Ask The Doctor
| Private | |
| Industry | Healthcare |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Founders | Prakash Chand, Dr. Patrick A. Golden, Suresh Kanumuri, Israel Idonije & Dr. Suneel Sharman |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Canada |
| Parent | ATD Health Network |
| Website | AskTheDoctor.com |
Ask The Doctor is an online platform that was founded in Toronto, Canada. The platform allows users to receive medical advice using the Internet, without the need for visiting a practitioner in person.
ATD Health Network is the portals parent company. The platform was co-founded by the former NFL player, Israel Idonije, Prakash Chand, Suresh Kanumuri, Dr. Patrick A. Golden and Dr. Suneel Sharman.[1][2]
History
Ask The Doctor was founded in 2005 as an online help platform.[3] After 6 months of the company's initial launch, AskTheDoctor.com received an offer of $1.5 million from an unnamed pharmaceutical company. The offer was rejected by the company founder.[4]
During an interview in 2011 with Omni News, the company founder stated that the majority of its patients were from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and India. He also stated that the website had been used in over 100 different countries up to that point in the company's history.[4]
In 2012, it was announced that Ask The Doctor would be partnering with the National Institutes of Health.[5] As part of the partnership, Ask The Doctor's database of questions could be integrated with an artificial intelligence database in order to act like a doctor's assistant.[6] Researchers at the National Institutes of Health announced that they were piloting a scheme using over 200,000 questions and answers from Ask The Doctor. The National Institutes of Health also contacted IBM regarding using the Watson computer to test the questions.[7] Stanford University also announced they would be assisting with the research project.[8]
The company received funding of $3 million from an unknown source. It was stated in a news article that the funding had come from a large group of Canadian and American physicians, business leaders and star athletes/celebrities.[9] As part of the same coverage the company also announced plans to receive further funding up to a total value of $30 million over the coming years.[9]
Ask The Doctor received recognition in the medical sector following the May 2015 Nepal earthquake. It gave the people of Nepal the opportunity to have free advice for a 2-month period following the earthquake. It was stated that shortly after the earthquake that over 3,000 people from Nepal had used the service.[10]
In early October 2015, the company announced that it would be acquiring the largest Indian medical resource, Sehat. The Sehat platform was to be integrated into the Ask The Doctor group as a subsidiary of the ATD Health Network and to operate solely in India. Sehat would also be collaborating with the Indian Government's initiative called Digital India initiative, which aims to digitalize various areas of information for the Indian people.[11]
A month later the company also acquired the British patient platform, Patients Connected.[12] Ask The Doctor then announced they planned to utilize the London-based offices, while also opening new offices in Wales, Scotland and Ireland during the coming year.[13][14]
Service
Ask The Doctor is a resource that aims to provide the reader with the answer to any health-related question the user might have. The service is provided at a small charge to the client. There are other services on the market such as Web MD differ from Ask The Doctor, as they produce general medical content, rather than connecting the patient directly with a doctor for real-time advice.[15] After expanding to India and receiving regular patients from the region, the Mumbai Mirror reviewed the service provided by Ask The Doctor. The review gave the website 5/5 for its functionality and use.[16]
In a 2011 interview, the company founder stated the majority of the patients that were using the website, were people with limited access to quality healthcare. He stated that this could range from teenage girls talking about pregnancy, to people who were unable to see specialists due to the costs involved.[4]
External links
References
- ↑ Kirbyson, Geoff (April 28, 2015). "Manitoba NFLer Idonije calls it a career". Winnipeg Free Press.
- ↑ Penton, Kirk (May 23, 2015). "MHSAA Hall of Fame inductees sing praises of teachers, coaches for achievement". Winnipeg Sun.
- ↑ Mitchell, Rob; Khera, Neha (February 9, 2011). "Discovery and Creation: Alternative Theories of Entrepreneurial Action". Harvard Business Review.
- 1 2 3 "AskTheDoctor.com features on Omni News". Omni News (video). January 11, 2011.
- ↑ Pensky, Nathan (January 5, 2012). "AskTheDoctor and NIH partner for AI medical research". Vator News.
- ↑ "U.S. Institute of Health taps Canadian site for database". ITWorld Canada. February 1, 2012.
- ↑ "Computer could act as doctor's assistant". CBC News. January 6, 2012.
- ↑ Steakley, Lia (January 5, 2012). "National Library of Medicine explores using AI to respond to consumer health questions". Stanford University.
- 1 2 Czikk, Joseph (July 4, 2014). "AskTheDoctor.com Healthcare Advice Portal Values Itself at $300 Million, Says it Will Raise $30 Million". Betakit.
- ↑ Wicklund, Eric (May 15, 2015). "mHealth comes to the rescue in Nepal". mHealth News.
- ↑ Galang, Jessica (October 6, 2015). "Ask The Doctor Acquires Sehat, India's Largest Health Platform". Betakit.
- ↑ Soltys, Douglas (November 11, 2015). "Ask The Doctor Acquires UK’s Largest Telehealth Service, Plans to Attack US Market". BetaKit.
- ↑ "Ask The Doctor Acquires UK’s Largest Telehealth Services Provider". HIT Consultant. November 12, 2015.
- ↑ "Ask The Doctor snaps up Patients Connected". Health Investor.
- ↑ Hollings, Roger (May 19, 2010). "AskTheDoctor.com – Answering Health Questions". KillerStartups.
- ↑ Patkar, Mihir (May 20, 2010). "Ask The Doctor Review". Mumbai Mirror.