Davva for complicated healthcare?

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Davva for complicated healthcare?

Published: Mon 15 Jan 2018, 7:32 PM

Last updated: Mon 15 Jan 2018, 10:14 PM

This week's column features yet another app that tackles a basic need. It's often said that wherever you live, you need to know a good doctor, a good lawyer and a good police officer. A couple of weeks ago, we described a startup in the legal domain. Today, we feature a company that aims to build a better experience in healthcare.
The healthcare market opportunity
The value of the healthcare market in 2020 is projected to be $8.7 trillion, according to Deloitte's 2018 Global Healthcare Outlook. According to Statista, the current m-health market is sized at $28 billion and this is forecasted to grow to $46 billion by 2020. The overall digital health market will grow to $206 billion.
Ageing population sets in the developed world plus the growing penetration of modern healthcare in emerging markets point to robust positive economics. However, there are fundamental shifts occurring in this industry too. Digitisation of the industry is happening at a blistering pace. Traditional premium generating pillars such as pharma research, surgical treatment and bespoke diagnosis are under threat from artificial intelligence and robotics. The more human aspects such as counselling, palliative care, a sense of well-being and purposefulness are becoming even more important as healthcare changes. The Cleveland Clinic has published interesting studies on the connection between mind and body connectedness in healthcare.
A Forbes article earlier this month described five key trends in the customer experience of healthcare. These are augmented reality training for healthcare, leveraging data for healthcare, patient personalisation, using wearable devices in healthcare and hospitals using smart technology.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The problem
As healthcare becomes increasingly regulated, process oriented and documented, the individual user is often lost in a maze of "things-to-do". Get an insurance coverage and understand its terms, find the right medical professionals that accept the coverage, contact diagnostic centres, get prescriptions filled out, maintain records, schedule treatments and medication. For an unwell patient, the extra work can be stressful and tiring. Add to that the transient nature of employment and location in expatriate centres like the UAE and this can become quite overwhelming. Gone are the days of depending on the neighbourhood general physician.
The company and the business model
Davva (www.davva.com) positions itself as a region-first digital healthcare concierge. Jai Tolani, founder and CEO, said: "Davva's focus is a niche, unlike apps that just connect to pharmacies or others that only provide online consultation and scheduling of appointments. Davva plans on bringing together all healthcare aggregators in one app to make it easier for the people which has not been done before in the region." His inspiration came from a personal situation - he couldn't understand why, in a digital world, prescriptions for his grandfather had to be handed over in person at pharmacies.
It's an app that helps connect individuals to pharmacies, doctors, diagnostic and therapy centres. The app maintains a user's digital log of medical reports. It also sets up reminders for scheduled medical dosages and other events related to diagnosis and treatment. It publishes offers and news from healthcare providers, which participate in the platform. Davva launched its beta version of the app at Gitex Future Stars in October 2017 and will go live to consumers at the Arab Health Exhibition and Congress at the end of January 2018. The revenues model is based on supply side subscriptions.
The prescription
The typical user journey that Davva intends to provide includes a set of four basic functions. First is to offer a medical appointment service through the app with a preferred healthcare professional. The app provides the back-end service to complete the process. The second function is to follow through on the consultations through linking up with diagnostic centres with the intent that scheduling of appointments and specific tests can be managed via the app. The third is connectivity with partner pharmacies. The purpose of this is to enable users to share prescriptions, seek advice and schedule deliveries. The fourth is connectivity to therapy centres, rounding off the experience from seeking help to post-medication care.
Apart from end-to-end management of the healthcare journey, the app also conveniently allows users to incorporate their health insurance plans into the app, enabling them to access the facilities and treatments covered. In addition to the scheduling and reminders related features, the ability to maintain medical records in one convenient repository is also something that the platform promises to deliver.
The founder and the plans
Tolani wants to get the model absolutely right in Mena first before expanding through strategic partners in Asia, Africa and Europe. To do this, the right partners need to be brought on board. This is where the founder's focus is. His training in engineering and business management from the highly prestigious King's College in London probably drives his relentless focus on execution. Trusting that this platform will be able to deliver to its  potential.
The writer is founding partner at BridgeDFS, a bespoke digital financial services advisory firm (www.bridgeto.us). Views expressed are his own and do not reflect the newspaper's policy. He can be contacted at sanjiv@bridgeto.us.

By Sanjiv Purushotham

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