E-clinics bring a ray of hope and value addition to the Indian health sector landscape as it is seen to provide the much-needed real-time consultation which is critical during an emergency, said Ayush Mishra, co founder, Tattvan.

The Union government’s digital India is seen to accelerate the growth of e-clincis. The relevance of an e-clinic format is now positioned to transform the healthcare scenario in the remote regions of the country, he added.  

The tier 2 and tier 3 cities find it difficult and inconvenient to trace a good medical facility. With the increasing costs, it is not feasible for the less fortunate segment of the population to visit clinics in big cities. Now e-clinics are making its way into rural India. This is especially in across the southern states, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, where a host of telemedicine set-ups have come up, Mishra told Pharmabiz.

Rural population has positively responded to the concept of telemedicine care. For instance, a telemedicine centre in a Maharashtra slum managed by Lilavati Hospital sees over 500 new patients a month. Similarly Apollo Hospitals, other corporate and government medical centres have made headway into telemedicine as they view it as the most potent solution for patient care.

Delving on the importance of telemedicine infrastructure in rural areas, Mishra said that technology usage has radically transformed the market dynamics as it saves cost and time of patients to access a healthcare centre. Therefore, over time centres which offer basic telemedicine service can be converted to more advanced facilities which is a big step towards quality healthcare service, he said.

For Tattvan designed as an e-clinic helps connect to a qualified pool of medical experts. Its objective is to serve not just rural areas but smaller cities of Meerut, Jalgaon, and Bareilly which indicate a huge need for e-clinics. At these locations despite high purchasing power of people, the availability of quality care is found wanting, he said

Going by India’s technology-inclined population which are looking for convenience and easy accessibility, it will be a fair assumption to state within the next 10 years, e-clinics will be offering both advanced and emergency care.

Medical guidance with telemedicine is extremely critical during an emergency. These could include a sudden onset of a disease or disorder or a natural calamity or disaster where access to medical emergencies is difficult. Here access to telemedicine care centres can be a boon to make available timely medical attention with medical surveillance. More over technology is also adding its bit to support the e-clinic infrastructure, Mishra noted.