In a country where 10% of its population can speak English, the need to break down the language barrier in patient-doctor communications and facilitate equitably
Practo will launch consultations in 15 Indian languages on its app and website. This development will allow users to choose a doctor who can speak in their native language. Currently, this service covers 15 languages – including Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Bengali, and Kannada, – with more to be added soon. Practo is inching closer to breaking down access barriers for 200 million individual users. In a country where 10% of its population can speak English, the need to break down the language barrier in patient-doctor communications and facilitate equitably. The language-agnostic app wants to cater to a larger population.
Observing that 90% of new internet users in India are native language speakers, initiatives like these will be critical in bridging the digital divide in India’s ever-growing digital healthcare ecosystem. The vernacular feature will now be available on the app, as well as their website, and the company is also planning to introduce new interface capabilities to make the doctor-patient interaction seamless and engaging. After receiving many user requests for language fluidity features on Practo, this was launched as a pilot project, with Hindi as the alternate option for users to choose from. Around 67% of all vernacular consultations were from users living in rural areas or outskirts of cities.
Source: Business World
