Interview: Mr Bhagwat Dhingra, MD and Founder of Medisage

Interview with Mr Bhagwat Dhingra, MD and Founder of Medisage

MediSage is a global knowledge platform designed to support doctors in remote areas through various engagement modes and services.

It offers an e-learning platform that serves as a reliable digital channel for doctors to access medical information across 15+ specialties conveniently.

As MediSage gains traction amongst doctors, companies, and healthcare organizations, the medical industry is increasingly utilizing it as a means to share crucial healthcare information with its professionals.

In a conversation with Mr Bhagwat Dhingra, MD and Founder of Medisage, talks about the company’s strategy, growth, and plans as well as some insights on the industry.

What inspired you to start MediSage?

Bhagwat Dhingra: Throughout my career, which spanned from being a Medical Representative to eventually becoming the CEO of Unichem Pharma, I had the opportunity to closely interact with healthcare professionals and provide them with updated information and knowledge.

When I retired from my role as CEO, I felt inspired to leverage my experience and embark on a digital venture, leading me to launch MediSage.

Our goal with Medisage is to ensure that patients in both urban and rural areas have equal access to high-quality healthcare.

One important aspect of achieving this is by providing up-to-date guidelines, surgical techniques, and diagnostic techniques in underserved markets.

By equipping doctors with the necessary treatment information, we can deliver high-quality care regardless of location.

Kindly brief us about Medisage, its specialization and the services it offers.

Bhagwat Dhingra: MediSage is a specialized digital platform for healthcare professionals worldwide. It collaborates with top healthcare brands, subject experts from 70 countries, and doctors from over 2,000 cities globally.

Notable clients of MediSage include P&G, Sun Pharma, and AstraZeneca, among others. MediSage offers a range of services to doctors.

It facilitates knowledge sharing among healthcare professionals through various formats, including case-based learning, videos, and live interactions.

The platform provides doctors in remote areas of India with access to evidence-based advice from international specialty experts through short, curated videos called Mediflix.

These videos address specific patient challenges. Doctors can also engage through podcasts and stay updated with news and updates from the latest international publications and peer-reviewed journals.

Additionally, MediSage enables doctors to connect with global specialists to discuss challenging cases and find solutions, all free of charge. This platform serves as a curated knowledge hub created by doctors for doctors.

What do you see as the future of digital engagement for doctors?

Bhagwat Dhingra: Doctors worldwide are embracing digital technologies to transform healthcare delivery and enhance patient interactions.

This includes using AI and other advancements to gather up-to-date information and improve their skills.

This shift towards digital platforms fosters greater engagement among the medical community. MediSage aims to be a knowledge partner for over one million doctors and healthcare professionals, including paramedics, in India.

Additionally, MediSage plans to expand its presence in the Asia-Pacific region. The platform is committed to providing content in various digital formats to facilitate convenient learning and upskilling opportunities for medical professionals.

How has MediSage evolved since it was founded?

Bhagwat Dhingra: Since its inception, MediSage has undergone significant evolution. It has developed into a vibrant community of doctors, enabling intercity digital collaboration among a global network of one lakh doctors.

The platform now offers a range of powerful digital tools that cater to various stakeholders, including hospitals, medical associations, and academia.

To enhance knowledge dissemination, MediSage organizes hybrid events aimed at educating doctors at the grassroots level, fostering a deeper understanding of medical concepts.

By integrating technology and innovative solutions, the platform aims to revolutionize the upskilling experience for doctors, providing them with convenient access to the MediSage platform and facilitating their learning of essential information.

How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected MediSage?

Bhagwat Dhingra: The Covid-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on MediSage. It has served as a catalyst for accelerated digital adoption within the medical community, which traditionally had been hesitant to embrace innovative technologies.

MediSage has played a significant role by leveraging digital health technologies to track the outbreak, facilitate patient diagnosis, and expedite the search for potential treatments and vaccines.

Furthermore, these technologies have contributed to the healthcare sector in several areas, including prevention, early detection of cases, ensuring treatment adherence, medication safety, and efficient documentation and data management.

The pandemic has highlighted the importance of digital tools in healthcare and has reinforced MediSage’s role as a leading platform in supporting the medical community during challenging times.

What are your plans for the future of MediSage?

Bhagwat Dhingra: Our plans for MediSage involve fostering exponential growth as a thriving ecosystem of doctors. In the next 3 years, we aim to transform learning and development for doctors across various countries with a strong focus on building a healthcare community that has abundant information sharing for anything healthcare.

We expect to grow at a breakneck speed and expand our footprint in India and other countries. MediSage has been growing strongly, building a very strong healthcare ecosystem not only in India but also in the Asia-Pacific markets.

We have been able to create this digital ecosystem, which has healthcare practitioners across multiple setups, such as government, private, medical students, hospitals, and rural doctors, all engaging strongly to build a very powerful and democratic community.

We believe that as we continue to provide them with better tools to learn and collaborate, it will help drive better patient care and outcomes across the world. MediSage organically grows today as the healthcare community sees it as an oasis of knowledge for them.

How much money did MediSage raise in the first round of institutional fundraising?

Bhagwat Dhingra: In its first round of institutional fundraising, MediSage secured $7 million (approximately Rs 53 crore) in funding, with Bessemer Venture Partners leading the investment round in April 2022.

How many rural doctors does MediSage connect with online?

Bhagwat Dhingra: MediSage connects with over 220,000 rural doctors online, providing them with customized, high-impact scientific detailing through its scalable Digi-MR solutions.

By disrupting the traditional physical Medical Representative (MR) model, MediSage has become the leading digital channel for rural doctors to access credible medical information across 15+ specialties within a single app.

Furthermore, the company is actively working on launching additional clinical support tools that will enable doctors to engage with patients throughout their care journey.

MediSage has made a significant impact by bridging the urban-rural divide, democratizing knowledge, and addressing the information gap in rural areas.

While urban markets have a large number of specialized doctors, rural markets primarily have general practitioners.

However, these rural doctors often face challenges due to limited information while handling critical cases such as heart failure, diabetes, and cancer.

With MediSage, rural doctors can now post cases on the platform and receive responses from experts in urban areas.

Additionally, they can access valuable information through videos, live interactions, and global journals available on the platform.

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