With $500K Funding From Eros Labs, AlternaCare Gears Up To Bridge The Gap Between Doctors, Patients

Delhi-based healthtech startup AlternaCare has raised $500K Seed funding from Eros Labs.

AlternaCare allows patients to access consultation services through a number of mediums including voice calls (without internet), mobile & desktop web (video), SMS and even through various chat platforms including WhatsApp.

The startup will use the funding for product development, building out its team, branding, and geographic expansion into key language markets.

“Unlike other industries, in healthcare, majority of the people require personal handholding right from the diagnosis at the primary care level to the best treatment at the tertiary-care level. Using cloud telephony technology and developing a world class and highly secure tech product, we are India’s first healthtech startup that has removed the dependency on the internet for doctor consultations as well as facilitating medicine delivery, lab tests, etc.,” said Abhishek Dwivedi, co-founder, AlternaCare.

AlternaCare provides remote consultations to patients through both instant and scheduled options over multiple platforms. Incubated at Eros Labs, AlternaCare was founded in January 2016 by Abhishek Dwivedi and Karan Bedi. The company launched its product in April 2016 and claims to be revenue positive.

Currently, the startup’s doctor panel includes specialists in Homeopathy, Allopathy, Ayurveda, and Psychology. It charges a fee of INR 200 for telephonic consultation. The payment can be done through mobile balance or online or through cash pick-ups across 4000 pin codes pan India.

Their proprietary AlternaAssist platform allows a connection between doctors and patients, as well as a number of value-added services like secure electronic health records, frictionless payments, data access, and more. The service also offers a feature for users to share their prescriptions or affected area’s images which can be accessed by doctors while consultation.

The healthcare market in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 22.9% and market size is expected to reach $280 Bn. As per NASSCOM, the Indian healthcare IT market is valued at about $1 Bn and it is set to grow 1.5 times by 2020.

In May 2016, reports surfaced that after launching an ecommerce portal for Patanjali products, Baba Ramdev was planning to launch an online platform (Chikitsalaya) for Ayurvedic consultation and treatment. Later that month, healthcare startup Consure Medical raised an undisclosed amount of funding led by venture capital firm Accel Partners with participation from earlier investors – Indian Angel Network, India Innovation Fund and India Venture Partners.

Other players in this space include Practo, eKincare, Ziffi, Qikwell, Curofy, Care24, medECUBE, etc.