Teo Sardá
Chief Development Officer, Top Doctors
E-health has been revolutionised in recent years, with patients and health providers increasingly utilising online platforms as the most effective way to ensure patients receive the specialist care they need when confronted with health problems.
Aglobal healthcare portal is at the forefront of the e-health revolution, supporting patients and healthcare providers in achieving the best specialist care.
E-health approach to all-around patient care
Teo Sardá, the chief development officer of international company Top Doctors says: “When we launched in the UK in 2017, we were aware that the private health sector was growing fast. It was therefore a good moment for our services to be adopted in the UK.”
He adds that: “We had the major benefit of utilising our excellent platform in the USA. The platform has identified, audited and selected over 3,724 expert medical specialists, clinics, psychologists and dentists in the UK.”
“We have created a 360-degree ecosystem designed to aid patients and doctors. For example, we are producing an app which allows patients to access their medical records. We also aid clinics and hospitals by advancing the digitalisation of the entire care process through the use of cutting-edge technology. This will increase productivity and efficiency, while also maximising the value of specialised services — from helping to reduce patient waiting times to providing them with technical support by connecting their management systems with our core technology.”
Matching patients to the best specialist for them
Sardá explains: “All the technology we provide is aimed at ensuring the patient gets the right specialist, on the first time. So, on the one hand, our carefully selected specialists and their clinics and hospitals are able to promote their expertise through our portal. On the patient side, we provide clear, accurate information on the skills and expertise of the specialist, so the patient can make the best decision for them.”
As part of their data service, Top Doctors collects objective information on the specialist’s career, the services provided at medical centres and the level of excellence of hospitals — as well as, of course, compiling patient reviews. The site also facilitates online bookings, digital appointments and prescription services.
He adds that: “When someone searches for a specialist, they see — on average — three different specialists in order to get the complete pathology of their disease. In our case, 90% of the time, we find the perfect specialist for a patient the first time around.” This reduces the level of uncertainty for the patient when choosing their medical service provider and saves vital time.
90% of the time, we find the perfect specialist for a patient the first time around.
Rigorous recruitment of top specialists
Sardá details the rigorous selection process that means only one in five doctors are selected by his company. “We choose the very best clinics or specialists in each medical speciality by using a nomination process by other specialists. Their careers are thoroughly audited, based on their academic education and professional experience, and we also count on a medical advisory panel that will take action and review each case individually, in case there are doubtful candidates.”
Over 250 million patients have entrusted Top Doctors to choose their medical specialists in Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Colombia and the United States.
Ahead of the curve in e-health revolution
Sardá believes the e-health ‘future’ has arrived a little early because of Covid-19. “Before Covid, we already believed our technology could allow patients to solve their problems from home, wherever possible,” he explains. “During Covid, there was a huge increase in our teleconsultations. This meant we invested a lot in having a very big and solid platform that controls the whole patient journey.”
He concludes: “It is no longer possible to manage your healthcare exclusively offline. Every provider is therefore working to improve their online patient support. Patients, in return, want all the tools at their fingertips. And, of course, we feel that we have the best solutions for patients, specialists and health providers.”