ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani health care start-up called Find My Doctor is conducting $12 rapid coronavirus tests that deliver results in 15 minutes, the firm’s chief executive said, adding that 20,000 people in the cities of Karachi and Hyderabad had already been tested by the company.
Find My Doctor connects patients with nearby doctors from a pool of 150 health care workers and allows them to book an appointment. The service is already popular for coronavirus testing in Karachi and Hyderabad, founder and chief executive officer Saad Siddiqui said, and had been recently launched in Islamabad, with Lahore and Multan launches in the works for next month.
Pakistan has so far recorded 279,866 infections and 5,999 deaths from the novel coronavirus.
In this undated photo, a doctor collects the blood sample of an elderly man for a rapid coronavirus test in Karachi, Pakistan. [Photo courtesy: Find My Doctor]
Molecular diagnostic tests are the most common form of testing in the South Asian nation and rely on samples collected from patients using nasal swabs. The samples are then analyzed using a method called polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which detects viral RNA. These tests can be highly accurate, in some instances detecting the virus in 95% of cases. But results can take up to 48 hours or more to be delivered and one test costs up to Rs10,000, or $60.
Rapid coronavirus tests that use blood samples from a finger prick can deliver much quicker results.
“We have tested over 20,000 individuals so far for the coronavirus in Karachi and Hyderabad alone,” CEO Siddiqui said, adding that Find My Doctor was working in collaboration with Getz Pharma, a multinational pharmaceutical company, to carry out the rapid tests.
In this undated photo, a blood sample is placed on a rapid testing kit in Karachi, Pakistan. [Photo courtesy: Find My Doctor]
“Our team simply pricks the index finger of a patient and drops the blood sample on the rapid testing kit to get the result in less than 15 minutes,” he said. “Our doctors and health care professionals are also trained to take a sample for the lab test if necessary and deliver the results at home.”
Siddiqui said the method was “quite reliable” and had been used in many developed countries like Germany, Australia, Italy and China to carry out mass testing drives.
Last month, the US Food and Drug Administration granted Emergency Use Authorization to Virtality Diagnostics for a rapid coronavirus 2019 antibody test which detects both IgG and IgM antibodies with 98.5% accuracy. The diagnostic test, which requires a drop of blood from a finger prick, delivers results in 15 minutes, according to the company.
Telehealth, or telemedicine, refers to technology that includes online consultations, cloud-based medical records, remote monitoring of patients and use of artificial intelligence to screen for diseases.
Around the world, the coronavirus crisis has prompted countries to ease regulations on remote medical treatment, creating an opening for tech companies and offering a glimpse of the future of health care.
Find My Doctor, which charges Rs800 or $4.8, for a routine check-up at home, was first launched in 2016 but Siddiqui said it had picked up momentum during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We want to eliminate the hassle and cost of patients going to the hospitals and clinics for treatment of different ailments,” Siddiqui said. “We are also trying to create jobs for young doctors and nurses through our platform, besides providing the best available facilities to our clients.”
