Tonic, a digital health service

The health sector of Bangladesh has come a long way since its independence. Over the last two decades in particular, it has made strong progress in increasing life expectancy, reducing child and maternal mortality rates and decreasing fertility.

Beyond the glitzy private hospitals of Dhaka, Government initiatives have vastly improved the quality and availability of health services in rural areas, through community clinics.

While the progresses made so far has been remarkable, there is still much more to achieve. With changing lifestyle and eating habits non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are becoming a new challenge for the health sector. The rise of NCDs such as diabetes and heart diseases in Bangladesh has been very alarming and is indicative of the challenges ahead.

In this background Telenor Health, a subsidiary of Telenor Group, in association with GrameenPhone, the largest mobile operator of Bangladesh, launched Tonic, a digital health service recently. Sajid Rahman, CEO of Telenor Health was interviewed about Tonic and its services.

Q: What prompted Telenor to venture into the health sector of Bangladesh?

Ans: Telenor is present in Bangladesh for almost two decades and part of the country's development process through GrameenPhone. As a technology company we know that digital technology can play an important role in reducing service delivery gaps in many important sectors. Health is one such key areas where mobile and digital technology can make a difference. This promoted us to introduce Tonic in Bangladesh market.

Q: From what perspective you think health service through mobile will click?

Ans: If you observe the general trend, mobile is becoming the center of our digital life. We now consume most of the information from mobile and started accessing a number of services which use mobile as a platform.  We believe this trend will continue and accessing health service through mobile will be a logical choice.

Tonic is also the result of an extensive research and development process that included input from global health experts, local medical practitioners, and everyday people. We aim to be relevant to a broad cross-section of Bangladeshi society and cover a range of wellness and health needs. Therefore we believe that Tonic will work for the people of this country.

Q: What Tonic is actually going to offer?

Ans: Tonic was developed with two things in mind. First, to provide increased access to healthcare, and second, to provide aspirational education and support for Bangladeshis to pro-actively combat illness through diet and lifestyle.

Tonic members receive four benefits: "Tonic Jibon" offers tips and information via SMS, web, and Facebook to help members live a healthy life by eating well, staying active, and keeping mentally refreshed on a daily basis; "Tonic Daktar" provides members  access to knowledgeable and friendly advice from a doctor with just a phone call, 24 hours a day, seven days a week;  "Tonic Discounts" helps to make hospital care more accessible by extending discounts of up to 40% on different fees at over 50 popular hospitals across Bangladesh; and the "Tonic Cash" service offers members BDT 500 in cash to assist in covering costs if they are hospitalised for three nights or more.

Any GrameenPhone customer can join Tonic for free via USSD at *789#, online at www.mytonic.com, by calling 789 or by visiting their local GP retailer. A user only needs to join once, however, to retain membership for the next month a member must simply use his/her GrameenPhone SIM for a chargeable phone call, SMS, or data pack.

Tonic Jibon content, access to Tonic Discounts, and Tonic Cash coverage is completely free for members. The Tonic Daktar service is available at an affordable rate of BDT 5 per minute plus taxes.

Q: Don't you think medical consultation over phone is a bit risky?

Ans: GrameenPhone was first to introduce a medical helpline in Bangladesh and running the service without problem ever since; Tonic Daktar is going to take the service to a new height. As the name suggests, all our doctors are registered physicians and certified from reputed  medical colleges of our country. They are following a strict medical protocol when providing consultation to our members. We however always direct our members to nearby hospitals in case of emergency cases. Tonic Daktar aims to bridge the gap where a person needs to talk to a doctor but do not have access to one. We believe this will significantly improve access to health care in the market.

Q: How many hospitals and doctors are involved in Tonic?

Ans. Tonic has partnership with over 50 popular hospitals in the country where Tonic members will get up to 40% discount in fees and get other services. We will continue to expand this partnership.