Zomato-Like Experiences.. but for Healthcare

Hello again from Tech Scrubs!

Today we decided to map out the opportunities we think are most compelling in building patient-centric experiences. We’re hoping that reimagining healthcare journeys gets you as pumped up as the fast approaching holiday szn 🎄

So let’s dive in…

Mom + Google

One day you wake up with a tummy ache. The right side of your stomach really hurts.

What do you do next?

You ring your mom but she doesn’t pick up. Now you’re deep into Google. “Appendicitis symptoms.” Will you actually have to get surgery? You decide to go see a gastro. But who’s a good one? How much would it cost? You wait for your mom to call you back - she’s got to know someone.

If this sounds like you, you’re not alone. Almost 5% of all Google searches are health-related. Before its sale, WebMD made close to $700mn in 2016 from ad revenue alone. While the mom + Google solution is a well-tested method to temporarily calm any hypochondriac inferences, neither can be relied on to effectively diagnose or treat you.

Now – imagine a world where you wake up with a tummy ache, type your symptoms into your phone, answer a few questions and it predicts - based on your exercise, sleep, food patterns, genetic predispositions - that you likely have food poisoning. It schedules an appointment for you taking into account your location, and offers to get some OTC medicines delivered to your home.

An hour-long process reduced to just a few minutes.

The ease of a Zomato order but for something far more important - your health. Today, this journey lies far closer in the spectrum to reality than imagination.

Mapping Opportunities

When it came to payments, India leapfrogged from cash to UPI / mobile payments, bypassing debit / credit cards. And now we’re ready to make that same jump in healthcare.

This shift goes beyond just new software; it's a fundamental reconfiguration of how we deliver healthcare. In this new landscape, solutions should be considered on two pivotal dimensions: the severity of medical conditions and socioeconomic context.

1. Medical Criticality: From preventive care (low urgency) to chronic conditions (high urgency).

2. Socioeconomic Context: Blume’s Indus Valley Report segments India’s population by income:

   • India1 / Consuming Class: 30M households earning ~$15k per person annually.

   • India2 / Aspirant Class: 70M households earning ~$3k per person annually.

   • India3 / Unmonetizable Users: 205M households earning ~$1k per person annually.

This framework helps pinpoint where innovation is most needed—and most impactful:

• Low Criticality / Low Socio: Solutions in this quadrant address non-urgent health issues for individuals with limited financial resources and language barriers. Despite the apparent low market appeal, this quadrant harbors significant opportunities for versatile solutions especially in preventive care.

• Low Criticality / High Socio: These solutions cater to preventative to minor health issues for affluent individuals who can afford premium services. Tech entrepreneurs often gravitate towards this sector, developing products for fitness, nutrition, and overall wellness.

• High Criticality / Low Socio: This quadrant is focused on severe medical conditions among financially constrained individuals. It addresses health disparities with low cost solutions, like telemedicine services, tailored for multilingual access in rural areas. It tends to attract medical professionals aiming to address health disparities with cost-effective solutions.

• High Criticality / High Socio: Solutions in this quadrant address critical health issues for affluent individuals, often involving advanced medical technologies and treatments. The high technical barriers to entry and substantial capital investment requirements attract significant venture capital investment.