TopDocOpinions to ‘globalise’ SL healthcare via remote diagnosis
View(s):By Jagdish Hathiramani
Sri Lanka-based remote medical diagnosis startup TopDocOpinions plans to allow local patients to access second, or even expert, opinions from a network comprising both specialist doctors, expatriate Sri Lankan doctors and even top flight US-based medical research institutes offering the newest and most cutting-edge treatment protocols.
Anisha Yasaratne and Nuvina Padukkavidana.
Most recently a grand finalist and Rs. 1,000,000 award winner, of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce ‘Spark iT’ venture capital competition, this startup is fronted by two ‘old boys’ of Royal College, lawyer Anisha Yasaratne and Virtusa Business Analyst Nuvina Padukkavidana. Both are already reputed entrepreneurs in their own right, having first partnered in setting up a local school sports website, Papare.com, which they later sold and which is still very active.
Elaborating further on how the technology platform would work, once it was finalised, Mr. Yasaratne and Mr. Padukkavidana offered up the following description for this project, which is still at an early, concept stage; “TopDocOpinions would link you online with excellent doctors both internationally and locally for preliminary advice, second opinions and alternative treatment plans. Our platform would transfer your records securely to the doctor, setup an electronic health record and allow video consultations. Services would be available on a per consultation basis or on a subscription basis that would give you access to a fixed number of consultations per year if required”.
Meanwhile, they also explained that setting up this technology platform, in addition to signing up a network of medical experts and institutes, were their biggest priority for the next six months or so. This would be a proof of concept in the eyes of potential investors. In addition, they are also gearing up to compete in Venture Engine, which they were automatically signed up for as grand finalists of ‘Spark iT’.
Mr. Yasaratne and Mr. Padukkavidana also revealed that, to ensure the success of this venture, they would initially start out offering consultations only in focused areas, namely the wider public health issues such as diabetes, cancer, etc. And they also confirmed that their business plan called for US$ 275,000 worth of venture funding and break-even would occur sometime in the second quarter of the 2016 financial year. In addition, they stated that they were presently looking to add doctors and medical industry sales personnel to their team to buff up their sectoral experience.
Thinking out loud about their technology platform, Mr. Yasaratne and Mr. Padukkavidana indicated that they were influenced in their conceptualisation by online patient data sharing and tracking platforms such as Microsoft HealthVault which could also be coupled with biometric devices such as the Fitbit wireless wearable. However, they noted that the most challenging part of this entire project would be getting doctors to sign up and even more so top flight US-based medical institutes which had the newest treatment protocols for medical conditions. They further signalled that if the latter came on board, then local doctors could also be more inclined since these new treatment protocols could prove to be an attractive incentive.
Additionally, Mr. Yasaratne and Mr. Padukkavidana also noted that they were interested in tapping health IT incubators such as Health Blueprint and even Startup Heaven at a later stage. Further, they commented that they were sure this concept could work, as well as being adequately funded, due to the success of companies such as India’s Media Angels. Concluding, they reiterated that they wanted to provide great healthcare without location being a factor.
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