Pillion docs on uber medico bikes

What if you could just use an app to summon a doctor from the confines of your home? Magicdil, an app on Google Playstore, hopes to change healthcare delivery in cities by doing that. Once summoned, a doctor will arrive on a bike armed with a complete basic diagnostic kit to check your blood pressure, blood sugar, and carrying a host of emergency drugs.

"The kit with the doctors is like a mini-ICU," said Dr Rahul Ghule, CEO, Magicdil Health LLP. "The package has been priced at just Rs 499 as our motive is to serve people and not work towards making a profit," Dr Ghule said.

A patient needs to provide basic details like name, phone number and location, and a doctor will arrive within 30 minutes. Currently, the team has 10 doctors, both allopathic and ayurvedic.

A user won't be able to choose the kind of doctor, though. Ghule says, "All ayurvedic doctors have completed a course in emergency medical services and are well equipped to handle this."

Residents of Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai can use the app once it is launched on November 8. The services will be provided free of cost during the first 15 days.

While the app is being touted as a solution in emergencies, 30 minutes could be a long wait for a patient. However, it could be a boon to those who have mobility issues and the elderly as the app also allows the user to ask the doctor to come at a time of their convenience.

Dr Ghule wants to eventually scale up the service and take the number of doctors to 100. But for now it will be interesting to watch how Mumbai residents react to pillion doctors on assisstant-driven bikes.