Bridging the Healthcare Gap in India Through Innovative Technology Making Affordable, Quality Healthcare a Reality
Bridging the Healthcare Gap in India Through Innovative Technology Making Affordable, Quality Healthcare a Reality
As pioneers in the health tech industry, with expertise in digital health kiosks, Clinics on Cloud has created a platform, HealthATM, that seamlessly integrates basic checkups and consultations, offering people an easy and convenient way to access top-quality medical services.
As per WHO, “Half the world lacks access to essential health services, 100 million still pushed into extreme poverty because of health expenses.” To add to this, low-quality healthcare diagnosis is increasing the burden of illness and health costs globally.
Health ATM was thereby birthed with a vision to provide “HEALTH FOR ALL”, with the company’s goal being to make preventive diagnostics accessible to everyone. Since its establishment in 2017, Clinics on Cloud has been providing affordable and instant health checkups through its Health Kiosk.
Aiming to bring quality medical services closer to people, Clinic on Clouds has partnered with Public Sector Undertakings and Government projects.
They have been successful in installing over 1200 HealthATMs across India, with operations in over 200 cities. By increasing access to preventive healthcare services, Clinics on Cloud is working towards improving the overall health of communities.
Abhay Agarwal, Founder & CEO, Clinics on Cloud
An accomplished entrepreneur, Abhay Agarwal is the Founder and CEO of Clinics on Cloud. With a background in HealthTech, he has launched products in medical tourism and telemedicine and served as an IT head for government projects in Maharashtra and Assam.
During his experience working on a government IT project in rural India, Abhay was deeply impacted by the lack of basic preventive healthcare diagnoses such as sugar, haemoglobin, and BP tests, which often led to erroneous diagnoses and inadequate treatment.
He made a commitment to make quality preventive healthcare solutions accessible to everyone, regardless of their location or circumstances. Abhay realised that without access to a quality health diagnosis, universal health coverage would remain an empty promise.
Inspired by the convenience of ATMs that made banking accessible to everyone, Abhay conceived the idea of deploying Health ATMs to ensure last-mile connectivity to over 15 million patients for health checkups and telemedicine facilities to over 1 million disadvantaged patients who have accessed telemedicine facilities from renowned government and private doctors across the country.
Clinics on Cloud is working towards ensuring that everyone has access to quality healthcare services.
HealthATM
HealthATM, Clinics on Cloud’s flagship product, is a collection of CE/FDA-certified point-of-care devices that can test up to 75 parameters in under 10 minutes.
The HealthATM is HIPAA compliant, ensuring security and reliability for patients with a built-in telemedicine feature for medical consultations from a doctor, who can use the patients’ vital signs and test results to guide their diagnosis and treatment.
The HealthATM also facilitates the doctors to send prescriptions and reports via WhatsApp, email and printouts. Additionally, a free-of-cost AI-based meal plan helps patients control their health through cuisine-specific 7-day meal plans.
Moreover, the data analytics platform allows Central and State Governments, NGOs, and other organisations to generate an Impact Analysis report on healthcare delivery implementation.
Shifting The Focus From Sick Care To Health Care: Clinics on Cloud’s Unique Approach To Prioritising Preventive Healthcare
Clinics on Cloud’s HealthATMs democratise healthcare by providing cost-effective and easy access to basic healthcare services, benefiting patients and healthcare providers from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, transforming the impact and easing the burden on healthcare professionals.
Its unique holistic preventive healthcare approach will shift the focus from sick care to health care in the truest sense.
Redefining Success
Abhay states, “Our definition of success extends beyond financial gain; instead, we focus on positively impacting individuals and communities through our product. We value the trust and look for individuals passionate about positively impacting society, prioritising finding the right people over having the best people.”
Clinics on Cloud find fulfilment in working directly with patients to install and educate them on their transformational product. Various government bodies and the WHO have recognised their product for addressing critical healthcare challenges.
Overcoming Obstacles
Clinics on Cloud has developed and improved its HealthATM product, overcoming obstacles such as a bulky and electricity-dependent product, language barriers, and difficult assembly.
In its 20th iteration, HealthATM is now easy to assemble, supports vernacular languages with audio instructions and can operate without electricity for over two days.
These challenges have taught the company valuable lessons in innovation and problem-solving, enabling them to continuously provide better healthcare solutions.
Navigating The Pandemic
The pandemic scenario was not easy to navigate, with travel restrictions and social distancing measures hindering even regular operations.
As challenging as the times were, Covid also taught the country the importance of Health, challenging the existing Health offerings and demanding healthcare solutions that reach the field.
Abhay shares, “Emphasising that prevention is better than cure, the Pandemic stressed the importance of Health Care facilities in India, pushing the state governments like UP and Uttarakhand to provide health services to remote areas. Other states are following suit, increasing demand for Health ATMs in India.”
The pandemic has also underscored the importance of trust and effective leadership in times of uncertainty. Abhay shares, “As a leader, possessing the necessary skills and abilities to navigate a business towards success, even during unstable situations, is critical, as small innovations can have a significant impact on society.”
Future Outlook
With the increased demand for affordable, accessible and technologically advanced medical devices during the Pnadmeic, the MedTech industry in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 35% from 2020 to 2025.
This has led to international companies expressing interest in collaborating with Indian vendors, including Clinics on Cloud.
With plans to expand operations to more states in India and globally by 2023, Clinics on Cloud aims to enhance its product by integrating more point-of-care devices to create a comprehensive platform.
Abhay shares, “Save one life with an early diagnosis – Save the entire world. With this vision in mind, we intend to install 1 HealthATM every 3 km so that preventive health solutions are made accessible to all. 75% of fatalities are due to delays in diagnosis. Health ATM intends to nullify this number by ensuring preventive diagnosis is easily accessible, and we save as many lives as possible.”
Words Of Wisdom
Advising young entrepreneurs, Abhay shares,
“Keep in mind the maxim of “fail fast, succeed faster” when building your venture. Failure is a necessary part of the learning process, which provides valuable insights for future success. However, while taking risks is crucial, conducting due diligence and giving sufficient time for your ideas to develop are equally important. Knowing when to persevere and move on takes courage, as both outcomes offer valuable lessons.”
