Dr Mohan Agashe recently spoke at the launch of ‘Doctor@Door’, a patient-friendly app at Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI). The app was developed by Ashokkumar Suratwala and Aniruddha Bambawale, which allows patients to request a doctor, who comes to their homes, examines them, and provides medical advice without requiring the patient to step outside his house. Air Marshal Bhushan Gokhale (Retd) and Dr Chandrasekhar Karve. were also present on the occasion.
“Trust is a critical factor in the doctor-patient relationship which has been on the decline for the past few years. If modern technology can help strengthen the same and facilitate faster medical help, then we must welcome it. Medical professionals must nurture and build trust with patients through communication and reassurance,” opined Dr Mohan Agashe.
Aniruddha Bambawale explained how his experiences had been the inspiration for the app. He brought out how increasingly busy lives, growing commitments and practical issues such as traffic often led us to postpone a visit to the doctor. Whereas a timely consultation could help in providing early relief and obviate the need for prolonged and costly medical treatment afterward.
The genesis of the Doctor @ Door app came from the realization that by using technology, it was now possible to reach out to people and provide them with timely medical advice without them having to leave their homes. The app would soon be available on the Google Play Store as a free download.
Air Marshal Bhushan Gokhale (Retd) remarked that the ‘Doctor@Door’ app would be very useful to patients as it could re-moot the concept of a family doctor. He expressed the hope that as the popularity of the app grew, newer features could be added that would provide even greater services to people in their homes.
During the programme, the app demo was given by Tripur Patel. The programme started with a rendition of Ganeshastavan by Aarti Agashe and Sucheta Ghate. Rahini Gokhale was the anchor for the program. Dr Chandrasekhar Karve, who has worked with the co-founders of the app, introduced the dignitaries on the dais.
