Practo Introduces All-new Way To Consult A Doctor

The pandemic has risen above all other health issues. Any symptoms which come up these days have taken our minds to the coronavirus symptoms. Things worsen when doctors are not around due to the induced coronavirus lockdown in the nation. The only option left to us is to call up a doctor and fix an appointment. Even as situations are changing day by day things have not much changed as there is still unavailability of doctors and people are bound to depend on Homemade remedies or take medicines on their own consulting the local chemists. Practo sensing the issue has rolled out a campaign that urges people to get a doctor consultation in case of medical health emergency instead of depending on these tricks.

The first two ads show a family where members are concerned about their grandmother’s skin condition and discusses about it in a hushed tone. The elders of the family that is the parents suggest a cream that is lying in the home instead of getting a doctor consultation it is then that the daughter steps in and says, “Since it’s the matter of (my) grandmother’s health, shouldn’t we ask the experts?” She then suggests video calling a doctor on Practo.

The second ad in the series features a mother-son duo, the mother in the ad can be seeing talking to her yoga teacher about her son’s stomach pain, on the further discussion when the teacher asked her about the treatment she said that she is thinking to get him medicines from the local pharmacy. The teacher does not agree with her and asks her to get a doctor consultation from Practo.  It’s quite interesting to note here how far things have changed from booking an appointment via calls to consulting a doctor, we all have come a long way. Video calling although not new for Indian customers is a different experience altogether.

The same goes for Practo as well which was once a delivery search platform for healthcare specialists who offered phone consults and bookings, and now it has entered into a video call for doctors 24*7.

When asked Siddhartha Nihalani, VP – products, Practo, about it, he said that Practo has been working for years. He said that the platform integrated different parts of the patients’ healthcare journey so that they could have one seamless experience, right from booking an appointment, consulting a doctor online, or in-person, getting a second opinion, reading other patients’ stories, to delivering medicines and lab tests at the patient’s doorstep.

When asked was it a challenge to onboard doctors, Niharika said that their urge to contribute has been praiseworthy as the country moves towards an all-round digital healthcare ecosystem. “We helped thousands of doctors move their practice online since the COVID-19 outbreak so that they could continue to provide regular care for their patients. Identifying online consultations was the first part of the call.”

Is there an overlap in Practo’s user base? The pre-pandemic users, who’d phone a clinic, or hospital, for appointments, and the new users the healthcare platform has onboarded during the pandemic and lockdowns. Says Nihalani, “About two crore-plus patients visit Practo every month for their various health needs. Telemedicine on our platform has witnessed a growth of 600 percent since March 1. We saw a lot of new consumers try telemedicine for the first time.”

Practo is not alone in the market it competes with many other rival apps from different hospitals and standalone clinics. As per Nihalani, many clinics and hospitals have adopted telemedicine solutions for patients by using Practo’s platform when COVID-19 cases started rising.

“The goal really is to make the experience closest to an in-person consultation by enabling real-time interaction and ensure that patients have access to a verified doctor, at all times. ETAs are as little as 60 seconds. So, more players and competition, in general, are good for all. It gives customers more choice and expands access to care.”

Spring Marketing Capital has conceptualized the two ads and its co-founder Arun Iyer says, “These are a simple and relatable slice of life films, which set the tone for Practo.”

What do you do when health issues, other than the Coronavirus, strike? It’s not safe especially for the elderly and children to step out to visit the doctor during this time, and even doctors are being careful. In such cases, one invariably resorts to home remedies, or medications we’ve heard of in the past and we talk to local pharmacists. “That was the overall thinking (for the ads),” said Iyer.

Speaking about the story of the ads, he said, “This is a situation that the world hasn’t seen before. So, we wanted to keep it as real and relatable as possible, and not vie for attention…” Iyer also said that they subtly cued (in the mother-son ad) that just as you can attend a yoga class online, you can also video call a doctor.

On the messaging, he had this to say, “Practo video consultation: the right call for your family.”