According to IDEA, in the era of digital transformation, there’s no escaping technology. The emergence of health platforms has brought the dream of online healthcare closer to reality, making these services more accessible to the public. These platforms, in addition to facilitating the patient referral and treatment process from the perspective of healthcare professionals, have taken a step forward by aiming to attract more specialized physicians.
Since physicians are crucial for the survival of health platforms, these platforms are trying to win their satisfaction by offering various features to facilitate their work. According to experts in the healthcare field, the acceptance of digital transformation in Iran’s healthcare sector increased further due to the prevalence of the coronavirus. They believe that during that period, digital health was no longer a luxury term, and the efforts of technology experts and medical teams were aimed at utilizing the capability to ensure that the treatment process would proceed more favorably and with greater peace of mind. Nevertheless, digital health in our country still holds a small share of the digital economy. One of the actors in this field announced last week that e-health is lagging behind other sectors of online commerce in Iran and the world, having a small share of the market, with only about 1.5% of medical activities being conducted online.
Patient Acceptance in the Virtual Clinic
Health platforms have undertaken various actions from their inception to attract physicians and gain their trust. In this regard, Nima Fazeli, the CEO of the “Dr. dr” platform, talked about the measures taken so far to attract physicians, saying, “Dr. dr works on attracting physicians by introducing the features and benefits of this platform. The advantages of Dr. dr for different physicians vary. For instance, if a physician has a long history of practice and a high number of patients, Dr.dr’s online appointment services will help them better organize the appointment process. Patients can also schedule appointments through this platform 24/7 with just a few clicks. Receiving appointments online on the desired day and time increases patient satisfaction.”
He further elaborated on Dr.dr’s special services for young physicians who have recently started their medical careers and might not have their own clinics or cannot utilize the full capacity of their clinic if established. He stated, “We assist this group of physicians in attracting more patients through website visits, showcasing information in the categorized sections, patient reviews, and ratings. Dr.dr has created a secondary channel for patient visits, enabling physicians to conduct follow-ups and subsequent visits to patients over the phone. The clinic management software is another feature that Dr.dr provides to physicians. This software accompanies physicians from appointment scheduling and patient intake to electronic prescription and electronic medical records, improving the clinic’s organization.”
Regarding the platform’s future vision, he described it as follows: “Dr.dr’s plans involve enhancing the current products and features of the platform and introducing new features that help physicians make full use of their clinic’s capacity. Additionally, one of our main goals in the future is to achieve complete clinic organization, reducing patient waiting times to less than 30 minutes.”
Corona and Attracting More Physicians
According to experts in the field, despite the significant challenges it brought, the coronavirus pandemic triggered a major transformation in the country’s e-health sector. In this regard, Mehrshad Teymouri, the CEO of the “Boghraat” health platform, also spoke about the shared achievement of trust and health, stating, “Perhaps it’s not wrong to say that despite all the difficulties and hardships it brought to the world, the pandemic marked the beginning of a significant trend in the development of public health in Iran. During the pandemic, digital health was no longer a luxury, and the efforts of technology experts and medical teams were aimed at utilizing the capability to ensure that the treatment process would proceed more favorably and with greater peace of mind.”
He continued, “Boghraat was already present within the medical community. If we look at the days before the pandemic, we will see that naturally in the early years, there were many challenges, especially after 2017 when we felt that the main challenges of the clinic management system and medical record-keeping in Boghraat had been resolved and were ready for public release. In 2018, we formed our sales team and started extensive marketing. In this stage, Boghraat’s challenging work had just begun, as when we faced more physicians and introduced them to Boghraat, we encountered a lot of resistance.”
He further explained, “Boghraat understood the medical community, but resistance still existed. The reason was that Boghraat was a new product for physicians, and until then, all available software was offline. Such software required installation and having a personal server, and despite being more expensive, their cost was paid once and for all. However, with Boghraat, a brief amount had to be paid annually. Therefore, issues like cost and the absence of personal server records raised doubts in physicians about the confidentiality of information. These were the initial marketing challenges for Boghraat. On the other hand, at that time, compared to traditional processes, physicians were more inclined toward traditional processes rather than online and digital processes.”
Teymouri emphasized that over time, this process became more established and is now progressing better. He added, “Our team aimed to attract the best physicians because their credibility acted as intermediaries for the entry of other specialized and prominent physicians into the country. We continued with this approach and established our position in the market until the era of the pandemic arrived. The pandemic changed the conditions significantly, and clinics were closed. This closure led to a decrease in physicians’ income. Ultimately, physicians had no desire to renew the software. Generally, the pandemic critically affected Boghraat’s conditions.”
In conclusion, he added, “What we did was to add all types of online counseling services, including video, phone, and text consultations to Boghraat, but we couldn’t assist physicians in utilizing the online service. By introducing Boghraat into the physicians’ homes and having physicians use this platform, it was as if the physician’s clinic was present in their own homes. Physicians could visit new patients using Boghraat, access previous patients’ records, and create new medical files. Also, by using Boghraat and providing free online counseling, we were able to fulfill our social responsibility in collaboration with some physicians. Now, in the era of Boghraat, we must wholeheartedly encourage physicians daily to understand the importance of integrating technology into the treatment process and, by working hand in hand with Boghraat, enable fair access of the community to medical services.”
The CEO of Boghraat concluded by describing the platform’s future vision: “Boghraat’s primary goal is to become a virtual hospital in Iran, which has a lot to say. Certainly, in this path, the most important pillar for us in achieving this goal is the partnership of physicians who will never forget Boghraat’s oath. However, problems like power and internet outages, which have disrupted the performance of data centers, have shaken physicians’ trust because their trust is in the platform and is not related to infrastructure problems. They have the right to expect stable and quality services. If these problems persist, we may witness physicians’ disillusionment with digital health and the waste of the efforts of all platforms and startups in recent years.
In confirmation of the significance of physicians’ presence and collaboration with digital health platforms, the CEO of ‘Snapp Doctor acknowledges their pivotal role. He emphasizes: ‘Physicians are among the most important members of the Snapp Doctor team, playing a critical role in facilitating users’ access to medical services and assisting users in receiving the best and most effective medical guidance in the shortest possible time. Over the past year, we have endeavored to expand our network of physicians to allow people to benefit from the capabilities and skills of a larger number of proficient medical practitioners across the country. Additionally, this expansion offers physicians throughout Iran the opportunity to collaborate with us and connect with users nationwide for healing and treatment. We have successfully attracted nearly 3,000 new physicians in the past year, the majority of whom are specialized doctors.'”
Furthermore, Golrokh Davaran continues: “The registration process for physicians on Snapp Doctor has been streamlined. Currently, general practitioners and specialists can complete their initial registration on the website with just a few clicks by providing personal information and uploading documents such as national ID cards, medical license, and practice permit. After registration, we assess the qualifications of the physician, including their membership validity in the medical association and practice permit, through the EMTA system. Upon approval, the physician becomes a member of Snapp Doctor. Ongoing verification of licenses is carried out through the EMTA system once the physician begins practicing on the Snapp Doctor platform. The physician is obligated to operate within the scope of their authority and licenses, and as a platform, we do not interfere with their consultation content with users. However, we strive to enhance the quality of physicians’ consultations based on user feedback and surveys. Moreover, in the pursuit of improving the quality of online counseling, we endeavor to acquaint physicians with the specific features of online medical consultation by providing educational content prepared in collaboration with cooperating physicians.”
Regarding the platform’s plans, Davaran states: “One of the advantages that has led people to embrace medical service platforms like Snapp Doctor is the facilitated access to specialized physicians anytime and anywhere through the virtual medium. We intend to strengthen this advantage by attracting renowned and established physicians nationwide, enabling users across Iran to access physicians who might be difficult or limited to reach due to distance or high patient volume. Ensuring universal access to quality medical services is one of our goals at Snapp Doctor, contributing to increased social equity.
Reducing Treatment Costs and Establishing Social Equity
As believed by professionals in the field, the digitization of the healthcare sector leads to a reduction in patients’ expenses. In this context, Behrad Azadi, the founder and CEO of the ‘Doctoreto’ platform, discusses accessibility for users to physicians and the reduction of treatment costs: ‘One of the aspects that has received considerable attention on Doctoreto is the ease of access. In the past, a patient might have been compelled to travel from a small town to another city to see a preferred doctor. Yet, even on the same day, securing an in-person appointment might have been challenging, and the patient might have needed to visit the doctor’s clinic two or three times to secure an appointment. On the Doctoreto platform, patients can secure appointments remotely and receive online consultations from numerous physicians, eliminating the need for such travel. Through online consultation, patients can upload medical documents for the doctor’s review. In many cases, physical examination is unnecessary, and the physician can make medical judgments based on the patient’s medical records, such as tests and MRI results. Another factor is the reduction of treatment costs. Patients can also determine which insurances are accepted by physicians through this platform, eliminating the need to visit the doctor’s office for this purpose.'”
He continues: “At present, we collaborate with approximately 30,000 physicians, medical centers, and therapists who have profiles on this platform and provide services. We monitor the engagement of these centers and physicians through panels we have provided to them, and we have observed a daily increase in the demand for utilizing these panels. The facilities we offer to physicians assist them in managing their practices and centers. The feedback provided by users and patients has facilitated a more effective connection between patients and physicians. This platform significantly contributes to enhancing service provision for users and patients.”
Regarding the new service offered by Doctoreto, Azadi states: “Considering the need for the digitization of healthcare services and the shift in purchasing behaviors and habits, whether in the healthcare sector or other domains, it is evident that all healthcare centers and clinics must embrace digital health services to enhance their services. For instance, at the end of the previous year, we introduced a service that enables physicians and medical centers to offer clinical and paraclinical services at a discounted rate, if possible.
Legislation: The Primary Challenge in the E-Health Sector
However, the e-health sector in Iran faces numerous challenges, and these challenges undermine the trust of physicians and investors in this field. Ahmad Taherkhani, CEO of ‘Homeca,’ states that the current largest challenge in e-health is a legislative framework. He mentions: ‘The most significant issue present in the e-health sector is the matter of legislation. Numerous players, both large and small, are active in this field, and even traditional segments of the healthcare sector are moving towards digitization. However, the legislative aspect of this domain has yet to be clearly defined, confusing all participants in this industry. Apart from the confusion, this situation has also introduced risks. Addressing this challenge could act as a driving force for the growth and development of the e-health market.'”
Taherkhani also elaborates on the actions taken within the ‘Homeca’ platform: “At Homeca, we have endeavored to simplify access to laboratory and medical services for individuals who have busy schedules and might overlook the importance of regular check-ups. We have also aimed to promote the culture of regular check-ups. Our efforts are focused on increasing individuals’ access to high-quality laboratory tests. Even patients in the early stages of medical needs can access quality testing, and they can also reach physicians through online channels.”
Joubin Alaghband, CEO of the Lian Capital Group, also discussed e-health issues in Iran during a meeting with the Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance held at a digital economy ecosystem event last Monday. He stated: “E-health lags behind other sectors of online commerce in Iran and globally. It commands a small portion of the market and around 1.5% of medical activities are conducted online. Hence, it is a suitable time for regulations in this field to be developed. This would address the legal gaps created due to the digitization of the healthcare sector before platforms become too large.”
As it seems, the e-health sector in Iran is grappling with numerous challenges. During this period, stakeholders in the healthcare sector have repeatedly highlighted the absence of regulations and warned about the consequences of this situation. According to healthcare platform executives, this challenge not only erodes physician trust but also renders the risk associated with investment insurmountable.
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