GrandOpinion is a new platform for patients seeking a second opinion before taking medical decisions. Raelene Kambli speaks to Ashish Dhar, Founder Director, GrandOpinion to understand the concept and the company’s prospects in India
What is the relevance of a second opinion service in the Indian context?
India is positioned very similar to other developing nations when it comes to healthcare industry. Some of the essentials that drive this market and overall tele-consult model are listed below:
- Medical misdiagnosis ranging from 24 per cent in US alone to upto 65 per cent in developing countries
- Lack of speciality care: People have to travel a long way to seek quality care and medical attention. Not easily accessible
- Unnecessary surgeries: Mostly applicable to developing countries where there is no accountability and lot of surgeries and procedures are recommended to patients that are not required
- Distrust in the medical system and lack of confidence in the system due to past background and history
Tell us about GrandOpinion, how will it help patients?
We solve the above problems by:
- Shortening the time span to deliver quality medical consult and outcome.
- Reducing misdiagnosis by over 20 per cent and reduce the amount of unnecessary surgeries if they were not needed to begin with.
- Enabling our members to access the best in class and chosen doctors for most conditions at a click of a button and a phone call away.
- Reducing the turn around time and bringing efficiency and transparency in the system in a cost effective way.
Our strong panel of over 200+ specialists, catering to all types of cases in acute and chronic conditions, whom we pick and choose is what differentiates GrandOpinion from anyone out there. We are quality-centred and not quantity-centred. GrandOpinion enables you to access medical care and consult in a most convenient, fast and cost effective way. We have built a web-based, mobile based digital platform that connects a unique panel of specialists and doctors on one end and users on the other. All cases and reports are handled at the back-end are processed before it hits the specialists and an opinion is delivered. People currently go to a doctor and take appointments which takes weeks and months at times. They also have to figure out if their insurance will cover this or not and have to be within that limit.
Do you think Indians would like this concept?
Absolutely. We are very sure that India would absorb and get used to this concept. They would love the features. The concept of GrandOpinion works for everyone, irrespective of the healthcare situation and economics of that market. It is about ease and convenience alongwith quality for best and right outcomes. In an age when we have seen an increase in life spans as well as an increase in chronic and other diseases with billions spent on care, hospitalisation and medications; GrandOpinion is an effort to improve the standard of healthcare without leaving homes and access the best services without geographical boundaries.
In addition, obtaining a second medical opinion may assist in detection and prevention of healthcare fraud and abuse. Everyone pays the price for healthcare fraud through higher plan dues and out-of-pocket costs. It also results in reduced health plan benefits and coverage to make up for higher costs. Healthcare fraud and abuse prevention will be extremely critical in an emerging market like India.
What are your business prospects?
GrandOpinion is looking to break into corporate and health insurance markets. Our strategy is very clear and it works. We have done our math right and run figures as to how much can we save and help increase productivity and outcomes, including retention of talent in a company. For health insurance, which is still at a nascent stage in India, we have developed a very unique business model. We would encourage the insurance providers to talk to us so that we can assist them to reduce malpractices and unnecessary claims which cost them millions. Approaching direct customers and general public is big move for us. We have taken a holistic approach and are very cautious from both, price and time standpoint. Healthcare outcomes and decisions that GrandOpinion assists cannot wait and time is an absolute factor in such conditions. Our turn-around time is less than 48 hours for an opinion and less than two hours for a tele-consult.
Insurance companies see value of offering cover for a medical opinion service as part of their claims and policies. Individuals and families aligned with such policies are able to avoid misdiagnosis and unnecessary surgeries or treatments. It is now necessary, especially in case of diagnosing major ailments and chronic conditions like diabetes, heart attacks, kidney failure, organ transplants etc.
What is your business strategy?
We are looking at very key and strategic tie-ups with healthcare institutes. Working with corporates and health insurance companies is big for us. The target audience in India is quite diverse and comes from various economic backgrounds. We have made sure that GrandOpinion serves the interests of all. Expert teams, knowledge base and best practices combined with on-ground activities and partnerships shall enable us to reach and offer the services on-the-go. Fast, easy and convenient at the best price!
What are your plans for the coming 3-5 years?
GrandOpinion is looking to scale up and diversify in other healthcare sectors. We will focus on Big data and providing analytics on chronic and other medical conditions. We also seek to raise investment to push our growth and expansion in India specifically. Company is very bullish about India’s growth looking at the present and future medical and healthcare conditions across the nation.