City start-up brings doctors to your door

Gurgaon: FamPhi, a city based start-up, is redefining the concept of family physicians, through their on-demand medical consults at homes of patients. Residents can avail the facility by booking a consult through their website www.famphi.com/famphi. A consult can also be requested by dialling the helpline number, 9-069-069-069. The start-up, launched in January by Dr Soumik Katila and some other doctors, also plans to launch a mobile application soon.
Anyone can log on to the FamPhi website or call the helpline number to book a consult. Within an hour of booking, the doctor will visit the patient at home. Taking care of the elderly can be a daunting task, especially when it comes to doctor's appointments. "We realised that many a times, given the traffic, reaching a hospital takes too much time and the whole process demands someone to be with the patient all along. This can be difficult for working individuals and can also cause trouble and pain to the patient. Hence, we decided to reinvent the idea of family physician," said Dr Katila, the FamPhi co-founder.
As of now, the service is mostly for general medical emergencies like stomach ache, fever and cough. "Earlier, everyone had a family doctor who would visit and prescribe medicines whenever a family member fell sick," said Vidur Kohli, co-founder of FamPhi. Once a customer calls the helpline, a paramedic will ask for required details and accordingly assign a doctor. The start-up's app is likely to be launched by early April.
FamPhi users said they are happy with the service."Both my husband and I have demanding work schedules. At home, my elderly mother in-law often needs a medical consult. With FamPhi, the doctor visits our home whenever necessary. It's very convenient," said Nandini Sen, a DU professor. She added even though the doctor visiting at different times could be different, they always arrive with a copy of the patient's medical history with them. She said given the convenience, she doesn't mind the steep consultation fee. FamPhi has 10 doctors registered as of now. The start-up charges a standard fee of Rs 1,500 per consult, but may vary depending on the physician. So far, over 200 customers have made use of the service in the past three months. The start-up plans to add 100 more doctors for Gurgaon by October and 800 general practitioners for NCR by April 2016, before it hits other cities.