Of India’s population, 68% – or 900 million people – live in rural communities. Yet 80% of healthcare infrastructure and manpower is located in urban areas, with residents there living five years longer, on average, than their rural counterparts.

A typical household in Bharat spends a large portion of its income on healthcare expenses that skyrocket during a health crisis, with less than 1% of the rural population covered by insurance. This financial strain, combined with the loss of income associated with travelling to urban areas for treatment, causes many patients to delay seeking medical care. These delays contribute to worsened health outcomes and ultimately higher treatment costs. Additionally, purely digital solutions have shown limited potential to address these problems as a significant portion of the rural population struggles with levels of digital literacy and maintains a strong preference for physical interaction.

Medoplus, a healthcare startup founded in 2020 by Dr. Prakash Bakshi, Neeraj Chandra, and Shekhar Yerramilli, is committed to addressing these primary healthcare challenges in rural India sustainably, leveraging the founding team’s collective experience of over 50 years in executing large-scale initiatives and a deep understanding of rural communities. Over the last 4 years, MedoPlus has operated an online platform that connects rural patients with qualified healthcare providers – including doctors, labs, and hospitals – from primary to tertiary care. Platform users can map symptoms to the appropriate healthcare professional, search for nearby providers, book virtual or in-person appointments and tests, pay digitally at discounted rates, and securely store their medical records.

Given the low levels of digital literacy in rural India, Medoplus operates through a network of local health agents who assist patients in navigating the platform and the healthcare system. Through this model, Medoplus has unlocked quality and affordable primary care for 275,000 patients in Uttar Pradesh, resulting in a savings of 600,000 hours in waiting time and INR 3 crore in direct healthcare costs for these patients. Medoplus has observed a clear preference among patients for in-person consultations, with many opting to delay their healthcare visits by several days, even when teleconsultation options were available. In response to this trend, Medoplus is excited to launch a cluster-based e-clinic model designed to better meet these preferences, while ensuring access to high-quality and affordable primary healthcare in a sustainable manner.

With ACT’s support, over the next 14 months, Medoplus will test this cluster-based e-clinic model that harnesses technology and a community-driven service model. These eclinics, staffed by a rotating team of five specialists, will facilitate doctor consultations, medicine purchases and pathology testing closer to home for over 100,000 patients in Uttar Pradesh’ Barabanki district. The patients will also benefit from a network of community health workers, supporting their health journeys at these clinics and across the secondary and tertiary levels of care via the Medoplus app.

At ACT For Health, we look forward to catalysing impactful healthcare solutions by funding Medoplus’s initiatives towards improving access to quality and affordable primary care for patients in rural India, while setting the foundation for a scalable and sustainable model!