{"id":6208,"date":"2023-12-04T10:00:57","date_gmt":"2023-12-04T03:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trueblog.info\/blog\/?p=6208"},"modified":"2024-02-02T10:31:11","modified_gmt":"2024-02-02T03:31:11","slug":"thailands-first-telemedicine-platform-mordee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.true.th\/blog\/en\/thailands-first-telemedicine-platform-mordee\/","title":{"rendered":"Journey of Thailand\u2019s First Telemedicine Platform \u201cMorDee\u201d and Aspiration to Ease Country\u2019s Healthcare Burdens"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\u201cWhen I went to a hospital, I used to see plenty of people my grandparents\u2019 age lying down on hospital floors. Apparently, they must have got sleepy after traveling a long way from provinces just to see a medical specialist,\u201d Dr. Yosavee Niranvichaiya, <\/strong>who has studied engineering, <\/strong>recounted, \u201cThat\u2019s when I thought technology should be leveraged to improve Thailand\u2019s healthcare system\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>

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With a keen interest in the business world, Yosavee started his career at SCG. He initially worked for supply-chain process development. But after he received a scholarship to study finance and marketing at the Northwestern University\u2019s Kellogg School of Management in the United States, he stepped closer to business administration. Upon his return, he was assigned to handle merging and acquisition (M&A) at the time SCG\u2019s investment focus shifted from commodities to high-value added products. As his experience grew, he took charge of the company\u2019s venture capital or the mission of finding promising clean-technology startups.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u201cThanks to my job at SCG, I foresaw future technologies or what would be coming in the next 10 years. It\u2019s as if I rode a time machine into the future,\u201d Yosavee said, with his words reflecting his tech passion. While he immersed himself in the realm of startups, his wife was based at a hospital. The common scenes at her hospital made Yosavee see \u201copportunities\u201d to start a business that could also solve social problems. With that in mind, he and three other friends co-founded \u201cChiiwii\u201d in 2016. Their venture is arguably Thailand\u2019s first health-tech startup providing direct-to-consumer telemedicine services.<\/p>

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\u201cChiwii\u201d was developed based on insights of what elderly patients had endured as they made long journeys and braved through long queues at hospitals in hopes of seeing medical specialists. Most of these patients had travelled from provinces to Bangkok because their hometown lacked \u201cmedical experts\u201d. But a trip to a Bangkok hospital meant each medial visit took several days and they lost income during the period. Apart from that, given their age, such elderly patients in fact should have got a choice of accessing specialized medical help even while staying in their hometown.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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First Step of Thailand\u2019s Telemedicine<\/b><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Yosavee revealed that in the beginning, it was very difficult to promote \u201cChiiwii\u201d because Thailand\u2019s public-health sector and healthcare industry were very conservative. Given that telemedicine involves patients\u2019 safety, the government has implemented stringent supervision. Chiiwii, moreover, was launched at the time digital innovations were still very limited. So, when Chiiwii first came to the scenes, it was just a “web board” with doctors answering questions from users within 24 hours under the supervision of Chiiwii team.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u201cAt first, participating doctors were very cautious. They were worried because they could not see patients directly. They were afraid that any opinion given to patients online would lead to lawsuits. So far, we made it clear that the opinions given were by no means \u2018diagnoses\u2019. They were just \u2018basic advice\u2019,\u201d Yosavee explained. He said after doctors\u2019 attitudes towards Chiiwii improved, his team started to put more \u201cjigsaw pieces\u201d in the picture. The efforts finally paved the way for the birth of Thailand\u2019s health-tech ecosystem.<\/p>

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Yosavee said the next jigsaw piece was \u201cinsurance firm\u201d, which has pumped much money into the public-health system. Currently, his health-tech initiative has already connected with AIA and Allianz Ayudhya. It, in addition, has successfully forged partnerships with \u201cpharmacies\u201d. \u201cSmall chains of pharmacies\u201d were recruited first. \u00a0<\/p>

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\u201cAfter we brought doctors, payers, and pharmacies to Chiiwii, tractions improved and income started to flow in. So, it was opportune that we met True around that time. As True was interested in investing in Chiiwii, we decided to develop MorDee together,\u201d Yosavee said about the tough journey of Thailand\u2019s first health-tech startup.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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MorDee\u2019s Roadmap<\/b><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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MorDee aims to provide a complete range of telehealth services. In pursuit of its goal, it has developed an easy-to-use platform and recruited partners to create a comprehensive digital-health ecosystem. Today, MorDee has covered all touchpoints of patients. It thus can be said that MorDee has already visualized its Your Digital Health Assistant vision.<\/p>

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While MorDee has several target groups, its emphasis is on health-insurance customers and people who can get telemedicine services as employee benefits. As they can get reimbursed, they have more courage to try new things. The repeat customer rate of these groups is higher too partly because they are naturally early adopters of technologies.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Currently, MorDee has attracted more than 400,000 users. Repeat customer rate is also as high as 40 percent because this platform truly understands patients\u2019 needs. Recognizing the value of patients\u2019 time, MorDee ensures its users can consult a doctor within five minutes since their registration. Depending on their case, their counseling time may run for as long as 15 minutes for physical symptoms. If they need mental support, each session can last up to 30 minutes. MorDee doctors will issue online prescriptions. Patients can then buy medicines via the same app. Once they click \u201cpurchase\u201d, their medicines will be delivered to them within 90 minutes. So, users can be rest assured that seeking treatments via MorDee will take them no longer than two hours each time.<\/p>

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MorDee plans to expand its services from treatments to preventive medicine, which focuses on preventing \u2013 rather than treating \u2013 illnesses in the future. With such move, the platform looks set to have an even wider base of users and enjoy higher service-usage frequency while improving Thais\u2019 healthcare.<\/p>

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\u201cIn my view, HealthTech will soon reach a turning point. Backed by growing adoption, it is definitely on an upward trend. Health-tech benefits are huge. Cost is also much lower when compared with a physical trip to a hospital. So, I really think that health tech will finally become a norm and its industry will be worth over 100 billion baht.” Yosavee shared his vision.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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In my view, HealthTech will soon reach a turning point. Backed by growing adoption, it is definitely on an upward trend. Health-tech benefits are huge. Cost is also much lower when compared with a physical trip to a hospital. So, I really think that health tech will finally become a norm and its industry will be worth over 100 billion baht.” Yosavee shared his vision.<\/b><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Future of Thailand\u2019s Telemedicine<\/b><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\u201cWe have already put key jigsaw pieces together for Thailand\u2019s Health Tech. On our platform now are doctors, insurance companies, pharmacies and even laboratories. But we need to do more for the industry to roar ahead. We need to engage regulators more and promote the right understanding,\u201d the founder of MorDee said. According to him, the government has already accorded more importance to Health Tech and started rolling out relevant regulations. These regulatory guidelines on telemedicine and Health Tech are positive signs because players will have a clearer view of what they can do in the industry and what they can introduce in the future. While the regulation of Health Tech industry is slower than that of FinTech, it is clear that Health Tech industry will move ahead fast in the near future.<\/p>

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However, Yosavee emphasized that \u201ctelemedicine\u201d could by no means replace all other medical services. It will just complement the country\u2019s healthcare sector by efficiently improving people\u2019s access to medical services and lowering the cost of patient\u2019s care.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Solving Thailand\u2019s Healthcare Problems<\/b><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Thailand\u2019s public healthcare is mired with several structure problems. Apart from brain drain, some state hospitals have been struggling financially. Yosavee trusts that health tech will make a difference here. He pointed out that because state hospitals were overcrowded with patients, their staff could not use existing resources to meet all the demand. Such problem in fact can be prevented if patients with unserious conditions do not flock to state hospitals.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u201cTo say the truth, Thai doctors rank among the best in Asia. But our health-tech industry still lags behind that of our neighbors like Singapore and Indonesia. To keep pace with our strong neighbors, we need proper support from both the government and private sectors,\u201d Yosavee said.<\/p>

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There is \u201ca gap\u2019 that the Thai government must fill.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhen I went to a hospital, I used to see plenty of people my grandparents\u2019 age lying down on hospital floors. Apparently, they must have got sleepy after traveling a long way from provinces just to see a medical specialist,\u201d Dr. Yosavee Niranvichaiya, who has studied engineering, recounted, \u201cThat\u2019s when I thought technology should be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6193,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[147,288],"tags":[597,531,423],"class_list":["post-6208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-en","category-the-people-en","tag-mordeebyyourside-en","tag-mordee-en","tag-the-people-en"],"acf":[],"author_data":{"id":2,"name":"True Blog Team","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/09ce4bad220763db03bedaef2d0f675dea27f54b224f90103bc7d9e8cf43f1c9?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.true.th\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.true.th\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.true.th\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.true.th\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.true.th\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6208"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.true.th\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18616,"href":"https:\/\/www.true.th\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6208\/revisions\/18616"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.true.th\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.true.th\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.true.th\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.true.th\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}