NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

With over 22 million non-resident Indians (NRIs) sending $76 billion annually to support their family’s financial needs back home, India is by far the largest remittance market in the world.

This Singapore-based startup is saying that they could do something more for NRI’s to help them extend their assistance to their families in the home country. Their medical appointment portal, OurHealthMate, can help their families find doctors, book health check-ups or consultation for family members while they pay for the services directly from anywhere in the world without the family worrying about the cost or the process.

“What we do is essentially help them (NRIs) pay for the healthcare needs of their family members in India directly to the doctor or the hospital,” said Ayush Bharti, CTO, OurHealthMate.

In most remittance nations, Bharti said it is a fact that the money is usually not used by the beneficiaries for the original purpose it was intended for. There is also almost no facility for sending very small amounts such as medical consultation fees.

Ourhealthmate’s service is basically anchored on the fact that families in India have healthcare needs that a relative overseas usually takes care of and the facility makes it easy for everyone.

Abhinav Krishna, Co-Founder and CEO, OurHealthMate, said the payer is also given a feedback of the whole process either through SMS, email notification or they can log into the system to view the medical report. “They will know whether a follow-up consultation is necessary and whether or not the doctors have further recommendations,” he said.