Optimise Your Medical Treatment Costs With ihealthkonnect
Manisha Soin, Founder, ihealthconnect shares her journey of creating a health platform that helps its users to search, save and compare medical treatment costs at various hospitals.
Discovering One’s True Calling
“Coming from a family of largely healthcare professionals, the intent of doing something in healthcare was always been innate in me. My grandparents were doctors and I was told till the age of 16 , like most kids of that generation(when our choices lay between an engineer or a doctor), that all I had to do was to become a doctor.” tells Manisha Soin, Founder, www.ihealthconnect.com
When the time of choosing subject streams came; however, my grandfather had a stroke and passed away while conducting an OPD in a slum area called Shradhapuri in West Delhi - distraught, my mother decided that there would be no more doctors in the family.
But as they say, things that are innate remain innate; thus, the seed in me remained. As I traveled across the country working, I realized the dismal state of healthcare and finally decided that I would follow my heart because to bring about change - you have to be the changemaker yourself; thus, I left my job and started ihealthkonnect.
On Being The Harbinger Of Change
Saying that I wanted to bring about change, make healthcare affordable and transparent because I felt the need was easy, however convincing my family and finding money wasn't. I spent around two years trying to convince my family that this is what I wanted to do, this is my calling, my heart and soul lay in healthcare and decided to put in my jewellery money as seed money and started ihealthkonnect.
Even today, 50 kms from Gurgaon, people do not know which hospital to go to, people are struggling with discovery of not only just doctors but also good hospitals for their specific medical problem and cost of treatment.
Finding the right doctor and hospital combination for your specific medical problem is important. People often travel across cities with their bag and baggage and families looking for treatment options; thus, wasting time and many days in the process. Additionally, cost of treatment too plays an important role in healthcare - I realized that people had no clue on the cost of medical treatment and were stumped by not just cost of surgeries and but also the inflated medical bills.
However, this should not be the case because most hospitals and doctors have a fair idea about the cost of treatment. This problem is magnified for patients in non-metro cities who travel hundreds of kilometers seeking medical treatment for their loved ones.
Filling The Gap
The thought behind ihealthkonnect is simple - the thought is to take the away the pain point by offering a simple solution-a platform where a medical patient looking for treatment can get an idea on the cost of medical treatment, shortlist a few hospitals, connect with the shortlisted ones, and take a second opinion and get an estimated cost based on their specific medical problem.
The pain point of discovery and lacunae of reliable, healthcare information and advice can be easily fulfilled.
The pain point of hospital discovery and price discovery for estimated cost of treatment remains-this is the pain point that ihealthkonnect is focusing on.
Bringing Transparency For All
At ihealthkonnect- an impact driven platform, a patient can search, compare, and get an estimated cost of treatment from hospitals across India and save on the cost of medical treatment as well; but, ihealthkonnect's journey is far from over - we are constantly tying up with new hospitals to help patients have a wider reach while incorporating a facility for medical loans to help patients raise funds quickly in-case of a medical emergency.
On the anvil is " patient speak" where a user can rate, review a doctor or a hospital and share his experience with other patients so that other factors such as quality of care, diagnostics can also be taken into account besides the cost.
