oDoc wins Commonwealth Digital Health Award
View(s):oDoc, a Sri Lankan start-up linking patients with doctors on-demand, emerged winners in the Telemedicine category at the recently concluded Commonwealth Digital Health Awards.
The oDoc team
Developed over 12 months, the award-winning platform provides a “360 degree solution” for both patients and doctors – providing pre-consultation notes on an electronic health record, video consultations, and a valid prescription sent to your smartphone. This saves users from the hassle of waiting rooms and traffic jams with the advantages of better diagnoses and treatment augmented by modern technology, according to a media statement released by oDoc.
The Commonwealth Digital Health Conference and Awards ceremony, held recently at the Cinnamon Grand Colombo, marked the launch of the Commonwealth Digital Health Initiative followed by the adoption of the Commonwealth policy brief on ‘Digital Systems for One Health’. The highlight of the conference was the digital health mall, which showcased 35 shortlisted digital health innovations from India, Singapore, Malaysia, Malta, UK, Australia, Canada, Norway and South Africa.
Speaking after the awards ceremony, Heshan Fernando, founder and CEO of oDoc said “We put medical consultation and e-prescriptions into the palm of your hands and we are doing this by combining mobile technology and artificial intelligence with the best clinical expertise.” Mr. Fernando highlighted paediatric and dermatological consultations as popular use cases. He also pointed to the option for anonymous consultations through oDoc being particularly useful for those seeking sexual and mental health consultations.
“You can basically book appointments in seconds and see a doctor fully registered with the Sri Lanka Medical Council whenever you want, wherever you are, through just three taps of your Smartphone. Once you request your consultation, the doctor will then video call you, assess your condition and provide you with a valid prescription with the doctor’s seal, right to your phone. All within a matter of 10 minutes. The showing of lab reports and follow-up visits could take place the same way.
Studies have shown that nearly 75 per cent of all regular doctor visits could be handled effectively through video just like this,” he said.
Similar services have seen wide-scale adoption internationally. HealthTap based out of Palo Alto, California has over 100,000 doctors offering their services on its platform. Babylon Health, claims 1 in 100 citizens of the UK as users and recently partnered with the NHS. The founders of oDoc are convinced that with the current level of smartphone and Internet penetration in Asia, this is the time for the convenience of telemedicine to improve the lives of millions in Sri Lanka and the region.
Doctors also stand to see added convenience. The platform also gives doctors a better work-life balance where working from home more often becomes a viable option.