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Grameen launches all-day health-line in Bangladesh |
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By Alec Barton
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27 Nov 2006 16:35 GMT |
Contracts,
Telemedicine, Bangladesh, Asia-Pacific: GrameenPhone
Ltd is working in cooperation with Telemedicine Reference Centre Limited (TRCL)
to launch an electronic health information and service known as Healthline.
The new service will be open to all GrameenPhone subscribers. What is intended is an interactive telephone consultation
between the GrameenPhone caller and a licensed physician who will work from a
medical call centre.
The centre will initially be able to take 15 calls at any one
time although the capacity for more calls will be there. Emergency and
non-emergency advice will be on call. Physicians will be in place to take calls
at any time of the day or night, 24/7. They in turn will be part of a database
of 250 diagnostic centres, more than 800 hospitals and clinics, and more than
8,000 registered doctors.
In support of the new system, subscribers will be able to
find information on various drugs and pharmacies, on medical facilities and the
doctors attached to them, and results from laboratory tests and
recommendations, not to mention the standard form of medical consultation and
advice.
TRCL Managing Director Sikder M Zakir has valued the
current market value for the new telephony-based service at US$50 million along
with a 6%-7% growth rate. GrameenPhone’s Deputy Managing Director Frank Fodstad
estimates that almost 10 million of his company’s subscribers will benefit from
the new facility: all that is required is for them to dial 789 from a
GrameenPhone mobile.
A tariff for GrameenPhone mobile subscribers has been
established:
- subscriber one-off application processing fee - US$2.82;
- subscriber annual membership fee - US$4.22;
- subscriber call charge for the first three minutes -
US$0.21;
- subscriber call charge for any subsequent minute - US$0.07;
and
- subscriber charge for receiving radiology/pathology tests
to mobile by SMS - US$0.14.
more info: www.grameenphone.com
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Date: 5th - 9th October 2009