Healthcare is a hot button issue in pretty much any country you could name. Indeed, if you listen for long enough to a discussion on healthcare, you’ll hear one person say that “we” – meaning their country – should be doing it more like another named country, You can then go online and find people in that country talking about their healthcare and its own drawbacks, and pointing to how it is done better elsewhere. The bottom line is, healthcare is an issue that concerns people. They fear that they will lose theirs, or believe that they should have more choice, or any other of a number of healthcare-related worries.
As with so many sectors, the growth of the internet has allowed for innovative solutions to be offered to healthcare end users. With the current interest around eCommerce in a wider sense, it’s worth asking the question of whether you could offer a healthcare-related eCommerce service that would work well for people in need of additional healthcare options. In light of the pandemic, it’s understandable that people might want to have services that they can access from home. So if you have an interest in healthcare business, the following opportunities might well interest you.
A GP online service
Let’s start with the obligatory disclaimer that some health issues will need to be dealt with face-to-face with a doctor, in person. Nonetheless, if you’ve had enough experience of medical appointments, you’ll know that on occasion, self-reporting of symptoms is enough to make a diagnosis or at least narrow things down to a few manageable possibilities. This makes an online GP service a very useful option for people who can’t easily go to see their doctor (patients who are housebound, self-isolating or who need an appointment at short notice, for example).
A good online (or app-based) GP service can even be affiliated to a medicine delivery service, so patients can have their issue diagnosed and receive a prescription at home.
Medical equipment
For people with long-term conditions, often a series of initial consultations ends with them being empowered to manage their own treatment at home. Accessing the necessary equipment is not always easy, and an eCommerce store which deals with medical supplies can be a very useful option. If you do some research, it’s easy enough to find out what people need to buy. If you can source those items wholesale, call on the likes of Nestify to manage your site hosting, and know what the laws are regarding the sale of medical equipment in your jurisdiction, then selling health supplies can be a solid business idea.
Online counseling and therapy
To be 100% clear, this is not a course on which you should embark unless you are a qualified therapist. However, if you have the necessary accreditation, offering online counseling is an opportunity to help lots of people who have limited options nearby. Few of us can claim to have perfect mental health 100% of the time, and offering an option for people to get help in a way which is convenient for them makes sense. If you’re someone with good listening skills, then counseling can be a great way to help people. You can allow service users to pay online and create a simple booking system using eCommerce tools, and include an online form which allows them to specify more details before dialing in.