More Indians using digital tech to meet doctors: Practo
With 65 per cent of its population below the age of 35,
India, at a median age of 29 years, is using digital technology to actively get
in touch with doctors, using both online and offline channels, according to
Practo, India’s largest digital healthcare platform in its third edition of
India’s annual healthcare map, highlighting key consumer healthcare trends,
concerns and behaviour.
The healthcare map has been compiled from data of hundreds of
thousands of searches and appointments, by over 13 crore patients, across more
than 50 cities and more than 250 specialities, in 2018.
As India ages over the coming years, the company sees this
number going up. Japan, for instance, at a median age of 47, visits doctors 13
times, while the US at a median age of 37, visits doctors a little over four
times.
According to Practo Insights report, three primary causes
driving this trend include: Greater awareness: More information about diseases,
illness from varied sources; increased accessibility : Ability to get in touch
with doctors at the touch of a button and growth in lifestyle diseases,
disorders like diabetes, obesity, deficiencies like vitamin D, calcium, to name
a few.
“Healthcare is slowly becoming a key priority for Indians.
Improving doctor-patient ratio overnight is not possible, hence, it’s important
to increase efficiencies, make it more accessible and affordable.” Organized
Medicine Academic Guild feels that “as young India gets older, the need for
medical supervision will only go up and digital healthcare companies like
Practo will play a huge role in that.”
According to Practo report, Indians in metros cities see
their doctors 4.2 times a year, while, in non-metro cities, just two times. In
metros one out of our Indians visit their doctors more than five times a year,
while in non-metros a mere six per cent visit their doctors more than five
times. Amongst metros, Bangalore is the highest at 4.8 times, followed by Pune
- 4.7, Chennai - 4.2, Kolkata - 4.2, Hyderabad - 4.1, Mumbai - 3.9 and finally
Delhi – 3.8.Amongst non-metros, Indore and Kanpur rank highest, where people
were visiting their doctors 3.3 times in the year followed by Nagpur at 3.1
times.An average Indian visits two specialists in a year. Indians consult 2.6
times online; 2.7 times in metros and 2.6 times in non-metros
Visits to rheumatologists has increased by 53.8 per cent
indicating a rise in the incidents of arthritis related complications and gout.
Endocrinologists saw 45.8 per cent increase in patients suffering from
hyperthyroidism, diabetes and hormonal imbalance. Diabetologist also witnessed
a growth of 38 per cent since last year.
There was a rise of 55 per cent in incidents being reported
to Paediatricians for asthma. An acute rise in the pollution levels of the
country could have been one of the primary causes of these incidents with
children being highly vulnerable to respiratory ailments.
Obesity was also amongst the top health issues in the country
with a rise of 52 per cent in doctor appointments. Major areas of concern for the
patients included lifestyle modification and weight loss.
The medicines ordered in the highest quantities online
include Shelcal, D Rise, Calcirol, and Uprise - all drugs that are used to
treat calcium deficiency, vitamin D deficiency, osteoporosis, to name a few.
Others are Huminsulin, Galvus, Eglucent, and Janumet - drugs used to treat
diabetes.
While mental health remained a widely ignored topic in our
country since ages, a paradigm shift is being observed in this regards.
According to the Practo Insights report, Indians outside of the seven metro
cities are consulting specialists in these areas, more than ever before.
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