Singapore healthcare startup RingMD expands to Pakistan

Photo credit: Philip Choi

RingMD, the startup that facilitates online patient-doctor consultation, has expanded from Singapore to Pakistan. This follows earlier forays into markets like China, Hong Kong, India, the Philippines, the US, and Thailand.

RingMD’s service allows people to access doctors from anywhere in the world through videoconferencing, either via its site or a smartphone app. There’s a large repository of doctors which patients can seek advice from, doing away with geographical limitations.

Only one percent of Pakistan’s GDP is spent on healthcare.

Zamin Zaidi, RingMD’s country manager for Pakistan, tells Tech in Asia the core problem it’s solving is the considerable disparity in the level of access to healthcare that people face in the country. Large segments of the rural populace often have to travel for hours just to get a basic medical checkup. Furthermore, many of the doctors possess unreliable, shady qualifications.

That’s certainly not surprising given the fact that a miserly one percent of Pakistan’s GDP was spent on healthcare in 2013. The government has consistently ignored any meaningful attempts to improve social indicators – hence the deplorable state today.

Global clinic

But RingMD isn’t just improving the experience for healthcare patients. It wants doctors to benefit as well. Zamin says the platform affords them convenience and flexibility, helping them treat additional patients at a time and location of their choice. The startup’s software has features like clinical practice workflow and existing medical records, reducing the need for paperwork, administration, and payment processing.

It’s free for both patients and doctors to register on RingMD. Doctors set their own fee based on their skills and experience, and all payments are processed by the startup, which takes a small cut. Patients pay by credit card.

The insistence on plastic money may prove to be a stumbling block in Pakistan, where credit card usage is extremely low and cash still rules. However, Zamin says they’re looking to expand the range of payment options, and will incorporate new mechanisms soon.

Zamin claims 30 doctors have signed up to be part of RingMD’s new Pakistan network so far, with over a hundred expected in the coming weeks. Approximately 200 patients have registered, and the startup has facilitated 140 consultations in the three weeks since launch.

Each doctor wishing to register on the site must submit a copy of their passport and medical qualifications. There’s cross-checking to ensure the details add up, as well as further scrutiny such as references and checks with previous employers.

Zamin explains RingMD’s global network of doctors is facilitating greater transparency and discoverability in the health space. Patients who would normally travel abroad to seek consultation and treatment on specialty cases – cancer, for example – can now complete all the preliminary work from their homes. Travel is only necessary when the problem has been identified and diagnosed. That’s helping with costs and time.