Practo mobile app review: Staying fit at your fingers tips!

Innovation in medicine started a long time ago, dating back to the 1800s, devices such as the thermometer, microscope and kymographs came into existence as the doctors and scientists teamed up together to develop instruments such as these to help mankind survive. And at the genesis of the 20th century, new and advanced instruments are available to study, diagnose and treat the body. Point being, the nature of medicine has always been evolving with contemporary technology. A large number of digital innovations have revolutionised healthcare, one of such is the smartphone, with tracking daily sleep patterns and to even monitoring heart rate, the device has been a blessing when it comes to healthcare.

In this fast-paced rat race we call life, we often find ourselves with limited time on our hands when it comes to health, and it’s simply unacceptable. Even after scheduling an appointment with a doctor one has to wait at clinics, wait at labs for tests and even wait at medical stores to get the right medicines. Saving you from all the hassle is the Practo mobile app, where you can consult a verified doctor in less than 60 seconds online, and in as little as 15 minutes physically at a clinic or a hospital, here you can order and get medicines and lab tests done at your home with results delivered in 24-48 hours, better than resorting to Google for symptoms or self medicating, Practo is indeed practical and helpful when it comes to your health requirements.

Practo defines their objective as, “to simplify healthcare by making quality healthcare more accessible, affordable and convenient.” And from experience with the app, we agree. In this review we’ll be sharing our experience with the Practo mobile app, breaking down into three sections – the interface, the offerings and the security aspects.

User Interface

The user interface is simply perfect. The app has a white background with all the sections stacked neatly with separate boxes to book appointments, consult doctors online, getting lab tests and medicines delivered at home. The 'consult' section where you chat with doctors has a simple layout as any messenger app does, before starting the chat you have to type in your symptoms and health problems in order for the app to suggest what’s best for you.

Very lightweight and smooth, the app is very fluid and easy to understand for anybody. One can easily navigate through and out the app as the contents are stacked properly with bright coloured icons and accurate captions to understand what they stand for. The lightweight and minimalistic interface helps to switch between screens and features very smoothly giving you zero lag.

The Offerings

The Practo app is clearly designed for user convenience, which focuses mainly on the offerings for ‘at home’ and ‘out of home’ services. The at-home services include – consultancy, pharmacy and diagnostics services and cost-effective health plans through Practo Plus. Patients can get in touch with a verified doctor in 60 seconds and can chat/talk/video call with doctors as and when needed. Users can even get medicines delivered at their home and also get lab tests done from the comforts of their home. A qualified and verified phlebotomist comes home to collect blood samples at any time of your choice and transports the sample securely to the nearest Practo partnered NABL accredited lab. The final report reaches the user in 24 to 48 hours. The Practo Plus offers health plans which include free unlimited consultations with your own 24x7 family doctor, specialist in-clinic consultations, health check-ups, medicine delivery and other multiple benefits.

Now, the out of home services simplify the search for a doctor of your own choice, read about the doctor's experience, his/her qualifications and also by reading other patients experience with the doctor. Once decided, patients, can either call the clinic or book an appointment instantly online that enables them to see a doctor within 15 minutes or less waiting time. Some clinics or hospitals that buy Practo’s technology product - Prime, offer a range of benefits to patients like online instant booking 24/7, wait time as low as 15 minutes and assured meeting with the doctor selected.

On the offering front, Practo is a total hit by every means, from empowering people with information and inspiring them to manage their own health better. The app does make healthcare easily accessible!

Security

Practo is an ISO certified company and medical practice and patient data are protected with 256-bit encryption, where in many cases banks use only 128-bit encryption. The app has a multi-level security check clearance for both patients and doctors and with stringent data privacy policies, the app is hosted on HIPAA-compliant servers. Rest assured, what you share with the doctors on the app is totally safe.

Verdict

The Practo medical app makes sense for us in all kinds of way, whether be from the patient’s perspective or from a doctor. The app helps connect patients to doctors at the ease of touch on your smartphones; we believe this is innovation in medical and it is for the betterment of the current generation and beyond. As the quote goes, “A half doctor near is better than a whole one far away,” who better than the one you carry everywhere you go?