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Working for Hutch and Vodafone for over a decade, Sanjoy Mukerji spotted a mismatch between the demand for specialty healthcare and shortage or absence of specialists in towns and villages. Having worked on the commercial side with telecom firms, he knew how to connect with specialists in top cities in an affordable model.
He quit the job to start iClinic, a technology-based healthcare consultancy firm, which connects patients in small towns with specialists in the cities, via a local hospital.
The two-year-old start-up also started an e-commerce portal, where you can ‘buy’ services of doctors online throughout the day. You can take second opinion and make a video call to specialists from anywhere in the country.
“We have built a technology solution that can quickly connect the patient in a small town with the specialist in the city. This conversation happens in a meaningful way as it happens in the presence of a local doctor. All you need is a laptop, a TV set, scanner, printer and broadband connection,” Sanjoy, Managing Director of iClinic Healthcare, told Business Line over from Delhi on Tuesday.
The IT-based healthcare network plans to build 20 hubs around top cities in the next three years, with 1,000 specialists and doctors hooked to it.
Launched about 18 months ago, the start-up was founded by Sanjoy and Varun Berry, Managing Director of Britannia Industries, with an investment of Rs 5 crore.
In the South, it plans to set up hubs in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai. “We are in the process of raising Rs 25 crore to fund our expansion plans,” Sanjoy said.
At present, the network has about 100 specialists from major hospitals such as Max Hospitals and Fortis Healthcare. It tied up with small clinics in towns such as Sirsa and Kurukshetra (Haryana), Agartala, Kosi (UP).
Sanjoy said this model was handy for corporates that offer healthcare services for their employees and others in their CSR (corporate social responsibility) initiatives. “We have done pilots for Vodafone, Aircel, Jubilant Life Sciences,” he said.
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