Malaysia-based telemedicine provider DOC2US announced on Wednesday its expansion to Myanmar as the technical partner of HOPE Telecare to help accelerate the development of the digital healthcare ecosystem in Myanmar.
HOPE Telecare, Myanmar’s latest all-in-one digital healthcare platform, is a joint venture between Myanmar’s Blue Ocean Investment Ltd, TELEMED Company Ltd, and homegrown DOC2US, owned by Heydoc International Sdn Bhd.
“This joint venture is the first step for DOC2US to extend our locally developed technology and healthcare solution to countries beyond Malaysia. By replicating DOC2US’ existing proven system and business model with ‘hyper-localized’ elements, together with our partners, we aim to complement the physical healthcare ecosystem in Myanmar by freeing up physical medical resources to those who need it,” DOC2US Chief Executive Officer Dr. Raymond Choy said in a statement.
With the number of COVID-19 cases continuing to rise in Myanmar, more state resources need to be channeled to combat the infection spread. The JV had earlier called for volunteer doctors to join its virtual health advisory task force to reduce the burden on the public healthcare system. The service would allow the general public to obtain virtual medical consultations for free.
“About 70 percent of our close to 55 million population is living in the rural area where doctors are not easily found, while our internet penetration rate is growing at more than 10 percent year-on-year from the current 43 percent, we believe telemedicine is the way forward to improve the quality of care in the country,” HOPE Telecare Chairman Htun Htun Naing said.
In partnership with Microsoft, DOC2US is leveraging on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform for better flexibility and scalability. DOC2US also provides HOPE a robust backend system that runs and supports the digital healthcare platform to the frontend where users connect with healthcare professionals and get important health tips and other information.
For the upcoming phases, DOC2US will be incorporating its blockchain technology in electronic health records, artificial intelligence, and digital signature system to further enhance HOPE’s offerings.
“With the successful rollout in Myanmar, we are actively talking to other partners in our neighboring countries such as Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam to improve the accessibility to healthcare in those countries. Nevertheless, we are also putting more resources in Malaysia to grow the market share and establish a better ecosystem in Southeast Asia with our strategic partners,” Choy said.
DOC2US is the electronic prescription (e-prescription) telemedicine provider in Malaysia. Leveraging cloud computing technology, it provides scalable and seamless remote healthcare services to consumers, patients, corporate clients, healthcare providers, and healthcare fraternity-like clinics, and pharmacies.