Get ready to surf India’s health tech wave

At the height of the first wave of the pandemic last year, a friend was stuck in her home town far away from the nearest big city and had a complication linked to a chronic health condition. This in itself wasn’t new but she needed to consult her doctor for a prescription and due to the restrictions and the pandemic going to the hospital was too risky. Her daughter used an online consultation app and she was able to do a video call with her regular doctor whose practice was two hours away and she got the right treatment. What is exceptional about this anecdote is that it is not exceptional anymore in India. Stuck at home and worried about visiting hospitals or medical shops, millions of Indians have turned to online platforms to consult with doctors, order medicines and get diagnostic tests done in the past year. E-pharmacies saw a 200% increase in the number of orders in 2020, while consultations on tele-consultation platforms increased by 300%, according to a recent health tech report by IAMAI-Praxis. It has been a transformational year for Indian healthcare, specifically health tech.