Just what the doctor ordered

IF you were to go to a clinic or hospital, the time taken to travel and wait for your care and treatment is on average one and a half hours, and the time you see the doctor is less than 10 minutes. But now with Doctor2U, you can get a doctor at your doorstep within 60 minutes.
“Everyone wants to go into the mobile app business and I saw a gap we could fill and that is Doctor2U. The app notifies the nearest doctor of a patient’s request and links the doctor to them. Our customers especially the elderly love our service as it is easy and convenient for them,” said founder and CEO of Doctor2U, Garvy Beh.
The app is supported by BP Healthcare Group’s primary care services, pharmacies and lab services. The company has 150 courier boys all over Malaysia who pick up samples from clinics and partners, and sends them to their lab for analysis.
The same is done for doctors who attend to patients through the app. After the blood test, the result will be emailed to both patient and doctor within 24 hours. The patient can also view their lab result online.
“Every attending doctor is only given basic medication. They don’t hold prescribed drugs and that is where our chain of pharmacy supports them. We deliver medication to their doorstep in the Klang Valley within three hours so patients don’t have to take the prescription to a pharmacy,” Beh said.
“We are not replacing clinics but enhancing them because our panel doctors are clinic doctors. When their clinic is closed or when they are free, they can go online on the app and accept requests. We are also not competing with clinics, but enhancing and working together to serve the community,” he added.
Doctor2U serves people who want convenience and that convenience comes with a higher price than walking into a clinic. When it first launched it was priced at RM300 for day time and RM500 for night time which was expensive, and many who downloaded the app commented so.
“We heard their feedback and after six months, we lowered the price to RM250 and after doing so, transactions increased. It is all about supply and demand. When we started, we signed up over 50 doctors. Six months later, we went up to 500 doctors and a few months later, we reached 800 doctors. As days go by the number of doctors increases.
“When we have the supply of doctors, the demand comes in. When we have more supply we can bring the price down and make it more affordable for our customers. We reduced the price further to RM200 and transactions are stacking higher. It is a win-win for both the consumer and doctor,” Beh said.
Anyone can go on Google to search for answers to their health concerns, but some sources may not be accurate. Doctor2U's Live Chat feature has a team of doctors, pharmacists and nutritionists who work around the clock to answer medical, wellness and lifestyle related issues for free.
“We have another feature that will be available in two months and that is the Ambulance feature. At times our doctor attends to the patient and sees his or her severe condition that needs to be admitted to the hospital immediately. From our app they can push a button and an ambulance is dispatched. It will also tell where the ambulance is in real time.
“We want to satisfy every request that comes in and we see that as a very important mission. We are also looking at video consultation which we are also looking at launching in the next two months,” Beh said.
At Doctor2U, they are constantly listening to feedback from their customers and improve based on that. They look at what their customers need, and what they did or did not like. They are also always talking to their doctors to see what can be further improved.
Beh plans to expand the app overseas to Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. His goal is to have a presence and kickstart the app in at least two countries this year.
“Being in the healthcare industry, we are giving better access and providing good service while improving lifestyle.
I believe in karma and doing good deeds to people makes you feel good.
“I like being in this industry and being able to help and save people,” Beh said.