The Rise of Telemedicine at Docosan
ACCESS Health International Southeast Asia
Director at ACCESS Health International
Telemedicine is one the rise thanks to rapid changes in tech and consumer behavior. Once considered a last resort, telemedicine is increasingly recognized as a valid alternative. Challenges to adoption remain, however, including training staff and a general unwillingness to change clinical practices from the norm.
Telemedicine can be a luxury in parts of the world where limited internet and wireless connectivity remains an issue. But COVID-19 has accelerated its usage to minimise the spread of the disease among patients and healthcare workers.
In Vietnam, telemedicine has not been widely put into practice. But the spread of COVID-19 has encouraged the government to push for it, kickstarting several small joint projects in 2020 between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Information and Communications. Integrating telemedicine requires a systematic process that public healthcare is beginning to adopt, but it is a different story in the fast-moving private healthcare sector.
In June 2021, Docosan launched its telemedicine feature, allowing patients to conduct digital consultations without needing to travel to medical centers. Since the launch, Docosan experienced a surge in demand for the feature as one of the only booking platforms offering telemedicine - a clear competitive edge. Docosan sets itself apart by going the extra mile, facilitating the telemedicine sessions from start to end and ensuring patient queries are properly addressed throughout the session.
The use of FinTech allows for entirely electronic payments for bookings that are secure and free of hassle. ACCESS Health has also further aided in bringing more convenient transactions by successfully integrating ZaloPay onto the Docosan platform. This promotes user-friendliness and provides a well-known option for many Vietnamese patients who already utilise Zalo.
Patients have booked telemedicine appointments in 9 specialties across Docosan, including dermatology, psychology, pediatrics, and the general clinic.
Over 50% of Docosan’s telemedicine appointments are related to mental health, showing that counselling sessions can be comfortably conducted online while reducing person-to-person interactions during the pandemic.
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Docosan’s telemedicine appointments have a 0% cancellation rate by either patients or doctors, showcasing how digital platforms remove obstacles such as travelling time or clinic congestion that can cause cancellations.
A well-managed telemedicine feature like Docosan’s is suitable for patients with mild symptoms to be efficiently examined while staying home, saving labour and administrative costs for doctors and other medical staff. Telemedicine’s benefits extend to the entire healthcare system, as the reduced contact between medical staff and patients lowers the risk of exposure on both sides.
In a recent interview with Docosan, Dr. Le Hong Ha noted the effectiveness of telemedicine in serving patients from rural areas: “Doctors are trained to observe patients’ problems even without face-to-face contact and can diagnose the disease accurately through the patient's medical history about 80% of the time. Docosan's telemedicine is convenient for patients to communicate directly with doctors from long distances, removing their travel burdens and meeting their needs without wasting time waiting in line as usual.”
In many countries with robust insurance systems in healthcare, insurance regulations may discourage the usage of telemedicine due to the difficulty of measuring reimbursements. But in Vietnam, patients usually pay for private healthcare services out-of-pocket, and Docosan’s price comparison feature makes access particularly easy.
Telemedicine is still new in Southeast Asia but given the current growth, Docosan believes it could be the new normal in the long run, helping patients more easily access healthcare and providers acquire a larger patient base. The potential for telemedicine was always there, and now with Docosan’s launch, it has been further accelerated to reach new heights.
Prepared by the team at Docosan, a Health Futures member
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