As more Filipinos adopt digital solutions for their medical needs, Globe’s 917Ventures telehealth service provider KonsultaMD last year posted 140 percent revenue growth and expects a "promising" 2022.
To date, KonsultaMD has over 1 million members, a rise in user base that represents a 168 percent increase year-on-year in 50,000 retail outlets nationwide.
Parent firm, Globe’s 917Ventures Globe, grooms the subscription-based service, which offers accessible 24/7 virtual medical consultations, to follow the footsteps of sister start-up GCash, the country’s leading e-wallet platform.
On the other hand, Globe's second telehealth service provider, HealthNow has grown to 800,000 customers barely two years since launch.
HealthNow processes 15,000 to 20,000 medicine delivery orders daily and serves as the Ayala Group’s technology partner in administering COVID-19 vaccines.
To date, it has helped administer over one million vaccines.
“Our two digital health offers are doing very well," confirmed Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu. "KonsultaMD and HealthNow continue to fill the growing demand for access to healthcare during the pandemic.”
“There is a lot of promise on the healthcare side of the business,” he stressed.
“Telehealth has become an important innovation that will stay and evolve even after the pandemic," added KonsultaMD CEO Cholo Tagaysay.
"We believe the public will continue to use KonsultaMD because of the ease and convenience of talking to a doctor anytime without leaving their homes."
To expand its reach, KonsultaMD partnered with over 60 brands and has been active on popular social media app TikTok with more than 23 million views.
Overall, KonsultaMD also addresses pain points in Philippine healthcare, from lack of healthcare professionals, inadequate health infrastructure, limited accessibility to high cost of medical consultations.
KonsultaMD members already enjoy 24/7 unlimited access to licensed doctors via voice or video call.
Through the service, specialists in general medicine, family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, rehabilitation medicine, mental health support (counseling and psychotherapy), psychiatry, dermatology, ophthalmology, dentistry, ENT, and surgery are accessible through mobile phones.
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.
For this reason, remote medical access is rising nationwide.
Many Filipinos now prefer to consult virtually instead of going to clinics or hospitals to lessen the risk of contracting COVID-19 or potentially infecting others.