As India’s healthcare space is evolving rapidly, luring a large number of digital start-ups to tap this space, very few smart players like Practo, Lybrate, Portea Medical etc, are successfully bridging the gap between doctors and patients. These start-ups are not only brining doctors to the doorsteps of the patients, but have made it more convenient for the patients to reach out to doctors over a quick telecon.
Likewise, with an aim to address the other side of the spectrum, a Pune-based online platform, DocPlexus enables doctors to reach out to their peers to interact and exchange ideas. With over 100,000 doctors on the platform, DocPlexus create a specialized network for healthcare professionals, who can connect with each other anytime to exchange suggestions, communicate and discuss any professional matter or patient’s cases, as and when required.
DocPlexus is the brainchild of Phanish Chandra, an IIT Kharagpur alumni, with about 13 years of experience, along with few seasoned European entrepreneurs, who brought on board prior experience of establishing a similar successful model in Germany.
Conceptualisation
Positioning itself as the LinkedIn of doctors, DocPlexus aims to unlock the knowledge repositories with doctors that develop with experience. With a vision to empower doctors, the platform provides an opportunity to access peer advice, expert opinion, medical guidelines and latest advances in topics.
Equipped with both a web and mobile-based platform, DocPlexus allows doctors to connect seamlessly and conveniently for the below mentioned ways:
i. Collaborative patient treatment: Doctors can connect with experts across specialties to gather views and feedback for medical cases. It also provides an opportunity for doctors to share their analysis with others in a medical dilemma.
ii. Connect & network: Focussed on doctors only, the platform provides a great value add in terms of the connections that users can make within the doctor community. The ability to be in touch and receive insights from top professionals in the field enables users to enhance their domain specific as well as inter disciplinary knowledge.
iii. Stay updated: Access to recent news in the medical field enables doctors to stay updated about the day to day events in the industry.
Impressive traction in a year
Ever since its launch in June 2014, DocPlexus has registered over 100,000 doctors till September 2015. Doctors from more than 1,500 cities and towns, in 83 specialties are present on DocPlexus and are interacting on a daily basis through queries, posts, answers, comments, etc. Along with smaller institutions, physicians from established hospitals like Apollo, MAX, Fortis, AIIMS, PGIMER, JIPMER and CMC VELLORE are also active in the community.
How it works
With a focus on getting only doctors or healthcare professionals on board, there is a strict verification process that is employed to register on DocPlexus. No access is provided to doctors until they provide their medical registration numbers. The stringent verification process enables the platform to maintain the quality of engagement and interactions.
Investment Status
DocPlexus has raised a total of Rs 4.6 crores till date from ASP Group, an Austria- based international investment and advisory boutique, and Uniqorn Ventures, a start-up focussed Mumbai-based funding firm.
Uniqorn Ventures is a seed and early stage venture fund, investing in Indian start-ups with disruptive business models and technologies, and with the typical deal size in the range of Rs 2-4 crores.
Competition
Although there are quite a few platforms that facilitate doctor-patient interactions, doctor networking as a space has been relatively unexplored. Globally, there have been similar models like Sermo (after raising more than US$ 40 million, got acquired by WorldOne) and Doximity, while in the Indian healthcare space, Curofy and Plexus MD operate in the same space.
However, with around 15 per cent of the Indian doctor population already using the platform, and an aggressive roll out plan that the company has in place, DocPlexus intends to become the solitary platform for the medical community to connect and engage with each other towards a better healthcare practice.
Way forward
At present, DocPlexus is generating revenue through Pharmaceuticals marketing and event marketing. However, in near future, it’s planning to adopt new models like online job posting, monetizing doctors and other marketing strategies.
