Is targeting 2.3 million healthcare professionals in India
Figure 1 has announced that its free photo-sharing platform for healthcare professionals is now available in India, the first Asian market for the company. The app enables healthcare professionals and students across the globe to connect, discuss, and share de-identified content. Reportedly, Figure 1’s images are viewed more than 1.5 million times per day. The company expects to gain quick traction among India’s 2.3 million healthcare professionals.
“We are very excited to have launched in India. Medicine is a visual field and there’s so much to be learned from medical images. Figure 1 is a privacy-conscious way for Indian healthcare professionals to view, share, and talk about a wide variety of medical findings,”said Dr Joshua Landy, a Critical Care Medicine Specialist who developed the concept while seeing patients in an Intensive Care Unit in Toronto, Canada.
“We believe the unique challenges that healthcare professionals face in India will be educational for those in other parts of the world.” said Gregory Levey, CEO, Figure 1 during the company’s first visit to India. “We are hopeful that Indian healthcare professionals can, in turn, learn from others around the world,” he added.
In conjunction with the launch of Figure 1 in India, the company will also be starting the India Ambassador program and Fellows program. The Ambassador program is made up of medical, nursing and dental students who spread the word about Figure 1. The Fellows program is for practising healthcare professionals who guide the direction of the community. The Figure 1 team will be meeting with healthcare professionals in Mumbai and Delhi to kick off these programmes.
With user numbers increasing every day, Figure 1 can assist healthcare professionals in saving lives. A wide variety of healthcare professionals use Figure 1 to view cases they might not see in their own work. This can allow them to recognize diagnoses more quickly, to grow their knowledge of medicine, and to assist practitioners in other parts of the world.
Reportedly, the company has worked with Indian lawyers to ensure the platform complies with Indian privacy laws. Patient consent forms are built into the app and translated into nine different languages. An automatic facial blocking tool also recognises and blocks patients’ faces, while a draw feature enables healthcare professionals to block potentially identifying markers such as tattoos. All images are moderated for privacy ahead of being posted.