Returning to the city after working for over a decade in the United States, Mini Balaraman, a health care insurance expert, was struck by the absence of an online forum where patients could seek all sorts of information, including video consultations with doctors and the cost of medical treatment.
In August 2011, Ms. Balaraman founded doctorscabin.com, a digital space that people could use to get in touch with doctors, eliminating the need to travel to and spend time waiting for a consultation in cramped hospital spaces. The video conferencing also helped doctors better coordinate care and manage chronic conditions.
Ms. Balaraman, now president of doctorscabin.com, said over 2,000 hospitals across the country and 13,000 doctors who had specialised in different fields had registered with the portal. In addition to consulting doctors online, the website also offered users the option of booking appointments with a doctor or a hospital of their choice.
The hospital would then contact the patient to confirm the appointment. Some partner hospitals also offered discounts to patients booking an appointment through the website.
Patients can also find out and compare the cost of treatments, including that for bypass and open-heart surgeries and transplants. There are over 30,000 treatment listings available on the website. This also supports the burgeoning medical tourism industry in India for patients living outside the country. Since an increasing number of people were reluctant to visit hospital for fear of acquiring illnesses from there, doctorscabin.com could be a solution, she said. Another feature that is popular among users of this website is the option of purchasing health products such as blood pressure kit, glucose monitor, thermometer, and vitamin capsules.
doctorscabin.com is based at Technopark here.
