is also helping to optimise how healthcare data is organised. As things stand, Asia’s chaotic organisation of medical data is an added strain on an already stretched system, causing knock-on effects on the time doctors can spend with their patients. “Right now, providers use different data tracking tools, making it more difficult to track long-term health problems, pay bills, and share data,” Snehal clarifies. For MyDoc users, the situation becomes simpler: the platform stores a patient’s complete medical history including e-prescriptions, medical certificates, and specialist referrals, making it simpler to switch between healthcare providers and manage chronic illnesses.
Facing an ageing population and spiking rates of chronic diseases, MyDoc is confident that it can bring down healthcare costs substantially across Asia while delivering world-class medical care 24/7 that patients can trust. Their recent expansion in 2019 into India, a joint venture with UST Global and its 14,000 local employees, will utilise technology to deliver quality healthcare to a hefty 1.3 billion people – the second largest population in the world and 17.74% of the world population. Leading a major step towards providing millions with top-notch medical care, MyDoc is determined to be a player in what it sees as the future of medicine: technology-based healthcare.
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