ShopDoc, an Indian healthtech start-up, is set to enter the Middle East in its maiden foray into the international market, with the launch of three of its special services, a top executive of the venture said.
The Kerala-based start-up, which has developed a super-specialty hospital app for patient referrals and smart doctor deployment, will be mainly targeting the Indian diaspora for its growth plans in the Gulf region.
The three specialised services ShopDoc will be launching in the Gulf countries include MobeedCare family care, an on-demand patient care service to look after the complete hospitalisation needs of the family members of expat Indians in their home country; the ‘U OK?’ service , a virtual mental health support clinic to provide personal mental health consultations for Indian expats; and the ‘FFounders’, a customised diet and fitness programme designed for the expatriate Indian business community in the Gulf region.
“A significant number of international patient enquiries we receive daily are from the Gulf region, mainly from the expats hailing from Kerala. Also, the majority of patients we serve in India have got some immediate family members living in the Gulf countries who are often very concerned and confused. So we found it imperative to extend our services for them,” said Shihab Makaniyil, co-founder and chief executive officer of ShopDoc.
“We all three co-founders of the start-up were Dubai residents before for a long period of time, and therefore we genuinely understand the healthcare needs and the importance of helping the expatriate community,” added Razik Ashraf, co-founder and chief operating officer of ShopDoc.
Ashraf previously worked for the Dubai health authority’s IT department, before moving to Qatar to lead one of the major ICT companies there.
Incubated by the Kerala Start-up Mission (KSUM) and launched in September 2020, ShopDoc currently has registered customers of more than 2,500 specialist doctors, 175 multi-specialty hospitals and 20 diagnostic chains, processing thousands of patient referrals for various medical treatment procedures every week.
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ShopDoc is among the few start-ups selected by KSUM to participate in GITEX Future Stars 2021.
“We are fundamentally a healthcare company that builds and uses technology to help more people faster. Our core purpose is to improve healthcare providers’ efficiency, thereby increasing the patient outcomes and bringing down the medical treatment costs,” said Makaniyil.
ShopDoc is among the few start-ups selected by KSUM to participate in GITEX Future Stars 2021, to be held at Dubai World Centre between October 17 and 20.
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