Doctor Consultation through Mobile Applications in India: An Overview, Challenges and the Way Forward / 대한의료정보학회지

ABSTRACT

ObjectivesTo layout mHealth (mobile health) applications operating in India with the facility of either online doctor consultation or offline doctor appointment booking.MethodsA cross-sectional, observational and web-based study was conducted. We searched the Google Play Store with the search strategy “health apps in India”. In the results, 250 applications (apps) appeared. Out of 250 apps, finally, 22 apps were found to be providing online doctor consultation and/or doctor appointment booking-related services.ResultsAmong the selected mHealth apps operating in India and providing doctor consultation-related services online/offline, Practo, mfine, DocsApp, 1mg, Netmeds, Lybrate, MediBuddy, and Medlife were found to be the eight most popular ones with over a million downloads and on average four-plus user rating out of five. Practo, mfine, and Lybrate offer doctor consultation through chat, audio, and video calling. Netmeds and DocsApp offer doctor consultation through both chat and audio call. 1mg offers free chat consultation, while MediBuddy and Medlife offer audio call consultation only. Considering booking doctor appointments for offline consultation, Practo, mfine, 1mg, and Lybrate only offer this facility among the eight most popular selected mHealth apps.ConclusionsmHealth apps providing doctor consultation are gaining popularity in India, and they have enormous potential in the country. The government should make enabling policies to facilitate and popularise mHealth apps.