Niti Aayog and the ministry of health and family welfare have recently announced the new regulations for telemedicine practice in India. A registered medical practitioner (RMP) is entitled to provide telemedicine consultation to patients from any part of India. This wasn’t allowed before the COVID-19 outbreak because of lack of clear guidelines. It created ambiguity for the RMP raising doubts on the practice of telemedicine. Tattvan, a telemedicine company that established a telemedicine business with its ‘brick & mortar’ model is running clinics in tier 2 and tier 3 cities in India as well as in Kabul, Afghanistan. Express Computer Speaks with Ayush Mishra, Founder and CEO, Tattvan.
What will change under the newly announced telemedicine regulations ?
With the new government guidelines on telemedicine, the face of telemedicine in India would change drastically. With the new government guidelines the face of telemedicine in India would change drastically. Over the years, due to lack of proper regulations or guidelines, most of the telemedicine practices in the country had some sort of Govt affiliation. In effect, while some telemedicine companies and project did progress, there were some that faltered on the way.
This scenario would take a complete 180 degree shift with the latest government regulations. Private players would now be more willing and enthusiastic in entering the market now without second-guessing the plausible results. The coming decade would be the decade of the emergence of telemedicine in full form.
What are the kind of enquiries you are getting and from which kind of entities (apart from hospitals, State Governments)?
For Tattvan, the nature of the queries remains the same however the frequency of patient queries has drastically increased by over seventy percent. Tattvan, in order to cater to the doctors’ needs in this tough time of Coronavirus, launched an initiative called ‘Swastha Samarth’ where the individual doctors whose clinics are shut due to the lockdown, can consult their patients through Tattvan’s application. With Tattvan’s Tele-OPD consultations patients are able to connect with doctors not only for primary consultations but are able to take opinions on issues like elective surgeries from some of the highly reputed specialists of the big hospitals through Second Medical Opinion service offered by Tattvan E-Clinics
What is the kind of business growth you are targeting?
We are planning to create a network for Delhi cluster hospitals next and we also want to create a cluster for Lucknow, Indore, Mumbai, and Chennai. We plan to have 30 odd clinics in India and 10 odd clinics abroad.
How telemedicine can transform the healthcare sector of India, especially in the period of lockdown
During the lockdown amid the Corona virus outbreak, telemedicine consultations seem to have gained popularity among masses. The recent guidelines by the government related to telemedicine have meant that is an area that could help patients seek immediate help in case of a health emergency. During this pandemic and unavoidable situation, the delivery and facilitation of media health through telemedicine is important for the nation. The policy will not help to reduce the risk of transmission but also reduce the burden on medical practitioners to deal with numbers of patients.
What is the right model to function as a telemedicine brand?
With new guidelines unlocking various mediums for the telemedicine industry, there have been a number of enterprises that are establishing and announcing their ventures in the segment. The sector is witnessing a spurt in investment and the market is wide open. Telemedicine is not just a business, it is also a social responsibility.
Tattvan has established a widespread telemedicine business with its ‘brick & mortar’ model that has a clear motto of providing the best medical diagnosis, prompt cure, right guidance, and best consultancy, anywhere. Tattvan is successfully running in tier 2 and tier 3 cities in India as well as in Kabul.
Telemedicine is the best model and the best solution to offer access to quality opinion, diagnosis remotely, especially in Tier 2 / Tier 3 segments. What is your opinion ?
Before the current COVID-19 pandemic, not much was done to encourage telemedicine in India, apart from certain specific efforts undertaken by the Government under the Digital India mission.
The Government in the past three-four years, established clinics, and shops in tier 2,3 and many rural cities. Earlier, because of the lack of primary care in the rural areas, people resorted to the traditional method. Now, because of the new telemedicine guidelines and government efforts, a lot will change.