A phone call between doctors can save lives. That is what Docquity co-founder Indranil Roychowdhury heard when his father was admitted to India with a life-threatening condition. An emergency room doctor initially told him there was no chance of survival, but then another doctor called one of his colleagues in the United States and they came up with an alternative treatment plan that worked. Docquity was created to help doctors collaborate in the same way and on a large scale, even if they live in different countries.
The Singapore-based company announced today that it has raised $44 million in Series C financing led by returning investors Itochu Corporation, who have invested $32 million. The remainder of the round came from investors including iGlobe Partners, Alkemi, Global Brain, KDV and Infocom.
Roychowdhury told ukbusinessupdates.com that after his father’s experience, he and his co-founders, Amit Vithal and Abhisek Wadhwa, wondered why “in today’s age of social media, a phone call was necessary to save someone’s life.” Docquity was founded in 2015 to make it easier for doctors and other healthcare professionals to work together.
The new capital brings Docquity’s total amount raised to $57.5 million. It says it is the largest community of health professionals in Southeast Asia, with more than 350,000 doctors on board. The funding will be used to grow Docquity in its existing markets, such as Indonesia and the Philippines, and to enter new markets, including Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. It recently launched in Taiwan, where more than 2,000 doctors have signed up so far. The company claimed double revenue growth in 2021.
The company now has a team of 300 people and, in addition to its headquarters in Singapore, also has a technology and engineering center in Gurgoan, India and other offices in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan.
In addition to providing physicians with tools to connect and collaborate, Docquity partners with more than 250 medical associations in Southeast Asia to develop learning modules that can be used to earn mandatory continuing medical education (CME) credits. The company says its platform has enabled doctors to earn a total of 4.2 million CME credits to date.
Docquity has three core functions. The first, Docquity Academy, works with universities and senior physicians to create educational resources for physicians. The second, Docquity Clinic, allows doctors to conduct follow-up consultations with their patients. Finally, Docquity Insights takes data about user engagement on the platform to understand what they need.
Roychowdhury said that on average, about 50,000 doctors take courses on its platform each month, and that it was one of the first companies to launch online lectures and symposia when the pandemic began in 2020. There are now about 500 lectures a month. Physicians taking the courses may also participate in private groups to discuss real-world cases and the best treatment plans.
“While exam-style teaching and teaching is an important component, we believe that experiential learning through peer-to-peer case discussions is an important learning resource for physicians,” said Roychowdhury.
Docquity guarantees the privacy of the patient through various measures. It is a closed, AVG and HIPAA compliant network that only admits doctors who have been verified by medical associations. It has also established an internal compliance and pharmacovigilance team to ensure privacy and security. It allows pharmaceutical and medical device companies to interact with doctors, but advertising is not allowed on the platform.
Another Docquity initiative is making healthcare more affordable. It recently launched its Patient Adherence Program (PAP) to help doctors provide care for underserved patients. “Making treatments more affordable is a key goal of the platform and we started working in breast cancer as a therapeutic area with one of our clients, and have already helped nearly 600 breast cancer patients in the Philippines,” said Roychowdhury.
