Sandeep Gudibanda is an endurance specialist. He has completed multiple triathlons and marathons across the world, including Iron Man 70.3 (2 km swimming, 90km cycling and a half-marathon run, all at a stretch!), and brings the same passion, diligence and detail to his company Heathplix, where he adds doctors to his platform, literally one at a time. He is no stranger to healthcare either, having co-founded NephroPlus, the largest chain of independent dialysis care centres in South East Asia.
Healthplix was set up in 2014, but the real traction came in 2017 when the company shifted focus from a few specific care therapies such as gestational diabetes in women during pregnancy to chronic non-communicable diseases and general practice with a commitment to bring in better health outcomes.
“We are a doctor-first organisation” says Gudibanda. “If you have to bring in better health outcomes, you either focus on the 1.3 billion population or the 273,000 practicing doctors.” The platform currently has 10,000 doctors on-board, who have treated around 1.8 crore patients.
The entry point for software companies is mostly through electronic medical record (EMR). To stay ahead of the hundreds of EMR applications available in the market, the team designed the base software, Robin (Doctor’s are Batmen!) with artificial intelligence (AI) built into it. When a doctor sees a patient, the AI in the EMR taps into relevant information on the disease as well as patient history. The prescription that a patient gets is explicit, with do’s and don’t’s — almost like a guidance on what precautions to take, things the doctor may not have the time to tell each patient verbally. For a doctor-first company, the focus of the software is to be more responsive to the requirements of doctors. “ We have barely scratched the surface,” says Gudibanda. Medical device integration, which measures a patient’s essential parameters on to the software, is work in progress. The company has raised $16 million till date, and was valued at $40 million in the last round.
The software is priced at ₹18,000 per doctor per year, but the company generates revenues through advertisement as well. It charges a user fee, and also runs ad tickers when the doctor is with a patient. “In a branded generic market, it is top of mind recall that works,” says Gudibanda. — Gina Krishnan