Thursday is World Health Day, and an Indian digital health company is trying something radical: offering free medical advice via Twitter and the Web.
While this concept could never fly in the U.S. — we have pesky little things like HIPAA and malpractice issues, plus doctors need to get paid — it has huge potential in places where access to care is an issue for hundreds of millions of people.
With the Rise of AI, What IP Disputes in Healthcare Are Likely to Emerge?
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
Practo, which MedCity News has described as “part clinical management platform and part doctor search/appointment maker,” is launching its service Wednesday, a day ahead of the global event. This year, the World Health Organization is emphasizing diabetes on World Health Day.
People in the three launch countries — India, Philippines and Singapore — can tweet their health questions to @AskPracto. Practo-affiliated physicians and other medical experts will answer through the Practo Consult web portal starting Thursday.
For now, it’s only available in English in those three nations, but Practo said to expect more countries and languages soon.
A Personalized Approach to Medication Nonadherence
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
Twitter itself is an active partner in the program.
“Twitter’s real-time, public and conversational capabilities helps people connect with things that matter, big and small,” Ravichandran Bhaskaran, Twitter’s head of business development for India and South Asia, said in a statement.
“We are excited about our partnership with Practo, as this addresses a fundamental need for users and opens up the benefit of real-time healthcare information access to millions of users in India, Singapore, and the Philippines,” Bhaskaran added.
With minimal publicity to date, the @AskPracto Twitter account had just 20 followers as of 11 a.m. EDT Wednesday, though some had already tweeted health questions. Expect that number to jump sharply on Thursday, given that India alone has more Internet users than the United States has people.
