Your doctor is just an app away

While the digital age has almost transformed our entire lifestyle, at the same time it also disrupted many business models. From banking transaction to hailing a ride are now just an app away on our smartphones. From utilities to facilities, mobile apps have put all the control in our palms. Healthcare industry is also being shaken by the rapid transformation.

Now mobile doctors are digitally transforming the UAE's healthcare system and providing advice for mild to chronic ailments on the go, through an app.

Mobile Doctors 24-7 (MD 24-7) is a digital platform that offers remote and house call medical services to registered patients from the UAE, Egypt and Oman.

"If you are feeling unwell and need to consult with a doctor as soon as possible, you can just call us and explain your symptoms to an on-call doctor," Raouf Khalil, founder and CEO of Mobile Doctors 24-7, explains.

Payers + consumer = healthcare

Khalil claims that MD 24-7 aligns consumers/employees as a 24-7 one-stop shop concierge delivery system and payers/employers by avoiding overutilisation.

"In most markets, medical decisions are based on financial incentives rather than true Evidence Based Medicine. This contributes to the unnecessary overutilisation, which not only increases insurance premiums but also has potential clinical damage through unnecessary MRIs, X-rays or even antibiotics," he continues.

According to the World Health Organisation, antibiotics are becoming less effective because of unnecessary overuse.

"Healthcare solution is no longer only a healthcare solution but a consumer behaviour change solution. Any real solution to healthcare must satisfy the two main stakeholders, consumers and payers," Khalil continues.

"Mobile Doctors 24-7 provides consumers with a 24-7 concierge service based on 24-7 Population Health Management and savings for payers, through the practice of true Evidence Based Medicine. In order to change consumers' behaviour, we must offer a better option through a 24-7 concierge level services that could help consumers whether they are healthy, acute or chronic. We gain consumers' trust by telling them the truth about what they need not what they can afford," he says.

MD 24-7 is licenced by Dubai Health Authority and Dubai Healthcare City. It combines next-generation telemedicine, telemonitoring and home health to provide immediate access to highly trained licensed doctors and wellness experts advice via voice/video calls, live chat as well as on-site doctor visits and clinics. After consultations, medicines are also delivered at the doorstep of the patient as per requirement.

"You, the consumer, decide when you want to speak to general practitioners, family medicine specialists, paediatricians, psychiatrists, pharmacists, wellness advisors and case managers. We simply believe that money should be spent on you, not fancy expensive hospitals and clinics," Khalil says

Source: Khaleej Times