Mobile app helps people find doctors in Pakistan

KARACHI:  A medical emergency can happen at any time, but now technological advancements can help you tackle this. A new mobile application ‘Marham’ developed by Ehsan Imam is changing the way people in Pakistan find doctors.

In a conversation with Geo News, Imam said people kept on asking him where they could find doctors to help with their medical issues.

Imam’s inspiration to develop the application came from a tragedy. In April 2007 his father was admitted to a hospital in Lahore for a liver ailment. The doctor treating Ehsan Imam’s father said he was out of danger despite the medical report indicating internal bleeding. The doctor did not accept the findings of the medical report and three days later Ehsan Imam’s father passed away.

Being a technologist who has made several applications around the world, this tragedy inspired Ehsan Imam to develop a mobile application which would let people find doctors related to the medical condition they were suffering from.

When asked what are the main issues associated with healthcare in Pakistan, Imam replied the main issue in Pakistan is people do not have basic awareness of the disease and a way to reach the right doctor.  Imam added that the first step was making a Facebook group where people could ask questions about any disease and have discussions with a panel of doctors.

When you download the Marham app you can find health experts with their particular icons. At present, Marham is working in 12 major cities of Pakistan including Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.  

According to Ehsan Imam, Marham has been downloaded by 30,000 people and over 10,000 appointments with doctors have been made.