A survey on growth in telemedicine consultation in India since Covid-19 shows that the digital adoption of medicinal services grew three times during this period. According to the survey, conducted by DrOnA Health in collaboration with Mankind Pharma, 60% of respondents reported high satisfaction with telemedicine consultation and 54% of respondents expressed willingness to continue it in the future too.
The survey polled over 3000+ respondents across genders and age groups in over 250+ cities. The results show that telemedicine is here to stay and will become an integral part of Indian healthcare. The perceived risk of getting infected at a clinic during COVID is a key reason for patients opting for online consultation, which is safer, convenient and comparatively more economical.
Globally, 58% of countries are now using telemedicine to replace in-person consultations; in low-income countries this figure is 42%
–World Health Organization (WHO) Press Update, June-20
The survey further shows that the patients adopt their doctors’ preferred telemedicine platform which are designed as per telemedicine guidelines. 70% of users do online consult with known doctors while nearly 60 % use it for follow-up consultation.
The survey also showed a rise in telemedicine in the eastern part of country across Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
Key Findings
- More than 3X growth seen in telemedicine adoption/usage, post Covid-19
- 24% of the respondents have used telemedicine at least once in the past
- 53% of non-users have shown willingness to use telemedicine in the future
- 27% of respondents who have used telemedicine are from the metros (2.9X growth after Covid-19)
- 22% of respondents who have used telemedicine are from non-metros (3.6X growth after Covid-19)
- Perceived risk of infection in the clinic has been a key driver
- 2 of 3 users consulted with existing known doctors
- Setting up a known platform and Virtual Clinic critical for every doctor
- Health records, reminders, low-cost key expectations
- 8 of 10 respondents confirm willingness to use the platform again in the future
Mr. Rajeev Juneja, CEO, Mankind Pharma, said: “Telemedicine is well established in other countries but COVID 19 has triggered interest in our country with patients adopting this technology quickly. This simple interaction not only offers convenience but provides an excellent solution to patients residing in remote areas by providing them with quality healthcare solution. Our survey has clearly shown that patients in India are proactively looking for telemedicine solutions and doctors who are adopting it are hugely benefiting. We are confident that the services that DrOnApp has brought in this segment will write a new episode in the path of telemedicine adoption in India.”
DrOnA health is a dedicated doctor centric teleconsultation platform with over 10,000 Doctors on it.
