The Covid-19 pandemic brought telemedicine into a new light and will become a new normal accessible for 10 million people in 3-5 years.
Social distancing practice due to Covid-19 pandemic is accelerating the adoption of telemedicine because people avoid going to the hospital, according to Jaren Siew, CEO of Doctor Raksa, a telemedicine service provider.
The first quarter this year following the Covid-19 outbreak, telemedicine services has been growing 3-6 times compared to the same period last year. The growth was not just the number of service users, but over 20 public and private hospitals were also interested in telehealth solutions.
The number of patients with access to telemedicine could reach 5-10 million within the next 3-5 years. Without the outbreak, changes in consumer or physician behaviors would take as long as a decade. Last few years, only 0.1% of physicians paid attention to telemedicine.
Piyada Donchalermpak, COO at Doctor Raksa added that the company offers teleconsulting services with a pool of 700 physicians, of whom 70-90 are on standby. The service commission fee is 200 baht per 15 minutes. In the past two years, the platform has gathered 100,000 consulting sessions and 400,000 active patient users.
During the Covid-19, service users aged 50-60 years were increasing, from the existing group of 20-40 years old and most services are dermatology, medicine, psychology, stress. Telemedicine covers more than 70% of diseases of the out-patient department and it helps increase opportunity for people in remote areas who cannot access the specialists.
The company recently started online pharmacy and deliver medicine, within an hour in Bangkok and the next day nationwide, after an online prescription made by a physician.
The company is now working with X-ray and blood tests and other medical lab equipment to provide more complete preliminary diagnosis, merging online and offline medical services.
Mr.Siew said by the end of this year, the company will undergo a Series B round of financing for expanding the services in Asean market by next year and it plans to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to assist physicians in performing preliminary diagnoses.
Bumrungrad International Hospital is one of Doctor Raksa’s investors with amounting of US$5 million and physicians at the hospital are also attached to the platform.
Kanpassorn Suriyasangpetch, general manager of Ooca, an online psychological consulting service provider, said that when the outbreak took hold in March, service usage grew 20% week-to-week. Telemedicine service will gain more momentum within four years as the outbreak speeds up adoption, the same as the rise of telemedicine due to the SARS outbreak in China, she said.
In developed countries like the UK and US, telemedicine is simply accessible by the people. Thailand can consider adding telemedicine services as basic health welfare for citizens. The Medical Council of Thailand has drafted a regulation to show official support for teleconsulting, but it has yet to be enforced.
A change in consumer behaviors will accelerate telemedicine adoption rather than 5G network or any regulation, she said.
Ooca will expand to electronic prescription service through a collaboration with HealthTech Arincare, online drugstore management, so that patients can get medicine at drugstore nearby.
According to Panote Prapansilp, Co-founder of See Doctor Now, the Covid-19 has changed a mindset of patients and healthcare providers about the telemedicine. “We will be with the Covid-19 for a long time, social distancing, face mask wearing, hands washing and telemedicine thus will become a new normal,” he said.
