BestDoc Expands its Footprint to the UAE

BestDoc, India’s leading B2B HealthTech player offering patient-centric solutions to healthcare providers, has announced its foray into the UAE market. Recently, the company completed its incorporation formalities to begin operations in the UAE.

Being one of the most developed economies in the Middle East, the UAE has a solid healthcare infrastructure. The UAE accounts for nearly 26% of the healthcare expenditure in the GCC. The development of world-class healthcare infrastructure is a key focus for the UAE government, and consequently, the healthcare industry has evolved and grown greatly in recent years.

Afsal Salu, Co-Founder and CEO of BestDoc, says, “The expansion into the UAE and the great GCC market is an important milestone for BestDoc. We have seen encouraging growth and interest in our products in India, and we are seeing the same here as well. We are looking at long-term investment in the region through direct sales as well as collaborations with partners and ecosystem players.”

Two key factors are driving the growth of the UAE healthcare sector: 1) The need to meet the growing healthcare needs of the country’s population, and 2) The country’s aspiration to become a medical tourism hub in the Middle East. The COVID-19 epidemic has prompted the United Arab Emirates to intensify its focus on healthcare investment. 

When it comes to per capita healthcare spending, the UAE is ranked among the world’s top 20 countries, at USD 1,200. Midhun Subramanian, Head of Marketing, BestDoc says, “With their high-income levels and high per capita healthcare spending, the country’s population continues to demand a higher quality of care and patient experience. Additionally, Dubai and Abu Dhabi have seen impressive improvements in their world medical tourism index rankings.” 

The country has also been at the forefront of the digital transformation of healthcare. For example, in December 2021, the country launched Riayati, a unified medical records platform with all patients’ health, personal, and administrative data stored in a centralised database.  In 2019, the country passed a Health Data law to regulate the use of information and communications technology in the healthcare sector. 

Subramanian adds, “We see our expansion and investment in UAE as a natural step in our journey to become a world-class player in Patient Experience digital solutions. A few of our current Indian customers already have a strong presence in the GCC. Moreover, UAE’s healthcare sector is quite mature and has already started taking big strides in adopting the latest digital and patient-centric solutions. Our tried-and-tested, multi-lingual and interoperable solutions would be a great fit to the region’s needs.”

Vivek Adolph, who is driving the Business Development efforts of BestDoc in the UAE, commented, “The healthcare ecosystem in the UAE is among the most innovative globally, with outstanding infrastructure, some of the world’s best healthcare professionals and the latest technology solutions. The country’s health care system is always looking for trustworthy and reliable technology partners to join hands to achieve their goals to provide the best experience to patients in their hospitals and clinics.” 

Initially, BestDoc is launching two of its highly popular solutions – BestDoc Surveys and BestDoc Concierge – as they are highly relevant to the UAE market. 

BestDoc Surveys is an intelligent patient feedback tool that also helps hospitals improve their online reputation. Vivek adds, “UAE is a country with a floating population where most people are dependent on Google to find nearby hospitals and clinics. BestDoc’s Survey solution will help the hospitals and clinics improve their visibility and online reputation.” 

According to an Economist report, nurses in the UAE face higher burnout than nurses in Europe (50% vs 32%). BestDoc Concierge is an inpatient request management tool that reduces nurses’ workload by making it easy for patients, bystanders, and staff to place requests. Vivek says, “BestDoc Concierge can help hospitals save the nurses’ time from non-clinical activities.”

The initial response in the UAE market has been very positive. Vivek adds, “We’ve been meeting CTOs and CIOs and discussing their challenges in improving patient experience. They clearly see the value in our solutions and are inviting us to their hospitals and clinics to showcase our solutions.”