Southeast Asia has an acute healthcare problem. These apps inject hope

Will Greene writes about digital trends and development in Southeast Asia. He researched this article with support from BDG Asia, an advisory firm that helps international companies do business in Southeast Asia. He is based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Saving Southeast Asia’s healthcare system using technology.

Millions of Southeast Asians today lack access to affordable, quality healthcare. As connected devices become increasingly ubiquitous in the region, however, many companies and NGOs are developing innovative ehealth apps to address the problem.

Southeast Asia’s healthcare systems today face an acute shortage of funding. Total public and private healthcare spending accounted for only 3.9 percent of Southeast Asia’s GDP in 2012 — lower than any other region in the world. While the average American and European drops thousands of dollars on healthcare each year, per capita spending in most Southeast Asian countries averages less than US$250 annually.

Low spending deters much-needed investment in new hospitals, equipment, and the information technologies that power modern healthcare systems management. It also contributes to the region’s shortage of skilled healthcare professionals. Aside from a few affluent places, large swaths of the region fail to meet the World Health Organization’s most basic healthcare workforce standards.

These problems are especially acute in poorer countries and rural areas. While healthcare hubs like Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Bangkok offer world-class service that make them medical tourism magnets, public hospitals in Vietnam, for example, cannot sufficiently address local needs. In the region’s more remote areas, treatable infectious diseases like malaria and dengue continue to needlessly claim lives in the absence of the most basic healthcare services.

Improving Southeast Asia’s healthcare systems will require billions of dollars in new infrastructure, but putting all that money to work will take time that millions don’t have. As more people gain access to connected devices, however, entrepreneurs, companies, and organizations across the region see potential to speed improvements to healthcare delivery with new web and mobile applications.

Virtual clinics and pharmacies

Some of these apps transform connected devices into portals for clinical care, allowing patients to communicate virtually with doctors and receive health advice. These “telehealth” or “eVisit” apps can streamline or even automate the consultation process, saving time and costs for everyone.

Telehealth services, though gaining popularity in North America, generally face challenges in developing countries, where bandwidth constraints, low smartphone penetration, lack of experience with digital services, and other factors inhibit their adoption. Even so, several telehealth services now operate in Southeast Asia. Some focus on local markets, like Dokita and Dokter Gratis in Indonesia, while others see potential across the whole region.

See more: Singapore startup fights Ebola in Africa with telemedicine app

“Southeast Asia has all the right ingredients for telehealth to go mainstream,” says Justin Fulcher, CEO of Ring.MD, a Singapore-based telehealth startup that recently received fresh funding to grow its regional footprint. “High-speed networks are increasingly getting deployed and many governments have policies in place to support telehealth adoption.”

While companies like Ring.MD want to improve access to doctors, others seek to improve access to pharmaceuticals. One example is mClinica, a mobile platform that connects drug makers with pharmacies and physicians.

“Pharmaceuticals in most developing countries get distributed through fragmented networks of independent drug stores,” says Farouk Meralli, mClinica’s Founder and CEO. “This makes it difficult for pharmaceutical companies to access markets efficiently, raising costs and limiting access for millions.”

Founded in Silicon Valley, mClinica recently established operations in the Philippines, seeing exceptional opportunity there. It now has its sights on Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Apps for public health NGOs