One stop shop for healthcare services

Healthcare startup to soon launch in vernacular languages and plans to raise $2-4 million in the next round

WITH the integration of information technology and networks, various startups are using the internet to aggregate and organise data on doctors, clinics, hospitals and other healthcare businesses to ease the access to healthcare services. Medikoe, a Bengalurubased startup that was launched in October, is one such platform that has launched a product for healthcare appointments enabling consumers to reach out to healthcare service providers and getting the service request completed in less than two minutes. It works more on the lines of cab aggregating service, wherein, once the user puts out his requirement, it will reach out to various service providers in the vicinity and helps them connect.

Medikoe brings the major healthcare pillars— hospitals, diagnostic centres, pharmacy, blood banks, specialty services, wellness and home care services on a single platfor m. Beyond access to healthcare ser- vices, the platform also offers healthcare deals with discounts ranging from 5% to 30%.

Founded by this techie duo Sreevalsan Menon and Raman Shukla, Medikoe recently raised $100,000 in angel funding from Anil Menon, the CEO of CMS Computers, and is looking to fuel its expansion with a presence in Mumbai and Delhi NCR by March 2016 and to expand to 25 odd cities by June next year.

“We will soon be launching a new product, wherein, healthcare needs can be accessed with just two clicks and in less than 120 seconds. Also, we will launch in vernacular languages to reach more people,” Menon said. The startup plans to raise another $24 million in the next round of funding.

The startup has already clocked 1,500 app downloads, with close to 7,900 users (on web and app) resulting in 78,000 searches since its launch in November 2015. It has over 5,000 service providers on the platform with more than 100 plus deals. The company has partnered with Manipal, Jiyo Natural, Apollo and major healthcare service providers. Apart from this, it has also partnered with Portea and Nightingale, at home healthcare service providers. Medikoe’s revenue model is based on preferred listings, pay per click model, commission on deals and banner ads.

According to the Indian Brand Equity Foundation, the healthcare industry is expected to touch $160 billion by 2017 and $280 billion by 2020 with an CAGR of 17%. The India Online Pharmacy Market 2020 report says that the total revenue generated by the online sales of healthcare products in India was R5,075.9 million in FY’ 2015 which has increased from R 771.0 million in FY’2012 at a CAGR of 87.4 during the said period.

Even bigger players like Manipal, Max Healthcare and Apollo have started with their in-house online doctor booking and health information services and are looking to partner with such startups to cater to a larger segment. For instance, Ask Apollo is a virtual consultation platform, which enables the patient to connect to a family physician, an Apollo specialist and a Board of Apollo doctors for complex cases through video, voice and email. It has been operational for a month. And eDoc is an enabler that allows people to select a doctor and fix appointments.

In an email response to FE, Sangita Reddy, joint managing director, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise said, “We are in talks with online aggregators for creating a demand model, and/or to be an online aggregator for Ask Apollo.”