JUNE 20248In My OpinionByADVANCING SOUTHEAST ASIA'SHEALTHCARE THROUGHDIGITAL INNOVATION Fui-Yu Choong, Vice President, Strategy, Doctor Anywhere By 2025, it is estimated that total healthcare spending within Southeast Asia could near-double to USD 740 billion, driven by aging populations, a rise in chronic diseases, and higher life expectancy. In response to escalating healthcare costs, the region is pivoting towards cost-effective solutions, prioritizing innovation and technology-driven efficiencies.Leading this paradigm shift is Doctor Anywhere, a pioneering telemedicine platform established in 2017. Having evolved into the largest tech-driven healthcare company in Southeast Asia, it boasts a user base of over 2.5 million across six countries. Doctor Anywhere's trajectory mirrors the rapid evolution of the region's healthcare landscape, underscoring the challenge of modernizing an industry that has traditionally been resistant to technological adoption.A Story of Healthcare TransformationWhen Doctor Anywhere was first launched in 2017, telehealth was a novel concept, and the public had reservations about its utility.Healthcare across the region was largely based on face-to-face interactions, with many skeptical about the credibility of seeking medical treatment online. Patients still preferred queuing for hours at a clinic to see a doctor, and obtaining medication, claims, and prescriptions was largely paper-based and manually intensive.Having launched in Singapore as a telemedicine provider, it was crucial for Doctor Anywhere to build public trust. Hence, the team established their first physical clinics, allowing patients to experience and grow to trust the DA brand. It was also an opportune time for transformation, with Doctor Anywhere being among the first few telemedicine providers to participate in a regulatory sandbox for the industry by the Ministry of Health (MOH), setting the base for telehealth's adoption and innovation.The continued support from investors and government bodies also played an instrumental role in enabling the team to develop innovative solutions, which would later prove to be useful in the pandemic with Doctor Anywhere rolling out the industry's first online supervised Tele-Antigen Rapid Test (Tele-ART) at the height of the pandemic.With a relentless focus on patient-centricity, Doctor Anywhere witnessed exponential growth, expanding its team, regional operations, and service offerings. It also deepened its expertise in secondary care with the integration of a leading local specialist group, Asian Healthcare Specialists, enabling a more integrated journey for its patients.
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