Practo launches online consultations at Rs 399 amid COVID-19 outbreak in India

Pic courtesy: Twitter/@Practo

New Delhi: In the wake of coronavirus outbreak, which has killed more than 4,500 people globally and infected 73 individuals in India, Digital healthcare platform Practo on Thursday (March 12, 2020) launched a new monthly healthcare plan which offers unlimited online doctor consultations, starting at Rs 399 per month.

Amid the coronavirus spread, Practo also did an internal study, which revealed that queries regarding fever, cough, cold, sore throat and body ache have increased by 30 percent in the last two weeks on their platform.

Most of the queries are coming from Bengaluru, Delhi/NCR, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, and Chennai.

According to the company, priced at Rs 399, it is a subscription-based healthcare plan that provides unlimited online consultations with doctors from over 20 specialties.

This extremely cost-effective plan has been conceived with an aim at making quality healthcare affordable and accessible to all.

"In India, more than 50 percent of the people resort to self-medication. In the wake of widespread diseases threatening to spread a lot of false symptoms and remedies, it is imperative that we inculcate the habit of consulting specialists for health issues," said Dr Alexander Kuruvilla, Chief Healthcare Strategy Officer, Practo.

"We are thrilled to introduce the new monthly Practo Plus plan, which also aligns with the government's vision of a healthy India, where there's access to high quality and affordable healthcare services to all," Kuruvilla added.

This extremely cost-effective plan has been conceived with an aim at making quality healthcare affordable and accessible to all, the company said.

The plan not only helps people save '10x' the amount of money spent on doctor consultations, but also makes them proactive about their health and ensuring that no symptom goes undiagnosed, they added.