Health is something we all, sooner or later, have to deal with. DoctorHome provides an easy way to find and connect with a doctor online. I talked with Miguel Castro, their product Manager, about it.
How does DoctorHome propose to change the patient-doctor relationship?
The Internet has become an easy way to obtain medical information. It is often the first step in checking for basic information about a disease and its treatment. However, using search engines to obtain medical information might not be such a good idea because the results are often useless, can be misleading to general users and sometimes it could take people to make bad decisions.
When it comes to health, physicians are the most qualified people to keep us well-informed. Therefore, to have access to good health information, we should always speak directly with a doctor.
Doctorhome.pt aims to provide accurate and updated information about doctors for users to find a specialist that match their health preferences or circumstances and provides a way so they could establish a direct connection with the doctor, quickly and easily.
We believe that connectivity has the potential to make the delivery of care more efficient and improve patient outcomes. We plan to simplify the way patient’s and health care providers interact with each other. Healthcare works best and costs least when there’s a partnership between the patient and their healthcare provider. Empowering that partnership is our core focus.
What are the main functionalities your platform provides?
Doctorhome.pt provides an easy way to find and connect with a doctor online instantly. Once you enter doctorhome site, the first thing you will notice is our searchbox that will help you find a perfect match for your medical needs. You can search doctors by name, specialty, location, health insurances and check out their profile.
After finding the doctor of your choice, you can easily establish a connection. The platform provides four forms of contact between patients and physicians, such as sending online questions directly to the doctor, conducting video calls, book appointments online or request a home visit. All these interactions are conducted in a completely secure and private environment.
How have you been growing lately?
A month since our launch we’ve gotten tons of great feedback from users and patient-physician communication on our platform shows good acceptance of our value proposition. At this time we have up to 441 registered doctors and close to 13,000 users who spent an average of about 10 minutes on Doctorhome´s site.
How do you seen the startup landscape in Europe, and in Portugal in particular?
Opportunity will always thrive during crisis! According to tech.eu there are approximately 100 startup accelerators operating across Europe today, with presently close to 140 active programs that could help start a viable business idea. I think the European startup landscape is gaining ground, especially in cities like London, Paris, Berlin, Telavive, but still behind North America.
In Portugal, at this time we have enough events, conferences, meet-ups, accelerators, incubators that fulfill our needs. We are a country of discoverers and It could surprise some people, that Portuguese even has a startup ecosystem. We have in fact some innovative projects going on right now. I think the only thing missing is capital funding at early stages.
For anyone looking to start a business, Portugal´s small-scale and good internet infrastructure and access can provide a great testing ground for any business model and recent tax benefits for startups are a good incentive!
We even have a bridge in Lisbon called the Ponte de 25 Abril that looks exactly like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Just in case you’re wondering, the seafood and pastry are amazing, such is the weather and the landscape!
What other startup is on your radar and why?
Internet-related startups are booming. In Portugal in particular, we are seeing innovative business models growing, for example, designed exclusively for use by education agents, Weduc.com provides a place where parents, teachers, students and schools come together in a completely secure and free social network. Zaask.com will help you hire Professionals for any job. Tradiio.com has a revolutionary approach to the music industry. Shipizy.com offers a flexible alternative to the typical shipping companies by connecting people with shipping needs with travelers who are willing to carry an extra package in an exchange for a reward. Mediabooking.com is like a Booking.com for advertising… and the list of Portuguese startups goes on and on!
Find out more about DoctorHome at https://doctorhome.pt/
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