Initial medical advice on mobile

Tuesday, 17 July 2012 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel in partnership with Sri Lanka Medical Association has launched a revolutionary advisory service allowing Mobitel customers around the country to obtain initial medical advice from doctors who are members of the Sri Lanka Medical Association over the phone.

Mobitel ‘Doc Call’ enables Mobitel customers to contact doctors through a Mobitel portal and receive immediate initial medical advice when in need. This unique service by the National Mobile Service Provider Mobitel, allows customers to contact doctors by simply dialling 247.

“As the National Mobile Service Provider we are proud to be the first to introduce this unique facility to the Sri Lankan market. ‘Doc Call’ provides Mobitel customers with the convenience of speaking directly to doctors who are members of the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) to get initial medical advice. The service makes access to doctors, convenient for Mobitel customers around the island. The introduction of this service further affirms our brand promise ‘We care. Always’.” said Mobitel CEO Lalith De Silva speaking on the introduction of the ‘Doc Call’ service.

The ‘Doc Call’ Medical Advice service is available 24 hours, seven days a week. After dialling 247, the customer is connected to the Mobitel Doc Call System where customers can select their preferred language for initial Medical Advice. Customers are then assisted by a call centre agent who will check the availability of a doctor and connect him or her to speak directly with a doctor.

The fixed fee for ‘Doc Call’ is Rs. 150 per medical advice and the charge for dialling 247 is Rs. 1 per minute plus taxes. The total fee for the call (medical advice fee plus 247 dialling charges) will be added to the monthly bill of post-paid customers or deducted from the credited amount for pre-paid users.

Commenting on this landmark introduction by Mobitel, Sri Lanka Medical Association President Prof. Vajira H. W. Dissanayake said, “We are happy to partner with Mobitel to bring a service that would be useful to our patients. Such services are available in other parts of the world, and the launch of this service in Sri Lanka is indeed timely. Health is considered the wealth of a Nation. With Mobitel we are now able to bring the best preliminary medical advice to a patient when needed. Sri Lanka Medical Association is fully supportive of new technology to deliver medical services and this is our way of caring for the patients we serve. We congratulate Mobitel for delivering a technological solution with ‘Care’ as its foundation.”