A simple graphical representation of my portal’s Live Chat with a Doctor feature…

Hiring, It surely a hard thing for start-ups! In a start-up, what you have is a small team, limited resources which you have to convert to something good & big with the time; and the time flies like that Jet in the sky! Entreprenuership is hard because of involved unpredictbility, this unpredictibility makes it risky affair for many people out there.

Most of my friends work in technology-fims all across the town. I often meet people, lot of people who always say that apart from their regular work they want to start something of their own, some of them are pretty tuned with their “what they’re doing” in their office, most of them don’t have to do anything seriously with their “whatever they’re doing”, they’re just used to the system,  they’re just happy with whatever they’re earning as their salary at the end of month. Last couple of months most people whom I met reply… “I am on the bench dude! No work at all… I want to do something extra, but you know the tubeligh is not bulbing!” …

Rediculous senseless chain-mails & FWD mails are their mode of communication. For example, my former room mates… every night when I used to see them, they were still discussing about the shitty chain-mails they have… some of them only do this stuff and pass the whole day! Sure, they might have good skills and they can actually code… they looked like programmed monkeys by the corporate culture! May be this is state of all talent-pool we have in the Indian tech-industry; most of them are used to the system.

That sucks, sucks really big time!

Well, I love technology in general and yes, I’m going to one of first who buys iPhone 3G when it comes to India. Being an AirTel customer, it is pretty good that I don’t need to change my existing number to move to iPhone 3G, earlier with news that Vodafone will be launching it, I assumed that I might have to move to Vodafone!… And again that updating contacts, new number stuff!

iPhone 3G will come around October this year in India. Earlier there was a news in media that Vodafone will be launching iPhone in India. But it is confirmed now via the PR on Apple web site  that AirTel will be launching iPhone 3G in India later this year. I guess Vodafone will be also launching iPhone 3G for their customers too later this year, but it is not confirmed yet.

Soon customers will be able to purchase iPhone 3G at Airtel Relationship Centers. Details of pricing and availability will be announced at a later date. Airtel customers who wish to receive more information on iPhone 3G can send an SMS with keyword "iPhone" to 54321

More: Press Release by Apple

According to the latest issue of “Outlook Business” magazine, the healthcare services in India’s private hospitals is getting world class. However, the customer service at the same private hospitals is not able to catch up with the rapid developments in the infrastructure of the hospital. The patients are happy with the patient care but they are still unhappy with the quality of customer care they get. Waiting in the queue, doctor not available on time, payment hassles etc.

A new trend that is coming up in this eco-system of traditional healthcare delivery through Hospitals / Clinics is “Online Healthcare”. The doctors and hospitals can look at this as a channel that filters the patients and then forwards them to the doctors and hospitals for treatment.

Online Healthcare includes a few important aspects as mentioned below. At the core of the system is a central web-site or portal.

• It provides an access to doctor online for Live Chat. The patients can use the Internet and chat with the doctor. The doctors can provide medical advice to handle the current situation and then refer the patient to the nearest hospital and doctor in their locality. Doctors also provide answers for the common medical queries.

• It provides patient generated reviews about the hospitals and doctors and also the contact details of the doctors and hospitals.

• It provides a Forum where people of similar health problems can discuss with each other.

• The website also provides content in the form of answers to common queries, which the patients might have.

• The website has common health tools and price listings for the common medical procedures in hospitals.

• Patients can buy medicine over the Internet and it will be delivered to their home.

Such trend is already popular in the USA and Europe. Many websites like WebMD is widely used worldwide. In India, HealthcareMagic has recently started this service and has already referred hundreds of patients for OPD and IPD procedures in Bangalore.

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What brand of shirt & trouser do you wear?  Allen Solly, Van Heusen, Polo! Each costing you atleast a couple of thousand bucks!! How often do you go to restaurants, pubs? Once in a week, twice in  week, costing atleast 500 Rs each time.

Irrespective of whether you are a young bachelor, or a young couple  recently married & having one or no kids or you are a middle aged person with a high school going child, there’s no denying that the spending pattern of the Indians have changed a lot in the last few years. Everyone spends on br&ed products. The local tailors have long perished at the on-set of major apparel br&s. India is on a move. Everyone earns decent amount of money in the metros. Thousand rupees has no value today in the metros.

Have you ever thought how we react when we talk about the spend on Healthcare. My God!! His fees is 400 bucks. He just made a big hole in my budget. My goodness, this medicine costs 94 Rs. I stopped the Antibiotics because I got well in 2 tablets. You know what - each tablet costed 14 bucks. The Doctors these days just give you expensive medicine!!

Come on, I just want to ask these so called Rising Indian Middle Class. They can spend thousands on a shirt, thousands on a massage, facial, pedicure, hair cut; lakhs on a foreign trip. But when it comes to their own health, it seems they become the same old small town middle class hesitant to spend every penny they have. It is very surprisng to see people cribbing for Doctors fees, medicine cost etc when their vehicles would have guzzled up more petrol in reaching the Doctor & hospital. It’s all in the mind. Service industry is still in shambles because people don’t want to pay unless it becomes a question of life & death. Very few people buy health insurance on their own, citing reasons like their company gives them an insurance coverage already. How small is that corporate provided insurance, nobody cares.

Is it time when we start taking our health as seriously as we purchase our shirt or buy a pizza!! How many of the people over 30 actually go for a full body check up each year? How many have ever paid for it? Everyone is looking for FREE items when it comes to his/her own health. According to a survey, 90% of the young people in Bangalore have undergone health check up only because the health insurance company mandated them to get it done for free. Had it been a paid service, again, very few of these 90% would have been even insured.

Interesting to read such findings but it is time when we start allocating a certain percentage of our income. Even 2-5 Rs. per day to take care of our health coverage for life. People need to understand that health is not a one time down-payment item. It needs to be invested throughout the life time. Why become so stingy when it comes to our own health.