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| Sunday, 1 September 2002 |
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E-Channelling to reach more customers Patients will be able to channel a doctor of their choice through a supermarket or communications centre in the near future. "This is our next step," said CEO E-Channelling Limited, Sidath Chandrasena. E-Channelling, Sri Lanka's only true e-commerce company, has brought convenience to channelling as patients can now channel a doctor through Sampath Bank, on the mobile phone or via the Internet, which gives convenience, efficiency and certainty, he added. Chandrasena said the channelling sector in Sri Lanka was earlier characterised by inconvenience, imperfect information and inefficiency. E-Channelling brought order, convenience and efficiency to this sector by introducing a revolutionary centralised channel booking system. "At present, we are connected to four hospitals - Nawaloka, Durdans, Asiri and Oasis. Sixteen hospitals and nursing homes will be online by June 2003," he said. The channelling services offered by private healthcare establishments in Colombo currently accommodate at least 7,000 patients daily. The channelling industry in Colombo is estimated at almost Rs 3 million per day and is expected to grow by 10 per cent. "Our ambition is to become a premier healthcare service enabler. Once our channelling operations are well established, we plan to introduce additional services such as channelling of doctors at government hospitals, appointments for tertiary healthcare (i.e. physiotherapists, speech therapists, dentists, ophthalmologists), linking general practitioners and their home practices to the system, SMS-based notification services, insurance claim processing, hospital bill payment system, medical information and advice maintained by the medical profession, online repository of patient medical records and a portal dedicated to doctors, so they can manage their practice. "Being a concept that benefits society as a whole, we believe that it has the potential to succeed in other countries too," said Chandrasena. The eChannelling concept has great potential in any country that lacks a coherent national healthcare system. "Our ultimate vision is to network the world's healthcare sector and to be the global online booking system for healthcare services," he said. At present, the company employs five persons. The workforce will not exceed 10 within the first five years of operation. This is largely achieved by outsourcing all non-core activities. Minimising overheads in this manner will ensure that transaction fees remain competitive. "We are the first technology company to be listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange and our main shareholders are Millennium Information Technologies, Ayojana Fund, Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation and DFCC Bank," said Chandrasena. |
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| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
