The internet has revolutionized consumer choices like never before. Traditional retail stores have discovered the potential of online shopping. Taxis are booked through apps and food is ordered over a click of a button. One can compare products, prices and the best stores in a blink. And in Bengaluru, services such as Medyog are extending the consumer experience from everyday lifestyle choices to critical sectors such as affordable healthcare. Last week I had written about Hospital Ratings, but did you know that you can rate diagnostic labs as well ?

How often have we been advised tests to be conducted at a lab referred by the doctor, irrespective of the cost or the quality? And if left on their own, patients are hounded by questions like where do they go to conduct the test, which diagnostic center is better, how much would it cost and so on.

“The Indian diagnostic setup is currently driven mainly by doctor referrals and the user has very little choice in the whole process, except for perhaps preventive healthcare. Through Medyog we aim to restructure the industry from doctor driven to a doctor-patient driven system,” says Pranat, CEO of Medyog.

Not only can you book appointments through the site, the diagnostic centers are also reviewed and rated by real users, helping you make a real informed choice. Samples may even be collected from home and reports delivered online.  One can even maintain a personal repository of medical records online and create multiple profiles for family members under a single account. Wanting to provide the best user experience, Medyog also offers discounts and best deals across 5000 tests and packages.  While there is no convenience or registration fee, it retains a small fraction of the discounts offered by the partner centers and the major chunk of it is provided to the users.

Currently, it has partnered with more than 20 diagnostic labs in the city, each accredited by NABL. Every request is verified and then directed to the partner lab along with customer details. The system is transparent and convenient to say the least.

But what perhaps is the standout feature of this initiative is its health check facility- The Smart Preventive. Going a step beyond regular testing, Medyog puts together customized health plans and packages based on the users’ past records, family history, symptoms etc. It’s the complete health check experience at your fingertips.

Do you think such services ought to exist in every city?