A new digital healthcare startup called ‘Jolpie’ has launched its operation recently. The startup has a web platform and mobile app, aims to work as a platform for patients and doctor. You can book an appointment, find the right doctors, take services from a lab, buy medicine etc by using Jolpie platform. It also allows users to sort doctors according to their specialization, experience, educational background, location, visiting hours and fees.
At the same time, anyone can avail the expert opinion of the specialist doctors via video chat. There are also lists of hospitals, labs, drugs, special packages and fees. While availing the service, both doctor and patient will get notifications via SMS.
While the service will be available in Dhaka for now, the platform plans to add special ‘Care at home’ service for elderly, pregnant women, nursing services by the end of this month. The users can also send a request for caregiver assistance through this site.
Digital healthcare services have huge potential in Bangladesh. While Bangladesh has achieved an incredible feat in several areas of healthcare including drastic fall of child mortality rate (0.24%), but the country struggles big time when it comes to delivering health care and general health care problems. Bangladesh is one of the few countries with a severe shortage of medical professionals. According to WHO, for every 1000 people in Bangladesh, there are only 0.3 doctors and 0.3 nurses.
That said, the number of digital healthcare startups, mostly homogeneous, is growing rapidly in Dhaka which indicates both a lack of innovation in the space and also a growing competition in the sector.
