A customised website for doctors in 24 hours !

I interviewed Aditya Patkar of Plus91 to figure out how they can provide personalised websites for doctors within 24 hours.

Why have you decided to create websites for doctor?

Plus91 believes in Information Therapy and a website is a very powerful way of facilitating this. A website gives an avenue for patients to search for doctors, view their services and also see their location and contact information. For a doctor , a website is vital to reach out to his patients and to educate them about their medical problems and treatment options. It saves the doctor time and money , because the doctor can provide information to the patient , without having to do so face to face. Websites for Doctors is an initiative to help promote information therapy to the masses by promoting a website for every doctor in India within the next 2 years.

How can you manage to create a customized website for a doctor according to their specialty in just 24 hours?

The key to specialization is expertise, experience, preparation and effort. Just like a doctor who specializes in Orthopedics spends 3 years after his MBBS to learn how to treat bone disorders, we have spent a lot of time mastering the technology for making doctor’s websites work well. This is our core competence and because we are a focused factory and do only this, we are very good at it. In fact , if the doctor selects a template and send in information he wants us to upload, we can setup his website within 12 hours flat !

What’s your magic sauce?

The fact that we have addressed a very specific niche, for which we have developed unique processes , make us very innovative. A strong technical knowledge of how to create a state of the art medical website ; and extensive research into what an outstanding doctor’s website should look like in terms of content and graphics have helped us in achieving this goal.

How much do you charge?

We have 3 tiers, depending upon the doctor’s requirement. We charges Rs. 4,995/-, Rs. 9995/- and Rs. 24,995/-, for each of these tiers, each of which provides varying degrees of customization, services, pages and widgets for the doctor and patient.
Each doctor has a specific agenda for wanting a website. The tiers were created so that a doctor has a choice in how much time and money he wants to put into his own website. Providing high quality websites at low cost is a logical extension of the “ Right to Information “ for patients across India. The aim is to plug the gaps in doctor-patient communication which are present today.

How can you afford to do this so inexpensively when other companies charge so much more for a similar website?

I think the answer can be found in the processes we follow and the fanatical research we do to help us reduce costs and provide quality service. Using the right servers, the right technology, the right templates, and close follow up – all these help in providing a cost effective service which delights our doctors. In fact, as we scale up, we expect to become even better !

Are you doing this for Indian doctors only ?

No, of course not ! We are happy to create websites for doctors from all over the world ! The process is exactly the same - and when you convert this to dollars, the websites we offer are a steal for US physicians - this works out to only US $ 500 for our top-end website, with its own content management system !

What are your technical skills which allow you to do so?

A solid understanding of website design ; along with trained professionals in web 2.0 and software development ; and in house medical expertise are the skills which are vital to making this initiative a success.

What has the response of doctors been?

The response has been overwhelming ! Most doctors have an email address – and lots of them now want their own website !

What are the problems you have encountered ?

Doctors are very busy, and display a lot of inertia. They understand the importance of having a website, but are quite laidback and slow about providing the information we need to customize their website. This often means that getting the personal details we need from them for personalizing their own website can take quite some prodding and pushing ! We have simplified the process so much, so that all the doctor has to do is to fill in a simple one page form. This means his website can go live, without disrupting his busy schedule!

Interestingly, another problem is that doctors find it hard to believe that we can provide such a high quality product for such a low cost. Many of them think there must be a catch somewhere ! What they fail to realise is that our business model is based on creating a large number of specialised websites very quickly, so we make our profits in our volumes !


Do you think doctors are smart enough to be able to manage their own website after you publish this for them?

Yes, doctors are capable of handling their own site, but the big concern here again is the time they wish to spend on it. The younger generation is savvy enough to use social networking portals and blogs , and I predict these doctors will be happy to run their own websites, so they can information in real time and keep their website content fresh and alive.

What does a doctor have to do if he wants you to create a website for him?

Contact us on www.websitefordoctors.in or via email([email protected]) / telephone(020-32340204, 09821142465). We then email him templates according to his specialty; along with a one page form. For the basic site, all he needs to do is select his domain name, the template, fill in the form, and send it back to us along with his payment. Once we have these 3 items , we can publish his site. As you can imagine, the more expensive sites need more information and time taken to complete these depends upon the doctor and how quickly he provides us with the information he wants us to upload to his website. With our process, we have created sites for doctors without even having to meet them ! All our interaction was done through email or via the phone !

When you say his own domain name, what does this mean ?

I think this is the key special ingredient of our offering. With our services, the doctor can select his website's name, so he can custom design his website address ( also known as the domain name or url). Thus, if your name is Dr Deshmukh, and you are a pediatrician in Bombay, you can select a website name such as www.drdeshmukh.in or www.childdoc.in ! This gives you your own identity - and your personalised email address as well, so that it now becomes [email protected] rather than [email protected] !

Do you offer websites for other companies?

We specialize in providing sites for doctors, medical entities and healthcare companies only. We are not a general web site designing company and do not create non-healthcare sites.

What do you think the future holds for doctor’s websites?

The future looks promising as more and more doctors today are aware of the effect the web and mobiles are having on their practice . A website is an extension of their clinic into the digital domain. We are seeing a steady increase in orders, and are waiting for the tipping point where every doctor doesn’t just want one , but needs one to start his practice !

Can I see a demo of your work ?

Sure ! Check out www.ashutoshchaudhari.com !