Delhi-based health-tech startup My Family First intends to open 500 Digitally Enabled Smart Health (DESH) clinics in rural areas across the country in the next two years to connect patients in remote villages and towns with medical specialists in the metro cites. The company has already opened 30 DESH clinics across Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Madya Pradesh through the franchising route.

The DESH Clinics comprise India’s first integrated telehealth service. These use digital technology and IoT-based devices to directly connect doctors in cities with patients in the rural hinterland, solving the problem of scarcity of qualified doctors in villages and semi-urban regions. 

The DESH Clinics are physical-digital hybrid clinics with the required physical infrastructure and support systems, combined with smart, connected diagnostic devices and an app to support video / audio consultation with doctors who may be located hundreds of miles away. 

Ajay Sharma, Co-founder and COO, DESH Clinics, “We are on an aggressive growth path and have chosen the franchise model for rapid expansion. We would be opening 500 DESH clinics by the end of 2023 at the rate of 15-20 new clinics each month. Anyone with qualifications in pharmacy, medical lab technology, GNM, ANM, and trained health workers can own and run a DESH clinic with an investment of only Rs 2 lakhs. We have also launched a starter pack for new entrepreneurs. Anyone having a suitable space for consultation and a smartphone can start DESH Sahyogi clinics with an investment of only Rs 5,000."