KonsultaMD consultations jump 256% in 1H 2021 as pandemic rages

Aug 23, 2021 #KonsultaMD

As more Filipinos opt to stay home to keep safe from the COVID-19 virus, medical consultations through the KonsultaMD app skyrocketed 256% for the first half of the year versus 2020.

The healthtech service provider was created by Globe six years ago to give every Filipino affordable and convenient access to medical services anytime they want. The number of users breached one million in the first half of 2021. These are users who enjoy 24/7 unlimited access to licensed doctors via voice or video call for as low as ?60 a month.

“The pandemic propelled the growth of online health services and changed the way Filipinos interact with medical experts. People are afraid to leave their homes, hospitals are overcrowded so the adoption of telemedicine has absolutely exploded. We set new all-time record highs every month,” said Cholo Tagaysay, CEO of KonsultaMD.

He said teleconsultation spikes whenever there is a significant increase in COVID-19 cases. This happened in March and April this year when infections reached as high as 11,000 in a day.

However, Tagaysay pointed out that even when COVID-19 cases subsided, teleconsults continued to grow. Thus, he remains optimistic that the public behavior of consulting with a doctor via voice or video will remain even after the global health crisis.

“What happens is people try KonsultaMD for the first time to check if they have COVID because they wanted to talk to a doctor immediately. But once they realize how easy, how convenient, how fast, and how affordable the service is, they start consulting for cases that normally won’t probably rise to the level of a hospital visit, such as a headache and stomachache,” he said.

Teleconsultation also encourages the practice of raising medical concerns while they are still at an early stage instead of waiting until the condition becomes worse. Members can consult with doctors specializing in different fields — from general medicine, family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, rehabilitation medicine, mental health support (counseling and psychotherapy), psychiatry, dermatology, ophthalmology, dentistry, ENT, and surgery.

Likewise, KonsultaMD provides digital management of health consultation records and issuance of medical documents such as e-prescriptions, e-laboratory requests, e-referrals, and e-medical certificates.

To know more about KonsultaMD, visit https://konsulta.md/.