BookDoc Seeks Strategic Partnerships for Expansion Plan

With the COVID-19 pandemic mandating social distancing as the new norm, there has been a clear shift in the methods through which people seek healthcare services. While previously, physical consultations have always been considered superior, many are now accepting digital or virtual options as an alternative to obtaining quality healthcare services while minimising their risk of COVID-19 infection.

BookDoc, an award-winning company currently present in 5 countries (Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, S.A.R., China and Thailand) and 20 cities, is a digital healthcare platform offering its users an end-to-end, comprehensive solution to healthcare at their fingertips. It prides itself on being one of the few profitable start-ups, having turned profits since the past 2 or 3 years since it was established 6 years ago in 2015. To leverage on this and with digital healthcare being a field rich with expansion opportunities in the current landscape, BookDoc is therefore now seeking to establish further strategic partnerships or explore investment opportunities with major local or international partners, particularly from players or conglomerates involved in the financial (insurance and banking) and healthcare (hospital groups and clinic chains) industries. With the addition of new valuable partnerships, it is BookDoc's intention to reach greater heights by bringing its healthcare solutions to the regional and international stage.

BookDoc has been recognised with multiple awards both domestically and internationally — it is the only company in Malaysia and health tech company in Asia listed in CNBC Upstart 100 List 2019, and has won multiple awards and accolades since its establishment in 2015, most recently winning the Healthcare Fintech Alliance (HFA) Innovation Challenge, Asia, a competition jointly organized by Pfizer, Alibaba and Fintech Academy to recognize and reward outstanding health technology companies in Asia; and being entered into the Malaysia Book of Records for the largest participation in its BookDoc Merdeka (Independence Day) Virtual Run. BookDoc was also selected as one of the 50 success stories for Digitization in ASEAN, won the ASEAN Business Awards 2019 (Thailand) and 2020 (Vietnam), won Frost & Sullivan awards for 4 consecutive years including being named as one of the most innovative healthcare technology startups in the region, and was featured on major news portals such as Forbes, Fortune, Bloomberg, Bain Research Report, and Newsweek.

BookDoc also boasts a strong track record of partnerships in Malaysia, often collaborating with non-governmental organizations and academic institutions, as well as with many local government ministries and agencies. During the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, BookDoc took swift action by partnering with the Malaysian Ministry of Health (MOH) to offer its COVID-19 digital mobile platform, including the following:

• Free virtual health advisories to the public;

• Uberisation of ordering the Covid-19 screening test;

• Access to the latest Covid-19 updates and news;

• Webinars with medical experts from the MOH, including live sessions where viewers can interact with the speakers as well as recordings of previous sessions for those who missed them live; and

• An online appointment system for over 600 government health clinics (Klinik Kesihatan), and virtual clinic services (especially for follow-up cases) to enable teleconsultations where in-person consultations are not required, to avoid crowding and social distancing purposes.

Apart from tackling COVID-19, BookDoc has also continued advocating for public health and wellness generally via its further collaboration with the MOH and other strategic partners including Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and University Malaya to introduce its mQuit service to encourage Malaysian smokers to quit smoking and to help smokers to connect with various facilities and healthcare professionals. BookDoc has also been endorsed by several ministries including the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) on various matters, and also has a long-running partnership with the Employees' Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) on the Activ@Work initiative to encourage fitness among government servants and employees. It has also been active in terms of taking private Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, including collaborating with the Special Olympics, National Kidney Foundation Malaysia and the National Cancer Society Malaysia.

Currently, BookDoc offers 7 comprehensive features covering the full spectrum of healthcare, namely Search & Book (an online booking platform seamlessly integrated with apps for navigation, transport and accommodation), Activ (users can earn rewards and discounts redeemable across over 5,200 offline and online locations), Marketplace (a premium e-Commerce platform with a variety of health services at discounted prices), Tele-Consult (users can choose to have a virtual consultation via text or video with a healthcare professional), Events & News (information on the latest health updates and events in the user's area), Health Coaching (users can reach out to BookDoc's in-house nutritionists and dietitians for dietary advice to achieve their desired goals) and Employee Benefits (a digitalised platform for employers to manage their employees' medical and flexi benefits).