With an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases worldwide. India is witnessing a surge in teleconsultations on healthtech start-ups such as Practo, Curefit and MFine.
The daily consultations have gone up more than 2.5 times since Jan 1st 2022, according to Practo Insights.
This is the highest single-day increase in doctor consultations in 120 days, since the decline of the deadly second wave. More than 50 per cent of all doctor consultations are for GPs and Pulmonologists with major concerns like fever, sore throat, headache, body pain, stuffy nose, Omicron spread, Covid-19 vaccine booster doses, and vaccines for children, among others.
Around 85 per cent of these queries have come from metro cities, some of which are witnessing a steady rise in the number of positive cases every day. At 132 per cent, Mumbai saw the highest growth in GP-related consultations since Jan 1st, followed by Kolkata (106 per cent), Delhi NCR (95 per cent), Bangalore (75 per cent), Chennai (47 per cent) and Hyderabad (42 per cent). Queries in non-metro cities increased by 53 per cent during the same time period. Over 50 per cent of these consultations came from those in the age group 21-30, followed by 31-40 (40 per cent), 41-50 (10 per cent), the company said.
“We have seen a massive surge in the number of COVID cases in the last one week indicating the start of a third wave. The festive season is one of the main reasons for the increase as people failed to follow COVID protocols and gatherings became a super-spreader event. As seen during the first and second wave, telemedicine will continue to be a life saver, enabling people to reach out to medical professionals virtually. Digital healthcare companies like Practo are taking efforts to ensure that access to medical healthcare during these times is never a challenge for the people”, said Dr. Belliappa, a senior GP practicing on Practo.
At 132 per cent jump, Mumbai saw the highest growth in GP-related consultations since January 1, followed by Kolkata, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad, according to Practo, a Hindu Business Line report added.
“The majority of these teleconsultations are coming in from the metros such as Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Delhi/NCR. The vast majority of cases are from users in the age range of 20-40 years,” Arjun Choudhary, Founding member and chief business officer, MFine told BusinessLine.
The report further added that Zomato-backed Cult.fit has also seen an almost 75 per cent spike in teleconsultations, the major contributor being covid-related consultations. The majority of these consultations (80 per cent) on Cult.fit, are from metro cities such as Bengaluru, GGN, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad. On average, the age group of the Cult.fit customers seeking teleconsultations is between 25-35 yrs, a Cultfit spokesperson added.
“The festival season is one of the main reasons for the increase as people failed to follow Covid protocols and gatherings became a super-spreader event. As seen during the first and second wave, telemedicine will continue to be a life saver,” said Belliappa.
