Neehar Cherabuddi, CEO, DoctorC talks behind the formation of DoctorC and how it will impact the healthcare consumers at large
How has technology revolutionised the diagnostic industry in recent years?
Consumers of healthcare were moving online faster than ever before. The healthcare industry is quickly following the footsteps of the transportation industry and the food industry, which has seen a massive market transformation in the last five years with Ola, Uber, Swiggy and Zomato.
Covid has accelerated this transformation. The government is also pushing for telemedicine and supporting at-home medicine delivery and testing.
As a tech-first healthcare provider, we are at the forefront of this market transformation. We aim to reach and benefit the public from our services which are inclusive of medical diagnostics, teleconsultations, lab software and more.
How has your business been impacted due to COVID-19 pandemic?
COVID-19 has made consumers more aware of their health than ever before. With the increased adoption of telehealth and at-home testing, customers can access high-quality healthcare easily than ever before. Diagnostics has gone digital for the better of our future in terms of health, safety and consumer services.
We witnessed a 5x increase in the volume of home service since the lockdown. People prefer tests at home given the terror outside. We have been actively catering to our target audience, the elderly. It is overwhelming to see their reliance on us as we strive to ensure maximum safety at the patient and the phlebotomist level.
Tell us about your business model.
We founded DoctorC in 2014 along with Mansi and Karan to address the healthcare issues which were not designed for the consumers. We built the company to create the most consumer-centric healthcare services.
We are a tech-first healthcare provider, we have built our software and own medical teams. We also have a strong referral network of diagnostic labs and hospitals to extend our range of services our core business being diagnostics.
DoctorC offers end-to-end diagnostics through our website, call centre, and app. Customers can get a test at home or visit our partner labs:
● Home service:
○ Allows customers the convenience of testing at home. Customers can book appointments either on the website or app or by calling our call centre.
○ Once an appointment is booked, one of our technicians (D-MLT or Bsc-MLT qualified) will go to the customer’s address to conduct the test.
○ Once the sample is collected, it is processed at one of our NABL accredited partner labs.
○ Reports are made available to the customer on the DoctorC platform and get stored for perpetuity.
● Visit partner labs:
○ We offer a closed marketplace of partner labs on our platform.
○ In case the customer is unable to opt for home-service, they can use the DoctorC platform to:
■ Discover: The diagnostics labs in their vicinity which can provide the test
■ Compare: Prices of tests at various labs
■ Book: Appointments online
Customers pay for services booked through DoctorC, and we work with the lab on a revenue share basis.
In which cities are your services available? What are your plans for the rural sector?
We are currently present in 10 cities, have over 1.2 million registered users, and have a net promoter score of 70+ across tens of thousands of reviews for our home service.
The 10 cities include Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Surat, Vadodara, Warangal, and Pune. We have full-fledged diagnostic services running across these cities.
We plan to go deeper in the five states where we already have our presence. We have commenced COVID home services in south Tamil Nadu, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Cochin and Kolkata. We intend to serve and provide easy access to maximum people across the country.
What is the technology behind DoctorC?
DoctorC has built proprietary technology for the diagnostics industry. Our technology enables us to combine software and healthcare services to create seamless product experiences necessary for 21st-century customers.
We use the latest cloud-based technologies like AWS, Python/Django and ReactJS. Our mobile apps native for iOS and Android, though a majority of our customers use our website directly.
Tell us about your revenue model.
Clients pay for administrations booked through DoctorC, and we work with the lab on a revenue share premise. With the second wave of COVID, we have moved to more tier-1 cities partnering with National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) accredited labs.
Tell us about your funding mechanism?
We started as a small team coming back to India from Silicon Valley. We are on a mission to address the healthcare issues currently faced by the consumers.
Currently, we are profitable and cash-flow positive, which is what is powering our growth.
What will your growth plans be for the next five years?
DoctorC is currently in 10 cities and is looking to expand to 100+ cities over the next five years. We are also adding new verticals beyond diagnostics to extend the range of services that we offer. We already have several pilots that we are testing, which include telehealth and primary care.
