Sri Lanka’s eChannelling medical appointment business expands services to offer local video consultations and deliver pharmaceuticals
Sri Lanka’s first listed online medical appointment business, eChannelling, has reportedly expanded its value added services to offer local video consultations and provide the service of delivering pharmaceuticals.
The company, controlled by mobile phone firm Mobitel which is a unit of Sri Lanka Telecom, has also added more hospitals to its online service, reports state.
“Plans are underway to offer our customers local video consultations (oDOC) and enhance the company’s service offering by providing drug delivery services,” eChannelling Executive Director, Nalin Perera has been quoted as saying in the local media.
According to reports, the company ventured into a new area of service offering by partnering with ‘vDOC’, a UK-based consultation service for obtaining second opinions for patients.
eChannelling, which is facing competition in its online medical appointment business, from Doc.lk, a firm set up by Dialog, Sri Lanka’s largest mobile firm, and Asiri Healthcare group, said it expanded its network.
Sri Lanka Telecom Chairman, P G Kumarasinghe Sirisena has reportedly said that in 2017 the company was able to add 28 new hospitals to its network from outstation areas of the country, thus, enabling services to permeate the entire island.
Perera has also said there are plans to sign up with government hospitals to provide eChannelling services.
eChannelling currently has over 200 hospitals and medical institutions in its network of service providers.
OSL take:
The expansion of eChannelling services to offer local video consultations and deliver pharmaceuticals is an indication of the advancements in Sri Lanka’s health sector. The country’s health sector is poised for growth with the assistance of modern technologies. Sri Lanka’s health sector therefore is an ideal sector for investments in many areas ranging from the manufacture of pharmaceuticals to providing care-giving services. Foreign businesses/investors could look at investing in the development of the country’s health sector, which the government has also given priority.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/26042018/Z_5 |