Introducing Doctor On Call

In today’s world with a pandemic threatening millions of lives, healthcare services are in high demand around the world.

Sudan, which already has a fragile healthcare system, is struggling to deal with the pandemic with lacks of quarantine hospitals, beds, oxygen and other medical necessities.

Those at home, whether suffering from COVID-19 or other diseases and illnesses, avoid visiting local hospitals with the current state of the country’s dire healthcare crisis.

Consequently, there are new startups, aiming to provide basic medical services at the comfort of your home. Doctor On Call (DOC) is the first Sudanese application, providing home medical services from home consultations, medical care for newborns and mothers, nursing, laboratory checks, to physiotherapy. DOC currently has more than 300 medical personnel enroled on its platform.

DOC was founded in 2018 by 32-year-old entrepreneur and doctor, Abdulsamad Doka. Born in Saudi Arabia, Doka settled in Sudan in 2000 and later enrolled in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Juba in 2006. He graduated in September 2013 and became a licensed Sudanese physician. As he started to prepare himself for advanced medical training abroad, he began establishing the medical and healthcare startup, Doctor On Call (DOC). 

500 Words Magazine interviews Dr Abdulsamad Doka about Doctor On Call, running a startup, Sudan’s healthcare system, dealing with COVID-19 and more.

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What inspired you to establish Doctor On Call (DOC)?

As medical professionals, we saw an increasing gap between healthcare providers and seekers. This was of course coupled with an overwhelmed public healthcare system burdened by years of neglect, lack of attention and resources. We felt like we had to do something.

Tell us more about the DOC team and how they came together to create the DOC app.

A truly great team of guys. This is manifested by the persistence and success the service has witnessed since its early studies in 2017. Three doctors and an engineer make up the co-founding team behind Doctor on call. 

As I recall, it was a humble gathering in which the idea was put about suddenly, followed by swift consensus from the attending individuals and the rest is history.

How does DOC work – from the doctor’s side and from the patient’s side?

The service is a smart electronic platform, namely two smartphone apps bearing the same name as the service and a 24/7 hotline 6903.

Patients and clients, as the service tends to ill and healthy individuals alike request our services through our app or hotline to which a response by the nearest, relevant medical personnel is prompted. This medical personnel then reaches the location of the patient or client together with necessary equipment and medications and delivers the requested service. 

How are the doctors and nurses selected to provide care?

The process begins with downloading the medical personnel app, which triggers a response from the DOC in the form of a phone call, this contact may reserve an interview at our headquarters. Formal papers highlighting competencies and eligibility may be sent in soft or hard copy forms. Selected personnel then sign a contract and are given a set of equipment, consumables and devices rendering them ready to receive requests for medical services. The whole process is closely monitored and well documented in both our control panel and servers and home visits are logged in the patient’s app and electronic health record.

DOC offers various services from home consulting to nursing to physiotherapy. What are the most in-demand services?

Two services stand out here, doctor/nurse visits and on-site laboratory requests.

What are some of the challenges you face?

I might need more space to answer that one. An interesting challenge is, of course, maintaining affordability of our services to the Sudanese community. We want to go mainstream and disrupt the industry but rising operational costs continue to haunt us in every step. I believe this can be mitigated by support from public authorities and medical insurance firms.

Tell us some of your success stories – whether of doctors or patients who’ve benefited from your platform.

We have medical personnel who have become local heroes being requested specifically and in a constant fashion. Other personnel have dramatically increased their income allowing them to improve their lifestyle and pursue their dreams.

We have successfully launched our own radio show called Doctor On Call as well, which provides fruitful medical content in a digestible, interesting and entertaining form.

Our doctors have treated hundreds of Sudanese families suffering from deadly COVID-19 infections with great outcomes.

Patients suffering from other potentially debilitating illnesses due to overcrowded hospitals and clinics during the pandemic have also benefited greatly.

Our newly established call centre is providing great opportunities for young women doctors and a chance to work from home while providing sound medical consults for our patients and key technical support for our hard working personnel in the field.

How does DOC and platforms like it benefit Sudan’s struggling healthcare system?

Home/on-site healthcare and other allied services alleviate a great burden imposed on both the public and private healthcare sector by handling the primary healthcare for a growing Sudanese population. Utilising smart solutions and technology, we have already proven it is possible and can be successful.

We urge people and families to try the service and become part of this revolution. As they do not need to take long drives or wait in lines or even go through unnecessary paper work to acquire basic, decent healthcare in the comfort and dignity of their homes. It really makes sense.

How has the pandemic impacted DOC?

It accelerated our launch to be honest because we had to step in quickly. This, of course, was a difficult decision because a number of key elements within the service were still being tested and prepared but looking back it was the right decision because we provided much needed support to many families in need of on-site medical services.

We are providing COVID-19 patients with packages that include doctor assesments and nurse care with treatment and continous follow up.

For more information, visit doc-sd.com or find them on social media on Facebook, Instagram @docsudan or Twitter @Docsudan. Download the Doctor On Call app from Google Store or contact DOC through their hotline 6903.