Telemedicine

Your Doctor Just a Phone Call Away

The service provided by BPL mobile, it's a unique initiative in India

Pioneering a one-of-its-kind service and the first one to be launched in India, BPL Mobile, a leading mobile service provider, has launched 'Doctor on Call', a 9-to-9 service that provides live interaction between doctors and patients over the phone. Marking another first in VAS innovation, BPL Mobile has launched this service with an attempt to provide a virtual channel that enables subscribers an instant access to quality medical assistance.

Powered by HealthcareMagic.com, the service will provide a first time consultation over the phone where the doctors will diagnose the patient's problems under three categories depending on the condition of the patient, 'acute,' 'chronic' and 'emergency.' HealthcareMagic.com is a new age healthcare company based out of Bangalore, providing novel healthcare services for health conscious customers across the country. Their services include 'live chat with a doctor' and 'phone chat with a doctor.' They have been at the forefront of innovative healthcare services, handling patient queries with utmost attention to quality and patient confidentiality. While the doctor who attends the call will probe to understand the present condition of the patient on the phone and will offer palliative home remedy to the subscriber under the type: 'acute condition' the attending doctor will suggest a future course of action in terms of lifestyle change, preventive measures and specialist to be consulted for further management for the type: 'chronic condition.' In case of an emergency, the doctor will suggest if the calling patient needs to be rushed to the nearest hospital, based on the history and then will immediately end the call.

Commenting on the benefits of this service to the subscribers, Sunzay Passari, VAS & Devices Head at BPL Mobile, said, "For the busy and time-challenged Mumbaikar, instant access to quality medical assistance is going to be a boon. BPL Mobile in yet another industry-first offering hopes that this service will be of great utility to its subscribers. While this service does not claim to replace a family doctor, 'doctor on call,' will be useful in all those occasions when one can't reach their trusted doctor, in an emergency, for second opinions and also for daily recurrent ailments.

"With Rs 15 per minute for this service, there would be no need for the Mumbaikar to worry about loss of pay/ business by taking time off work or face long queues or take prior appointments. For people who often end up denying themselves of medical advice in a bid to avoid all the troubles in their busy and tightly scheduled life this service would be very fruitful. Moreso, the aged or the frail would not need to worry about their mobility, one can be relieved that their loved one can seek medical advice in their absence and will not overlook minute problems that may lead to serious issues if neglected. In the case of one's family doctor being away or in the need of a second opinion this service can be very helpful, one can even seek the doctor when on a holiday.

On the purpose of extending their services from the internet in January this year, to mobile phones in December this year, the founder of HealthcareMagic.com, Kunal Sinha, said, "With medical assistance over the mobile phone, we are able to reach out further more to the typical Mumbaikars who are always on the move. Using a mobile phone as our platform has indeed proved to be the next logical and innate step of advancement in our services."

EH News Bureau