Developers in the UAE have devised an innovative mobile application to help users find doctors based on their symptoms or medical conditions, and also related healthcare providers, quickly and efficiently across the Mena region.
MyMedicNow app allows patients to make real-time bookings with doctors and hospitals. "It also allows patients to search doctors as per their symptoms and medical conditions as well as geographical location and other patients' reviews," said Dhaval Desai, the CEO of MyMedicNow and co-founder of Pulse Middle East, the company behind the app.
Sajid Azmi, co-founder of the Pulse Middle East, said: "The UAE has incredibly high smartphone penetration, which affects how residents in the UAE consume digital media and apps," he adds.
Since its launch in September this year, the app has been downloaded 40,000 times with over 4,000 doctors already listed on the app. The founders said that the number of downloads in the first few months since its launch is a great feat.
According to a study, getting a user to download an app is only half the battle; with 25 per cent users abandoning apps immediately after using them for the first time and 77 per cent abandoning within 72 hours of installing them. Depending on the scope of the app, only one in four mobile apps actually engages users.
Doctors too have begun registering the app since it removed the 'need for the middle man', and communicating with patients has become easier. "People in the UAE use mobile apps for convenience and information. So, it is important that we join the app network to be available to our patients at any time," said Shoukath Ali, general manager and partner of Northwest Clinic.